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  1. Wokeometer
  2. Movies
  3. The Blackening
The Blackening
Box Office
Hit · 3.7x
Budget$5M
Worldwide Gross$18.6M
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The Blackening

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The Blackening

The Blackening

movie·R·Jun 16, 2023·
Box OfficeHit · 3.7x
$5M
Budget
$18.6M
Gross
Shop

Shop this title

The Blackening

We may earn a commission from purchases through these links.

Digital video
Amazon — Digital video. Search this format: The Blackening. Opens in a new tab
DVD & Blu-ray
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Search US stores by format. Check the title and edition before buying.

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The Blackening

movie
R
June 16, 2023
Wokeometer Rating
7Woke
Audience Woke Score
No Ratings Yet
Scale: 0 = not woke, 10 = maximally woke

TL;DR Verdict

The Blackening pushes a 7/10 woke agenda by centering its horror plot on racial identity tests, cultural gatekeeping, and Black authenticity stereotypes rather than scares. Skip it if you want entertainment free of identity politics.

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Detailed Analysis

The Blackening centers its entire premise, plot mechanics, and appeal on Black racial identity and intra-community dynamics.

The story features an all-Black group of friends whose weekend is structured around a deadly game explicitly testing 'blackness' through questions on cultural knowledge, stereotypes, and authenticity, with tokens representing racial caricatures. This drives the narrative and humor, incorporating Juneteenth as the reunion setting and subplots touching on homophobia within Black families, notions of 'not Black enough,' and critiques of how Blackness is performed or policed.

Casting is deliberately monochromatic to invert horror tropes about Black characters dying first, making racial essentialism foundational rather than incidental. While presented as satire, the heavy embedding of identity politics and cultural gatekeeping as the core conflict qualifies as prominent progressive ideological influence that prioritizes racial framing over neutral entertainment or traditional slasher elements. Audience reactions include criticisms of it pushing monolithic racial views and 'woke' talking points throughout.

Key Factors

  • All-Black cast as the deliberate premise inverting horror tropes
  • Central 'blackness' quiz game and authenticity tests driving the plot
  • Juneteenth setting combined with themes of intra-racial judgment, homophobia, and stereotypes
  • Creator focus on subverting racial horror conventions and cultural commentary

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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Directed by

  • Tim Story

Is The Blackening Woke?

We've run a full content analysis on The Blackening and scored it 7/10 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 The Blackening?

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 The Blackening's overall score.

Is The Blackening family-friendly?

Wokeometer focuses on ideological content rather than traditional ratings (violence, language, etc.). The Blackening is rated R. 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 →

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Top Cast

Grace Byers
5Mixed

Grace Byers

Allison

Jermaine Fowler
6Mixed

Jermaine Fowler

Clifton

Melvin Gregg
4.3Mixed

Melvin Gregg

King

X Mayo
6.5Mixed

X Mayo

Shanika

Dewayne Perkins
7Woke

Dewayne Perkins

Dewayne

Antoinette Robertson
8.6Woke

Antoinette Robertson

Lisa

Sinqua Walls
7Woke

Sinqua Walls

Nnamdi

Jay Pharoah
4Mixed

Jay Pharoah

Shawn

Yvonne Orji
4Mixed

Yvonne Orji

Morgan

Diedrich Bader
2.4Based

Diedrich Bader

Officer White

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