It's easy to feel like the "woke" dominance in entertainment and news is as entrenched as ever, especially if you're scrolling through the same old feeds or bingeing the latest Netflix slate. Joel Kotkin's Spiked piece (link below) paints a vivid picture of a seismic shift: billionaire buyouts like David Ellison's Paramount takeover signalling the end of progressive hegemony, flops for "politically correct" remakes, Netflix axing "LGBT-heavy" shows, and a market-driven pivot toward family-friendly, "manly" content. But is this a full-blown counter-revolution, or just selective cherry-picking amid a broader industry slump? Let's dig into the data from 2025 — it's a mixed bag, with real cracks in the progressive facade but no total rout. The momentum feels more like a course correction for profits than a cultural Armageddon.
The Core Claim: Ownership Shifts Breaking Progressive Control
Kotkin spotlights Ellison's acquisition as a "shift away from one-party domination," tying it to Musk's X and Trump's Kennedy Center influence. This holds up — Ellison (son of Oracle's Larry, worth ~$250B) closed the $8B Skydance-Paramount merger in summer 2025 after FCC approval. By September, he was slashing $2B in costs, courting Trump allies, and greenlighting "all-American" fare like more Top Gun sequels and Taylor Sheridan projects, stuff that plays big in red states. Paramount's already eyeing Warner Bros. Discovery for a mega-merger, which could further consolidate power in less "coastal elite" hands. Meanwhile, Musk's X has amplified anti-woke voices, and faith-based outfits like Angel Studios and Legacy Productions are booming — King David miniseries pulled 44M viewers on Prime last year.
But it's not a clean sweep. Progressives still own chunks: Laurene Powell Jobs' Atlantic and Marc Benioff's Time thrive in affluent blue bubbles, and even Ellison's no fire-breathing conservative; he's just chasing "high-quality storytelling" over lectures. X chatter echoes this: Posts from @NEWSMAX and @RodDMartin hype "anti-woke studios" like Founders Films (backed by Thiel allies), but they're niche players so far.
Media Trust: Audiences Are Tuning Out—But is it (Just) Woke Fatigue?
Kotkin nails the disconnect: Trust in U.S. media hit a Gallup low of 28% in 2025 (down from 72% in 1978), with under-50s at <30%. Post-Floyd, outlets like NYT doubled down on "ideological propagation," alienating half the audience, Pew shows 56% trust national news somewhat, but that's a 20-point drop since 2016. WaPo and LA Times haemorrhaged readers (heavy losses, shrinking circs), while CNN's Trump obsession tanked ratings.
Why? Kotkin blames overproduction of Lefty MFAs gatekeeping content, but broader factors like AI fact-checkers (only 32% trust them) and social media's rise (61% get news there) play in. X semantic hits show frustration: @TheThe1776's viral clip (6.9K likes) blasts "woke agendas over storytelling," but it's not universal — some posts defend diverse hits like Sinners (Black-led horror, box-office smash).
Box Office Blues: Woke Flops or Just Bad Movies?
This is where Kotkin's strongest: October 2025 box office cratered to $425M (27-year low ex-pandemic), with Disney's Snow White remake and One Battle After Another (DiCaprio's "radical-chic" flop) bombing amid "go woke, go broke" chants. Cumulative losses from "politically driven boycotts": $3.4B since 2022. Halloween was the worst in 32 years; Oscars/Grammys viewership collapsed. On-location shoots down 22% in Q1.
Counterpoint: A Stephen Follows study of 10K+ films found no consistent "woke penalty" — issues tie to execution, not diversity per se. Genre matters: Horror/sports with inclusive casts boost earnings; blockbusters risk backlash if politics overshadow plot. Hits like Sinners (African-American horror) and Captain America: Brave New World (diverse leads) topped 2025 charts, while "anti-woke" bets like Sydney Sweeney's Christy bombed (worst opening ever). Top Gun: Maverick ($1.5B) proves "manly" sells, but so does organic inclusion.
Netflix and Cancellations: Real Pullback or Overhyped?
Kotkin cites Netflix ditching Q-Force (gay comedy), Wings of Fire (LGBT-heavy), and Antiracist Baby (Kendi-based); true, axed in 2025 batches for not selling ($50M flops). But the big story? Elon Musk's October boycott frenzy over Dead End: Paranormal Park (trans protagonist) sparked #CancelNetflix, with claims of $15B market cap loss and mass subs dropping. Musk reposted 26x in days, blasting "woke mind virus" in kids' shows like CoComelon. Stock dipped 2-3%, but analysts say it's noise, Netflix's too pricey to tank on tweets.
X buzz amplifies it: @sparkey909w and @MrJWEsq share Kotkin's piece directly. Yet DEI execs are exiting studios en masse, and Disney scrapped trans arcs in Win or Lose after parent backlash. Paramount's reviving cop shows; Amazon bought an "anti-woke" Basic Instinct reboot for $2M.
Demographics and the "Family Market" Future
Kotkin's spot-on here: Progressive hubs (NYC, LA, SF) skew childless/single/LGBT+ with low fertility; growth's in conservative Sun Belt states with higher birth rates among religious families. ~1M millennials become moms yearly — they want PG-13 family fare, not "reparations lectures." Studios like Angel are cashing in abroad too. But niches persist: NYT/Atlantic charge premium for "boutique" progressive reads.
So, Is It True? A Revolt, but Not a Revolution
There's a counter-push, driven by flops, boycotts, and market maths. 2025's "unwokening" (per Guardian) includes DEI rollbacks at Disney/Paramount, anti-woke alliances (Roseanne Barr, Tim Allen), and Musk-fuelled Netflix pain. X sentiment (e.g., @Rust_And_Decay: "Woke has failed") mirrors Kotkin. But it's uneven: Diverse films still hit big if they're good (Sinners), and "woke" isn't dead, it's evolving to "belonging" (Disney's new buzzword). The real driver? Cash. As one exec told Kotkin: "Sex and violence sell better than political lectures."
If you don't see it yet, fair — it's bubbling under the surface, not a tidal wave. Trump's re-election accelerated it, but demographics seal the deal long-term. Woke will burn itself out leaving the usual social devastation.