Movie

The Hill

Name: The Hill
Released: 2023

2023

17Score

Absolute Cinema

Story over sermons. Cinema first.

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Is The Hill Woke? Quick Answer

The Hill scores 17/100 on the IsItWoke scale and is rated Absolute Cinema.

That is the story-first end of the scale for this film.

The dialogue primarily serves the story of overcoming adversity and family reconciliation, with minimal overt messaging or ideological lecturing. Characters feel grounded in their narrative roles, with no obvious tokenism or symbolic insertion for demographic checkboxes.

See the full breakdown below.

Woke profile

How the score is shaped

Eight stored dimensions, each scored from 0 to 20.

Message

Characters

Story

Legacy

Politics

Lead

Tradition

Norms

Column height is the stored score out of 20

Message-first dialogue
3/20
Tokenistic characters
2/20
Ideology over story
3/20
Legacy rewriting
0/20
Modern politics injection
1/20
Protected protagonist pattern
4/20
Anti-traditional framing
1/20
Cultural normalization framing
2/20

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Why it received this score

Based on: Published title analysisConfidence: MediumLast updated: 2026-10-12

Key reasons

The dialogue primarily serves the story of overcoming adversity and family reconciliation, with minimal overt messaging or ideological lecturing.
Characters feel grounded in their narrative roles, with no obvious tokenism or symbolic insertion for demographic checkboxes.
The storytelling focuses on Rickey Hill's personal journey and baseball aspirations rather than pushing a social or political agenda.

View full breakdown

The protagonist faces real challenges related to his disability and family issues, with competence and growth earned through narrative development.
There is little to no reframing of traditional values; the film respects family and personal perseverance without glamorizing anti-traditional themes.

Score signals

Signal	What was measured	Strength	Impact
Protected protagonist pattern	How much the protagonist fits the protected-protagonist pattern (agenda-driven character construction) rather than competence fantasy. Score HIGH only when: competence appears unearned or unexplained; protagonist rarely faces consequences; antagonists exist mainly to demonstrate protagonist superiority; narrative treats protagonist as symbolically superior; plot shields protagonist from vulnerability. Score LOW when: competence is grounded in training, profession, or past experience; protagonist suffers damage or setbacks; real physical danger and survival tension exist (normal action storytelling). Do not penalize competence fantasy.	4/20	+3
Message-first dialogue	How much the dialogue, monologues, or character interactions feel driven by overt messaging, moral lecturing, ideological framing, or making a point instead of serving the story naturally.	3/20	+2
Ideology over story	How much the overall storytelling prioritizes ideological framing, message delivery, social commentary, or activism-coded narrative choices over pacing, conflict, immersion, and entertainment.	3/20	+2
Tokenistic characters	How much characters feel inserted or shaped primarily for symbolic representation, political signaling, or demographic checkbox value rather than narrative depth, organic fit, or strong characterization.	2/20	+1
Modern politics injection	How much contemporary political discourse, activist framing, or modern culture-war signaling appears injected into fantasy, sci-fi, historical, or otherwise escapist settings in a way that feels noticeable or immersion-breaking.	1/20	+1

AI cultural analysis

A short read on tone, themes, and messaging — not a plot synopsis.

AI read

The Hill is a character-driven drama centered on a disabled athlete's quest to succeed in professional baseball while healing familial bonds. The narrative prioritizes authentic storytelling over ideological messaging, focusing on personal growth and resilience.

Dialogue supports emotional beats and character development without descending into preachy or message-first territory. The protagonist's challenges and achievements feel earned and realistic, avoiding the protected protagonist trope where obstacles are artificially minimized.