The Avengers (1998)
Directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik
No — The Avengers is not woke, scoring 7 out of 100 on our wokeness meter.
The 1998 adaptation of The Avengers arrives as a cautionary tale about many things, none of them social.
Consciousness Markers
Emma Peel is a capable co-lead agent and meteorologist, but the film repeatedly renders her a victim—drugged, hypnotised, captured—and imposes a romance the original series deliberately kept ambiguous.
The cast is overwhelmingly white British, with Carmen Ejogo as a supporting presence and no commentary on race; diversity is incidental rather than a casting mandate.
Sir August de Wynter's scheme to ransom the world's weather to governments carries a faint eat-the-rich whiff, but it is a stock megalomaniac trope rather than a critique of capital.
No LGBTQ+ characters, themes, or subtext appear in the film's plot or characterizations.
The film engages no racial themes, commentary, or social justice framing whatsoever.
Weather control is a villainous world-domination plot device, not environmentalist messaging or a climate crusade.
No body-positivity themes or messaging are present.
Dissociative identity disorder is floated as a deceptive plot device about a clone, not as neurodivergent representation or advocacy.
The film is a spy fantasy with no historical revisionism.
The film makes no attempt to instruct its audience on social or political matters; it is pure (and incoherent) spectacle.
Why it received this score
The 1998 adaptation of The Avengers arrives as a cautionary tale about many things, none of them social. It is a spy fantasy assembled from British television nostalgia, weather machines, and teddy bear suits. On the matter of representation, the cast is overwhelmingly white British. Carmen Ejogo appears in support, but the film offers no comment on race and no casting mandate. LGBTQ themes are absent. Racial consciousness is absent. The weather control plot is a villainous ransom scheme, not an environmental parable. The film has no interest in instructing anyone about climate, capital, or identity. It simply wants to be a breezy romp and fails at that with unusual thoroughness.
Emma Peel remains a capable agent and meteorologist, which earns the film a modest nod toward feminist agency. The screenplay then drugs her, hypnotizes her, captures her, and surrounds her with a clone. The original series kept the Steed and Peel relationship teasingly ambiguous. This version imposes a kiss and a romance, as if the studio feared ambiguity. Sir August de Wynter's plan to sell weather to governments has a faint eat-the-rich aroma, though he is a stock megalomaniac in a cape, not a critique of capital. There is no body positivity. There is no neurodivergence, only dissociative identity disorder floated as a deceptive twist about a clone. There is no revisionist history. The film is too confused to revise anything, including its own plot.
Lecture energy is zero. The Avengers never pauses to explain our duties to society. It pauses only to admire its own production design. The 89-minute cut lurches from set piece to set piece, losing coherence and any possible thesis. A Bentley with a tea dispenser, mechanical bees, and Sean Connery enjoying himself are all that remain. The film's cultural awareness is negligible. It is not a text for our times. It is a Razzie-winning curiosity, a flop, and a warning about adaptation. We can classify it as harmless, incoherent, and almost entirely free of social messaging. Almost.
Analysis generated by our Consciousness Algorithm
Part of
Synopsis
British Ministry agent John Steed, under direction from "Mother", investigates a diabolical plot by arch-villain Sir August de Wynter to rule the world with his weather control machine. Steed investigates the beautiful Doctor Mrs. Emma Peel, the only suspect, but simultaneously falls for her and joins forces with her to combat Sir August.
Questions about The Avengers
Is The Avengers woke?
No — The Avengers is not woke, scoring 7 out of 100 on our wokeness meter. That earns it a verdict of Ultra Based.
Does The Avengers have any woke elements?
Very few. None of the 10 markers reaches 30, the level where a marker counts as present; the highest is Feminist Agenda at 18.
How does The Avengers compare to other 1998 movies?
It ranks #67 of the 118 films from 1998 we've scored; their average is 12. The wokest is Show Me Love (60).
How is the Woke Score calculated?
An AI-assisted process researches the film and its reception, scores it 0–100 on ten markers, then combines those into one 0–100 Woke Score. It measures a specific set of 2020s cultural themes, not film quality.