Box Office
Flop · 0.1xBudget$2M
Worldwide Gross$101.1K
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First Cow
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First Cow
movie·PG-13·Jul 10, 2020·
Box OfficeFlop · 0.1x
$2M
Budget
$101.1K
Gross
Shop
Shop this title
First Cow
We may earn a commission from purchases through these links.
Search US stores by format. Check the title and edition before buying.
Explore Prime Video — Opens in a new tab
Catalog availability and subscription terms vary.
First Cow
movie
PG-13
July 10, 2020
Wokeometer Rating
4Mixed
0/10
Scale: 0 = not woke, 10 = maximally woke
TL;DR Verdict
First Cow earns a moderate 4/10 as its story of friendship and shared ambition between Cookie and King-Lu includes some historical diversity that fits the setting, yet avoids making social messaging the main focus.
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Detailed Analysis
First Cow centers on the friendship and illicit baking scheme between Otis 'Cookie' Figowitz (John Magaro), a bullied white cook, and King-Lu (Orion Lee), a Chinese immigrant on the run, as they repeatedly steal milk from the wealthy Chief Factor's (Toby Jones) prized Jersey cow in 1820s Oregon Territory.
This partnership of outsiders, drawn directly from Jonathan Raymond's source novel The Half-Life, drives the narrative alongside themes of ambition, cooperation, and the fragility of frontier dreams, culminating in their tragic end foreshadowed by intertwined skeletons. The inclusion of a Chinese co-protagonist and supporting indigenous roles (Lily Gladstone as the Chinook wife of the Chief Factor, Gary Farmer as Totillicum) reflects the historical setting's mix of immigrants and natives rather than forced casting changes to established characters.
Key Factors
- Chinese immigrant co-lead and indigenous supporting characters organic to 1820s frontier source material
- Subtle critique of capitalism, class hierarchies, and settler colonialism through the milk theft plot and Chief Factor's wealth
- Director Kelly Reichardt's stated interest in subverting traditional masculine Western tropes via a female perspective and focus on cooperation over individualism, without overt lectures or identity-politics framing as the premise
Methodology: Each score synthesizes audience discourse, critic and aggregator reception, and press coverage — weighed against the work itself, not any single source.
Detailed BreakdownPro
Identity Politics & Racial Essentialism
Gender Ideology & LGBTQ+ Themes
DEI Casting & Representation Mandates
Preachiness & Message-First Agenda
Corporate & Creator Activism
See how this title scores across all 5 woke subcategories with detailed explanations.
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Is First Cow Woke?
We've run a full content analysis on First Cow and scored it 4/10 on the woke scale. Read our detailed breakdown above to see exactly what we found.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of woke content is in First Cow?
Our analysis checks for themes like identity politics, race-swapping, gender ideology, environmental activism, anti-religious messaging, and other progressive agenda elements. The score breakdown above shows which specific categories were flagged and how heavily they factor into First Cow's overall score.
Is First Cow family-friendly?
Wokeometer focuses on ideological content rather than traditional ratings (violence, language, etc.). First Cow is rated PG-13. For a full picture, combine our woke analysis with the age rating to decide if it's right for your family.
How does Wokeometer score movies?
We evaluate media across multiple ideological categories on a 0–10 scale. Scores of 0–3 mean story-first, 4–6 have moderate elements, and 7–10 flag heavily agenda-driven content. Learn more about our methodology →
