Woke Hollywood is dead, or so we thought.<\/span><\/p>\n The new trailer for \u201cLadies First\u201d is proof that La La Land won\u2019t give up the woke ghost.<\/span><\/p>\n Sacha Baron Cohen, who traded his subversive \u201cBorat\u201d shtick for the <\/span>anti-Trump Resistance<\/span><\/a>, stars as a chauvinist who suffers a blow to the head and wakes up in a new reality.<\/span><\/p>\n Forget the patriarchy. The matriarchy now runs things in this May 22 Netflix original. The laugh-free trailer is bad enough, but the sight of Borat leaning into feminist clich\u00e9s is worse.<\/span><\/p>\n And it\u2019s far from alone. That \u201cwoke mind virus\u201d is on the comeback trail.<\/span><\/p>\n Rob Youngson\/Netflix \u2013 copyright 2026 Netflix, Inc.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The proof that woke was on the run felt substantial. Real. Refreshing. Comedians were suddenly able to speak their minds without fear of reprisal. Comedy roasts made a shocking comeback, and Netflix couldn\u2019t wait to line up rebel comics like Tony Hinchcliffe, Tim Dillon, Ricky Gervais and Shane Gillis for new projects.<\/span><\/p>\n Disney, the unofficial woke standard bearer, dialed down the messaging machine. The Disney+ series \u201cWin or Lose\u201d ditched a trans character. Big-budget releases like \u201cMoana 2\u201d and \u201cInside Out 2\u201d left the lectures on the cutting room floor \u2014 and scored huge box office numbers along the way.<\/span><\/p>\n More recently, Disney-owned Pixar chief Pete Docter said his company <\/span>removed LGBTQ content<\/span><\/a> from 2025\u2019s \u201cElio\u201d because \u201cWe\u2019re making a movie, not hundreds of millions of dollars of therapy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Lesson learned. Or was it?<\/span><\/p>\n Jesse Grant\/Getty Images for Disney\/Pixar<\/p>\n<\/div>\n That \u201cLadies First\u201d trailer feels like it came from a 2020 time capsule. So does \u201cStarfleet Academy.\u201d The latest \u201cStar Trek\u201d TV show got roundly mocked on social media and by YouTube cutups like Nerdrotic and The Critical Drinker, who combined have millions of followers.<\/span><\/p>\n The show featured a charcuterie board full of woke, from the barefoot captain curling up in her chair like a Portland librarian to a gay, cross-dressing Klingon.<\/span><\/p>\n Mainstream critics, who lean aggressively to the Left, praised the show while audiences stayed away in droves. The show\u2019s second season was set in motion immediately, but the <\/span>cancellation news came nearly as fast.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Hulu just dropped a new mini-season of \u201cMalcolm in the Middle,\u201d the early 2000s hit about a quirky, dysfunctional clan. The streamer knew it had a nostalgia-fueled hit on its hands, which may be why <\/span>the creators gave<\/span><\/a> the clan Kelly, a \u201cnon-binary\u201d child.<\/span><\/p>\n Just a coincidence? Hardly. Executive producer Tracy Katsy told Deadline.com the <\/span>reason for the inclusion angle<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThree out of four of our kids are queer, and without making it a thing and without making an issue, I think it\u2019s really nice to have a character that, that\u2019s just a facet of their personality as opposed to the entire story.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Theo Wargo\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The diversity measure came with the de facto lecture sequence, too, along with the Mary Sue-style characterization.<\/span><\/p>\n Kelly uses \u201cthey\/them\u201d and is depicted as academically gifted, level-headed, and notably the only sibling without a police record.<\/span><\/p>\n No flaws, please. That\u2019s another woke byproduct, removing flaws from characters meant to promote diversity and inclusion.<\/span><\/p>\n The show also made Stevie (Craig Lamar Traylor), who displayed heterosexual characteristics in the original series, a gay man in an interracial relationship.<\/span><\/p>\n The new action comedy \u201cNormal\u201d also squeezes a \u201cnon-binary\u201d character into the story, played by Jess McLeod. The character, dubbed Alex, is given little backstory or depth, but Alex still plays a sizable role in the film\u2019s second half.<\/span><\/p>\n This year\u2019s \u201cFrankenstein\u201d reinvention, dubbed \u201cThe Bride!\u201d featured a cavalcade of woke talking points. The titular creature inspired a wave of rebellious women fighting back against early 20<\/span>th<\/span> century oppression, and Jessie Buckley\u2019s Bride literally shouts, \u201cMe too\u201d \u2026 twice.<\/span><\/p>\n And, yes, \u201cThe Bride!\u201d may be one of 2026\u2019s biggest box office busts with <\/span>a pathetic $12 million domestic haul.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Woke isn\u2019t just about forced, clumsy inclusion. It coaxes screenwriters to lecture viewers from a hard-Left perspective. No nuance or balance, please. There\u2019s a PowerPoint-style message to share. It\u2019s why shows like \u201cMatlock\u201d and \u201cThe Pitt\u201d have spent serious screen time pushing an <\/span>aggressive, anti-ICE narrative<\/span><\/a> in recent weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe Pitt\u201d also promotes an unabashed, pro-abortion agenda. The HBO Max series featured an episode with a 17-year-old pregnant teen (Abby Ryder Fortson) seeking an abortion, but she didn\u2019t have her parents\u2019 consent.<\/span><\/p>\n John Wells Productions. Max. R. Scott Gemmill Productions. Sky Studios. Warner Bros. Television. HBO Max.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The baby in question is more than 11 weeks along, just beyond Pennsylvania\u2019s cutoff for a legal abortion. Dr. Robby (Noah Wyle) stepped in, offering to fudge the facts to secure the abortion in question. The doctors agreed that the teen deserves to have a life, as they framed it, ignoring the positive impacts of motherhood or potentially giving up the innocent baby for adoption.<\/span><\/p>\n The creative team behind \u201cThe Pitt\u201d is leaning into the show\u2019s ratings success, weaponizing the saga to advance leftist talking points as needed. It\u2019s another familiar woke pattern \u2014 Hollywood finds success with an apolitical show or film, and later leverages that appeal to insert woke talking points.<\/span><\/p>\n One glaring example? Even a far-Left site like <\/span>TheMarySue.com cringed<\/span><\/a> when the once-mighty Marvel Cinematic Universe included a clunky, \u201cgirl power\u201d moment during the epic \u201cAvengers: Endgame\u201d battle.<\/span><\/p>\n The MCU saga went woke thereafter and has yet to recover, financially speaking.<\/span><\/p>\n Despite these stark examples, woke isn\u2019t the cultural force in Hollywood that it was just a few short years ago. Some savvy studio types realized that its cultural tentacles remain a financial risk, to put it bluntly.<\/span><\/p>\n Others are like <\/span>Hiroo Onoda<\/span><\/a>, the Japanese soldier who kept fighting World War II for nearly 29 years after hostilities ceased.<\/span><\/p>\n That means it could take a few more high-profile failures for Hollywood to finally learn its lesson.<\/span><\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic, and editor of\u00a0HollywoodInToto.com<\/a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News\u2019 Big Hollywood. Follow him at\u00a0HollywoodInToto.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Rob](\"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2026\/04\/Ladies-Night-864x576.jpg\")
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