Is @zola woke?
Zola (2020)
Movie
Released: January 1, 2020
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
- Prominently features racial dynamics and white appropriation of Black culture via the white character's blaccent and mannerisms.
- Centers Black female agency and critiques exploitation in sex work through a judgment-free yet identity-focused lens.
- Uses interracial friendship to highlight and subvert stereotypes, with a POV shift underscoring white unreliability and racism.
Wokeness Analysis
Zola centers a Black female protagonist navigating sex work, exploitation by a Black pimp, and an interracial friendship with a white woman who appropriates Black culture through a blaccent, cornrows, and mannerisms. The film explicitly highlights racial dynamics, including how Black women must work harder than white counterparts in the industry, casual racism from clients, and the unreliability of the white character's perspective in a Rashomon-style sequence that portrays her as racist and self-serving. Directed by a Black woman and co-written with Jeremy O. Harris, it is praised in progressive outlets for centering Black women's voices, subverting stereotypes around sex workers, and critiquing white appropriation and interracial dynamics without judgment on the industry itself. These elements feel intentional and prominent, often framing the story around identity, agency, and systemic issues rather than pure entertainment or neutral storytelling. While the core remains a wild, tweet-based road trip comedy with graphic content and humor, the messaging on race, gender, and sex work dominates critical discourse and elevates it beyond escapism, making the ideology noticeable and at times forced for viewers seeking unfiltered narrative.
Plot
Based on a 2015 viral Twitter thread by A'Ziah 'Zola' King, the film follows Detroit waitress and part-time stripper Zola (Taylour Paige) who befriends outgoing customer Stefani (Riley Keough). Stefani invites her on a road trip to Tampa for lucrative stripping gigs, joined by Stefani's awkward boyfriend Derrek (Nicholas Braun) and mysterious roommate X (Colman Domingo), who is revealed as her pimp. What begins as a fun adventure devolves into prostitution schemes, threats, violence, and deception, forcing Zola to use her wits to survive and escape. The black comedy crime drama, directed by Janicza Bravo, mixes humor, social media aesthetics, and raw depictions of the sex industry.