The core premise revolves around economic systems and human folly in survival scenarios, with the Filipino toilet cleaner Abigail rising to lead by practical skills while former elites scramble—subverting class roles through plot mechanics rather than activist framing. Gender commentary appears in the opening act via models Carl and Yaya's transactional relationship, where money and beauty function as currency amid #MeToo-era reflections from director Ruben Östlund, but this serves character conflict and does not drive the narrative or impose systemic critiques.

Casting features international actors in roles fitting the story's global elite and crew (e.g., Russian oligarch Dimitry, various wealthy passengers), with no established-character alterations or identity-focused casting mandates. Östlund, from a left-leaning family, has described the film as self-satirizing upper-middle-class absurdities and questioning capitalism's excesses, yet the execution relies on gross-out humor and carnivalesque reversals rather than lectures or identity politics. Audience and critical reception highlights its Palme d'Or win and class-satire appeal, with limited backlash centered on simplicity rather than ideological overreach.