Caution: Spoilers for Scream 2022 ahead!
Scream 2022 has been criticized online for being “woke,” which simply signals that such fans misunderstand the social commentaries and modern sentiments that have underscored the entire franchise. Premiering in 1996, Scream was a novel work by Wes Craven, a satirical yet terrifying approach to horror that plays on the clichés of classic films. Underneath Scream’s revitalization of the slasher genre in the ‘90s, screenwriter Kevin Williamson and director Craven cleverly crafted one of the most self-aware franchises in history, working to both utilize and break horror conventions as commentaries on the toxicities of modern society.
Set 25 years after Scream 1996 and picking up a decade after Scream 4, Scream 2022 follows a new string of Ghostface murders in Woodsboro. After young family members of original Scream characters like Randy Meeks, Billy Loomis, and Stu Macher are targeted by the killers, iconic final girl Sidney Prescott, Gale Weathers, and Dewey Riley reunite to take down another pair of serial killer copycats. Every Ghostface killer has an idiotic reason for putting on the mask and killing that only makes sense to themselves, and Scream 2022’s killers Richie and Amber declared their reason as the need for better material in modern horror films. The killers cite that “toxic fandoms” are wrongly being blamed when sequels don’t live up to their expectations, so they want to revitalize Scream's fictional Stab movie franchise by giving them another “true story” to base the next sequel on.
As with most major Hollywood movies being released, Scream 2022 is being accused by some of being too “woke.” Although this term really just means that Scream 2022 has a diverse cast with progressive, modern themes, it also makes no sense in the context of the Scream franchise. Since 1996, Scream has notably been aligned with the younger sentiments of its time and telling its horror story with an underlying social commentary. Scream has always been progressive while making fun of the outdated tropes of classic horror films, so those calling Scream 2022 “woke” simply haven’t been paying attention for the past 25 years.
Why Scream 2022 Is Being Called “Woke”
Scream 2022 is essentially being labeled as “woke” because of its inclusive casting and which characters die. Out of the entire franchise, Scream 2022's cast is the most diverse yet, with new characters Sam and Tara Carpenter portrayed by Latina actresses Melissa Barrera and Jenny Ortega, and biracial twins Chad and Martha Meeks-Martin played by Mason Gooding and queer actress Jasmin Savoy Brown. That said, Scream is no stranger to diverse characters, they just haven’t been at the forefront of the films like in Scream 2022.
Others are claiming that Scream 2022 was “woke” because it only killed off white characters, while its POC and queer characters “miraculously” survived. While most all of the characters who died in Scream 2022 were white, this is also because the majority of the characters were white. It’s also a ridiculous argument that the POC characters were able to unbelievably defy death considering this is what has happened for nearly every main character in Scream in the past four movies. Sidney, Gale, and Dewey have cheated death nearly a dozen times with the wild amount of instances that they have been stabbed and shot - Dewey mentioned that he had been stabbed nine times before he was finally killed in Scream 2022. Scream also isn’t casting diverse actors just to show how diverse it is; the casting, characters, and their identities are completely organic, making it feel like a much more realistic representation of 2021/2022 teenage life in California.
Scream Has Always Been Full Of Progressive Social Commentaries
Audiences who think that Scream 2022 is the first time that the franchise is trying to make a social commentary through its characters and story just haven’t recognized the messages from the past films. Scream, partially based on his true experience, was written by Kevin Williamson, a gay man, who wrote positive queer sentiments into the characters and story. The original film was also a larger look at sexism, feminism, and white male angst in the ‘90s. Scream was one of the first horror movies to have its lead female character not be punished for having sex, as she both survived the film and killed Billy. Stu and Billy’s entire serial killing spree as Ghostface was based on their young white male anger and disappointment with their lives, primarily taking it out on women and blaming Sidney’s mother as they increasingly indulge in their perceived self-important.
Scream 2’s opening scene is also a humorous commentary on Black representation in media, and particularly the racist horror tropes that unfairly portray POC characters. Even with such an outright political commentary by Maureen (Jada Pinkett-Smith), Wes Craven's Scream 2 satirized the same critiques it made by making Maureen and Phil (Omar Epps) the first two deaths in the movie. The social commentary continued to Scream 2’s ending, where Mickey revealed that he wanted to be caught because he knew he could get away with it by blaming violence in movies; explaining that far-right causes would be duped into instantly paying his legal fees. Scream 3 is the most upfront with its social commentaries, placing the exploitation of women, sexual abuse, and sexist power dynamics in the film industry as the basis for its murders. Scream 4 then criticized society’s toxic obsessions with social media, celebrity, and fame, as it was the motivation for Jill Roberts’ Ghostface killer.
Scream’s Messages Are Always Achieved With Self-Aware Nuances
While Scream’s movies have always included timely social commentaries and progressive sentiments, they’re almost always projected under the surface with self-aware nuances and humor. Scream 2022’s overarching social commentary is hardly even progressive in terms of political messages, as it’s mostly geared at toxic fandoms of popular media, including its own. The film still includes modern ideas in relation to feminism, sexuality, and privileged entitlement, but they’re far more subtle than Scream’s previous movies. Even so, Scream’s messages aren’t too blatant, thus making sure not to undermine the meanings with how they’re projected. Scream’s use of subtle satire, self-aware humor, and themes in relation to every Ghostface killer's motivations and those who are targeted as victims have always been properly executed, making the movies enjoyable horror films first and foremost. The horror is typically helped by the message Scream’s movie is trying to convey, and the commentaries never overpower the film’s genre and efficiency as a horror movie.
Scream 2022 Isn’t Woke, It Just Has A More Diverse Cast
Considering Scream 2022’s messaging can hardly be considered “woke,” as it’s mainly a jab at toxic, aggressive, and entitled fandoms, which is fairly widespread and not necessarily exclusive to any one group. The only real reason that Scream 2022 is being criticized as such is its cast, so it may just be that such viewers felt it was “too” progressive to have two prominent Latina actresses, two prominent biracial actors, and two women kissing on screen. While the identities of Scream 2022's Ghostface killers were white and nearly every character who died was white as well, that still reflects the majority of the cast. Additionally, Scream is always geared at breaking horror bounds and commenting on “edgy” social phenomena and fears, so it’s not a big stretch to make the Ghostface killers two young, bored privileged characters whose biggest worry in the world is that they hated the Stab 8 movie.