Is Await Further Instructions woke?
Await Further Instructions (2018)
Movie
Released: January 1, 2018
Wokeness Score
7/10
Strongly Ideological
Woke messaging is very prominent and often feels forced or shoehorned in. Characters and plot are primarily shaped to serve the ideology. Many viewers feel the agenda overshadows the entertainment.
Key Summary Points
- Racist conservative family members target Indian girlfriend Annji, framing xenophobia as inherent to traditional views.
- Liberal protagonists Nick and Annji portrayed as rational resisters against bigoted, media-manipulated elders.
- Plot critiques Brexit-era prejudice and authority obedience, positioning progressives as victims of conservative manipulation.
Wokeness Analysis
The 2018 British sci-fi horror film Await Further Instructions centers on a dysfunctional family trapped in their home by a mysterious black substance on Christmas, receiving escalating commands via their television. While primarily a cautionary tale about blind obedience to authority and media manipulation—referencing experiments like Milgram's—the narrative prominently features woke ideological elements. Racist remarks from the conservative patriarch (Grandad) and pregnant daughter Kate target Annji, Nick's Indian girlfriend, highlighting xenophobia and anti-immigrant sentiment. These family members are depicted as bigoted, easily manipulated authoritarians aligned with conservative or traditional views, while the younger, liberal-leaning Nick and Annji represent resistance and moral clarity. Reviews explicitly link the story to critiques of Brexit-era xenophobia, with the TV as a stand-in for media-driven brainwashing of the masses. The portrayal frames traditional family structures, faith, and authority figures negatively as prone to prejudice and control, contrasting them with progressive skepticism. Though the core plot involves horror and survival, the social commentary on racism, immigration, and political divides feels intentional and shapes character dynamics, making the ideology prominent without fully dominating the entertainment. Conservative viewers may see this as a forced lecture equating skepticism of authority or outsiders with bigotry.
Plot
On Christmas Day, the dysfunctional Milgram family gathers in their UK home. Nick brings his Indian girlfriend Annji to meet his parents Tony and Beth, pregnant sister Kate and her husband Scott, and racist grandfather. They awaken to find the house sealed by a mysterious black substance and receive cryptic instructions on the television: stay indoors and await further instructions. Tensions escalate with racist remarks toward Annji. Commands intensify, including warnings about contaminated food, bleach cleansings, and suspicious vaccines. Paranoia leads to accusations of infection, violence, and deaths as the family fractures under obedience to the TV's authority. The story explores themes of control, surveillance, and societal obedience through a horror lens.