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Million Dollar Man
Movie

Million Dollar Man

2018 • Unknown

Woke Score
2
out of 10

Plot

A man, who is repaying a 30 million yen debt left by his brother, wins the 300 million yen lottery. He grapples with the question of whether money can buy him happiness.

Overall Series Review

The movie is a cautionary tale centered on the universal dilemma of money's relationship to happiness. The protagonist, Kazuo, wins a lottery jackpot only to have it stolen by his rich friend, leading him on a quest to recover the money and learn what true wealth means. The narrative focuses almost entirely on financial, moral, and existential themes. The story is set within a Japanese context and involves a Japanese cast, with no evidence of Western-style identity politics or race-based critiques. The family unit is a positive goal the protagonist works to restore. The movie's core message is a transcendent one, arguing against materialism and moral relativism by asserting that true fulfillment lies beyond money. The plot is driven by personal failings and universal moral questions, not by political or social ideological lectures.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics2/10

The narrative follows a universal human struggle of debt and the search for happiness, which is an existential, merit-based dilemma. Character motivation revolves around financial pressure and personal morality, not the intersectional hierarchy of immutable characteristics. The story does not feature the vilification of any specific group or forced diversity; the cast is authentically Japanese for the setting.

Oikophobia2/10

The plot focuses on the moral quandary of money and modern life within Japanese society. The film's theme critiques the obsession with wealth and materialism, but it does not frame Japanese culture or ancestry as fundamentally corrupt or racist. The narrative respects the institution of family, as the protagonist's goal is to win back his wife and daughter.

Feminism2/10

The core plot goal is for the male protagonist to recover his money and win back his wife and daughter after they left him due to his financial ruin, presenting a pro-family message. A female former business partner is featured as a cautionary example of how wealth can lead to an unhappy, reclusive existence, showing that financial success does not equal perfection. Female characters are not universally depicted as perfect 'Girl Boss' types, and masculinity is not explicitly emasculated beyond the initial financial failure.

LGBTQ+1/10

The film centers on a male protagonist and his quest to restore his traditional family unit, consisting of his wife and daughter. The narrative adheres to a normative structure. Sexual identity and gender ideology are not a featured component of the plot, the character development, or the moral lessons.

Anti-Theism1/10

The movie's central question is explicitly a moral and philosophical one: whether 300 million yen can buy happiness. The film delivers a transcendent moral lesson that happiness lies in something beyond material wealth, asserting an objective moral principle. The narrative does not contain any hostility toward religion or depict religious figures as bigots or villains.