Is City of Angels woke?
City of Angels (1998)
Movie
Released: January 1, 1998
Wokeness Score
1/10
Not woke
No political or woke messaging whatsoever. Focuses entirely on story, characters, fun, or escapism.
Key Summary Points
- Pure romantic fantasy with no political or social justice messaging.
- Characters and plot driven by love, faith, and human experience only.
- Diversity in casting feels incidental and fully integrated without emphasis.
Wokeness Analysis
City of Angels (1998) is a straightforward romantic fantasy centered on an angel's choice between immortality and human love, mortality, and sensory experience. The narrative draws from Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire but relocates the story to Los Angeles with a focus on personal emotion, faith versus rationality, and the joys and pains of human life. No progressive political messaging, identity politics, or social commentary on race, gender, or systemic issues appears. Casting includes actors like Nicolas Cage, Meg Ryan, Dennis Franz, and Andre Braugher in roles that serve the plot without emphasizing diversity quotas or representation agendas. Themes explore universal human desires and spiritual questions in a pre-2000s Hollywood context, emphasizing escapism and romance over any ideological lecture. Criticisms from conservative or faith-based sources highlight theological inaccuracies or romantic excess but do not identify any woke elements, confirming the film's apolitical, story-driven nature.
Plot
In 1998's City of Angels, an invisible angel named Seth (Nicolas Cage) watches over Los Angeles, guiding souls to the afterlife. He becomes captivated by pragmatic heart surgeon Maggie Rice (Meg Ryan) after witnessing her in the operating room. Drawn to her humanity and faith struggles, Seth contemplates becoming mortal with help from a former angel (Dennis Franz). Their romance explores themes of love, choice, loss, and embracing life's sensations amid Los Angeles' vibrant backdrop. The film is a loose remake of Wings of Desire, blending fantasy, drama, and romance.