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The Matrix (1999)

Is Fall woke?

Fall (2022)

Movie

Released: January 1, 2022

Wokeness Score

1/10

Not woke

No political or woke messaging whatsoever. Focuses entirely on story, characters, fun, or escapism.

Key Summary Points

  • No political messaging, diversity lectures, or social justice themes present.
  • Female leads portrayed as capable climbers in organic survival story.
  • Backstory elements like interracial couple integrated naturally without agenda.

Wokeness Analysis

Fall (2022) stands out as a rare modern thriller that prioritizes pure survival tension and adrenaline over any progressive agenda. The film centers on two white female leads, Becky and Hunter, whose perilous predicament atop a 2,000-foot abandoned TV tower drives every moment without injecting identity politics, diversity quotas, or social justice lectures. There are no marginalized group representations shoehorned in for applause, no speeches on systemic oppression, and no subversion of traditional gender roles to preach empowerment. The brief interracial marriage in the backstory—Becky's late husband Dan is Black, played by Mason Gooding—serves the personal grief plot organically, without commenting on race or virtue-signaling interracial harmony. Similarly, the revelation of Hunter's affair with Dan adds betrayal drama, not feminist commentary on infidelity or patriarchy. Critics occasionally nitpick outdated elements like a sexist ringtone or cleavage shots as regressive, but these underscore the film's unapologetic focus on visceral thrills, appealing to audiences exhausted by forced wokeness in Hollywood. Directed by Scott Mann, it delivers B-movie escapism with vertigo-inducing visuals, vulture attacks, and desperate survival tactics, letting character arcs of grief, fear, and resilience emerge naturally from the story. No plot bends to ideology; entertainment reigns supreme. In an era where studios prioritize DEI checklists over storytelling, Fall refreshingly ignores the noise, offering unadulterated suspense that resonates with viewers craving content free from cultural scolding.

Plot

Best friends Becky and Hunter embark on a daring climb up a remote, abandoned 2,000-foot TV tower in the California desert to help Becky scatter her late husband Dan's ashes and conquer her grief from a fatal rock-climbing accident a year prior. What starts as a therapeutic challenge turns nightmarish when the rusty ladder collapses, stranding them atop the structure with no way down. Dehydrated, exposed to circling vultures, and desperately signaling for rescue via phone videos and a drone, they face hallucinations, betrayal revelations—including Hunter's affair with Dan—and brutal physical tolls. Becky's estranged father, played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, grows concerned back home. As days pass, ingenuity, raw determination, and primal survival instincts are tested in this high-altitude ordeal of friendship, loss, and human limits.

Analyzed by AI on March 31, 2026