← Back to Directory
The Money Dance
Movie

The Money Dance

1964 • Unknown

Woke Score
1
out of 10

Plot

Machida (Shintaro Katsu) is in constant trouble because of his instincts to do right every time, even when it endangers his life. A gang hires him for his "forceful personality," and assigns him to kill evil people, a president of a loan company and a drug baron.

Overall Series Review

The movie is a classic 1964 Japanese crime drama centered on Machida, a man driven by a profound moral instinct to pursue justice, even at great personal risk. The entire conflict is merit-based, pitting a morally forceful protagonist against corrupt figures like a loan company president and a drug baron. The narrative critique is focused solely on individual and systemic corruption within the criminal world, not on culture or civilization at large. Gender and sexual identity are not foregrounded, as the plot emphasizes a traditionally masculine archetype of the righteous vigilante operating in a male-dominated underworld. Machida’s "instincts to do right" serve as the story's foundation for objective morality against pure evil, showing a clear adherence to a transcendent moral law.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics1/10

The plot centers on the protagonist’s moral quality—his 'instincts to do right'—which is the ultimate measure of his character. Conflict is based on corruption and criminality (universal themes), not on immutable characteristics, race, or intersectional hierarchy. The casting is naturally authentic to its Japanese setting.

Oikophobia2/10

The film criticizes corruption within Japanese society, targeting a loan company president and a drug baron. This is a critique of specific immoral actors and criminal systems, not a wholesale demonization of the entire Japanese 'home culture' or its ancestors. The narrative does not contain any hostility toward Western civilization.

Feminism1/10

The plot focuses on the male protagonist’s 'forceful personality' and struggle against a male-dominated criminal underworld. There are no indications of 'Mary Sue' or 'Girl Boss' tropes. The core drama revolves around masculine action, and the plot summary contains no anti-natalism or anti-family messaging.

LGBTQ+1/10

The core plot is a crime/vigilante drama featuring a male protagonist and organized crime figures. There is no presence or centering of alternative sexualities, gender ideology, or deconstruction of the nuclear family. Sexuality is kept private, adhering to a normative structure for the time and genre.

Anti-Theism1/10

The protagonist is defined by his compelling 'instincts to do right,' establishing an objective moral standard of justice. The narrative frames the targets (corrupt president, drug baron) as purely evil, which supports the existence of objective truth and a higher moral law, opposing moral relativism.