Is Beetlejuice Beetlejuice woke?
Movie · 2024
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice has a wokeness score of 4/10, which we rate as Light Social Awareness. Some light diversity or inclusion elements that feel natural and organic. Woke themes are subtle, non-intrusive, and fully integrated into the story without drawing attention to themselves.
Key points
- Patriarch Charles killed off-screen, centering all-female Deetz family dynamic.
- Living male figures like Rory depicted as predatory con-men, lacking positive portrayals.
- Gen Z daughter Astrid's skepticism subtly critiques mother's supernatural, new-age lifestyle.
Wokeness analysis
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice largely recaptures the irreverent, chaotic spirit of the 1988 original, with Michael Keaton reprising his role as the unapologetically politically incorrect bio-exorcist Beetlejuice, a character deliberately kept crude, malicious, and full of stupid male energy, as confirmed by Keaton himself. Director Tim Burton delivers nostalgic practical effects, sandworms, and afterlife bureaucracy without sanitizing the humor for modern sensitivities. However, mild modern sensibilities emerge organically through the family dynamics. The plot centers on three generations of Deetz women—Lydia (Winona Ryder), her mother Delia (Catherine O'Hara), and daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega)—navigating grief after patriarch Charles Deetz's off-screen death in a plane crash. This all-female emotional core lacks positive living male figures; the men present, like Lydia's producer boyfriend Rory (Justin Theroux), are portrayed as sleazy con-men who meet fittingly chaotic ends. Astrid, the Gen Z skeptic, resents her mother's new-age ghost-hunting TV career, injecting subtle generational tension that favors rationalism over supernatural beliefs, while Delia's avant-garde art is played for laughs yet endorsed as valid self-expression. Diversity is light, with Jenna Ortega's Latina heritage and minor roles like actor Nick Kellington (who has dwarfism as Bob the shrinker), but these feel natural to Burton's quirky ensemble. No overt LGBTQ representation or preaching occurs; some left-leaning outlets note its heteronormative elements. Conservative reviewers like VirtueVigil flag these as a 'woke trap'—nostalgia bait shifting to progressive family reframing—but the elements integrate without dominating, serving the mother-daughter reconciliation plot rather than lecturing. The afterlife gags, including influencers sucked into phones and Beetlejuice's ex-wife Delores (Monica Bellucci) seeking revenge, prioritize escapist fun over ideology. For audiences tired of forced messaging, this sequel offers refreshing anti-PC mischief amid subtle 2024 updates.
Plot
Thirty-six years after the original, Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder), now a widowed host of the paranormal talk show Ghost House, grapples with estrangement from her teenage daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega), who doubts her psychic abilities. Following the death of Lydia's father Charles in a bizarre plane crash, the Deetz women—joined by eccentric stepmother Delia (Catherine O'Hara)—return to their haunted Winter River home for the funeral. Astrid accidentally opens a portal to the afterlife, stranding herself there and unleashing Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton), who demands marriage to Lydia in exchange for rescue. Complicated by Beetlejuice's vengeful ex-wife Delores (Monica Bellucci), a soul-sucking entity, and afterlife enforcer Wolf Jackson (Willem Dafoe), the family navigates bureaucratic Netherworld chaos, generational rifts, and Rory's (Justin Theroux) opportunism. Blending practical effects, gothic humor, and mother-daughter bonding, the film delivers Burton's signature macabre whimsy across living and afterlife realms.
Analyzed by AI on April 25, 2026