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Predator
Movie

Predator

1987 • Action, Adventure, Horror

Woke Score
3
out of 10

Plot

A team of special force ops, led by a tough but fair soldier, Major "Dutch" Schaefer, are ordered to assist CIA man, Colonel Al Dillon, on a rescue mission for potential survivors of a Helicopter downed over remote South American jungle. Not long after they land, Dutch and his team discover that they have been sent in under false pretenses. This deception turns out to be the least of their worries though, when they find themselves being methodically hunted by something not of this world.

Overall Series Review

Predator (1987) is an action-horror film primarily concerned with primal survival and the failure of high-tech military hubris against a superior hunter. The plot is focused on combat and immediate threat, leaving no significant space for contemporary political lecturing. While the film is not overtly "woke," it does contain elements of institutional and social critique. The initial mission is an indictment of American military/CIA duplicity and imperialism in Central America, framed as a lie told by a deceitful government operative. Furthermore, the narrative functions as a deconstruction of 1980s hyper-masculinity; the most macho, aggressive, and swaggering soldiers are killed off, often in ways that mock their bravado, with the hero only succeeding when he sheds technology and adopts a primal, resourceful cunning. The movie features an ethnically diverse cast, but the brotherhood and individual merit of the soldiers eclipse any focus on race or intersectional identity. The sole female character is a passive survivor and plot device, not a modern "Girl Boss" archetype. The themes of family, sexuality, and organized religion are entirely absent from the central conflict. Its critiques are focused on geopolitics and toxic behavior, not the deconstruction of Western civilization or the nuclear family.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics2/10

Universal Meritocracy guides the main conflict as the Predator hunts the best, most formidable fighters regardless of race or ethnicity. The elite squad features Black, Hispanic, and Native American members who are all defined by their military competence and skill. The casting is naturally diverse for a multi-national military unit. The film's core conflict does not rely on race or intersectional hierarchy for its narrative stakes.

Oikophobia5/10

The film explicitly critiques a specific American institution, the CIA, by making the mission's true nature a cynical, deceitful covert assassination operation concealed as a rescue mission. This functions as a critique of U.S. foreign policy and military interventionism in Central America during the 1980s. However, the American hero ultimately triumphs by employing his ingenuity, not by fully rejecting his home culture, preventing a total civilizational self-hatred score.

Feminism4/10

The film functions as a deconstruction of hyper-masculinity, with the most aggressive, overconfident, and overtly sexist soldiers dying first, suggesting a failure of brute force. However, it does not promote the 'Girl Boss' trope; the single female character, Anna, is a non-combatant guerrilla fighter who is entirely peripheral to the final action and serves mainly as a source of exposition. There is no anti-natal or anti-family messaging.

LGBTQ+1/10

The film features no LGBTQ+ themes, characters, or ideological commentary. The entire cast consists of male soldiers and one female civilian captive. The narrative is solely focused on a life-or-death survival scenario with no discussion or centering of sexual identity.

Anti-Theism2/10

There is no hostility toward religion. The local indigenous character, Anna, provides a spiritual, mythological context for the Predator, referring to it as 'The Demon who Makes Trophies of Man.' The Native American tracker, Billy, exhibits a profound spiritual awareness and makes a dignified final stand. The hero's ultimate victory relies on a return to primal intelligence and adherence to his own higher moral code (rescuing vs. assassinating), which aligns with a transcendent morality over subjective 'power dynamics'.