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This Is the End
Movie

This Is the End

2013 • Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

Woke Score
4
out of 10

Plot

All Jay Baruchel expected coming to LA was a fun time with Seth Rogen with all the wild partying to have both by themselves and at James Franco's housewarming party. Suddenly, the Rapture hits and the Biblical Apocalypse has begun. Now, Jay and Seth are desperately sheltering in James' house for rescue along with a few other friends. Together, they must band together to attempt to survive the end of the world, only for Jay to find that they are all too dumb and superficial to do it until they discover the only way out.

Overall Series Review

This Is the End is a meta-comedy that uses the Biblical Rapture as a satirical framework to critique the self-obsessed, superficial nature of Hollywood celebrity culture. The film’s moral compass, however, is unexpectedly traditional, centered entirely on the theme of selfless sacrifice as the only path to salvation. The characters are judged based purely on their moral failings—pettiness, selfishness, and cowardice—which are the reasons they are left behind on Earth. This system of judgment is presented as a universal, color-blind meritocracy of the soul. The men are depicted as bumbling, toxic, and incapable of true heroism, which contributes to a theme of male emasculation and incompetence. The film is intensely irreverent, crude, and utilizes religious iconography for blasphemous comedy, yet it never embraces true anti-theism; it functionally affirms the existence of God, Heaven, Hell, and an objective moral law, with the narrative rewarding selfless acts and punishing selfish ones. The plot does not rely on race, intersectional hierarchy, or anti-Western civilizational critiques, focusing its malice on the characters’ individual moral character rather than their immutable characteristics or cultural heritage.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics2/10

The characters are judged not by race or immutable characteristics, but by the 'content of their soul,' specifically their selfishness and pettiness. The film critiques celebrity superficiality, not 'whiteness' or privilege as a political class. Craig Robinson, a Black man, is the first to be raptured for an act of selflessness, demonstrating a universal moral meritocracy in the narrative’s climax. A joke about a 'rapey vibe' is an internal critique of the men's own toxic self-awareness, not a systemic vilification of white males as an identity group.

Oikophobia1/10

The film's critique is narrowly focused on the self-centered excesses of Hollywood and modern celebrity culture, not core Western institutions like liberty, family, or nation. The apocalypse is explicitly the Biblical Rapture, meaning the moral framework is rooted in a foundational Western/Christian mythology that rewards virtue and punishes sin, demonstrating a transcendent moral order rather than civilizational self-hatred.

Feminism6/10

The male leads are universally portrayed as selfish, bumbling, and toxic, contributing heavily to the theme of male emasculation and incompetence. The only significant female character, Emma Watson, is independent and capable, but her brief appearance is driven by fear and results in her stealing resources from the men, which subverts the 'perfect Girl Boss' trope, keeping the score from the highest range.

LGBTQ+1/10

The narrative does not include, center, or lecture on alternative sexualities, gender ideology, or the deconstruction of the nuclear family. The entire focus remains on the dynamics and crass humor of a group of straight male friends.

Anti-Theism7/10

While the film is intensely irreverent, crude, and uses Christian theology (the Rapture, demons, Heaven) for satirical and blasphemous humor, the narrative's core premise ultimately affirms the existence of a literal, objective moral order. The characters are judged by a transcendent moral law (selfless sacrifice leads to Heaven, selfishness leads to Hell), which is the antithesis of moral relativism. The pervasive satirical vulgarity warrants a high score, but the structural affirmation of objective truth prevents a 10/10.