Is Battle royale (1999) CHUD or WOKE?
chudrank score: 60 / 100 (slightly WOKE-leaning). 0 is CHUD (right-wing), 100 is WOKE (left-wing).
Book by Kōshun Takami, Masayuki Taguchi, Koushun Takami, 1999.
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Why: Anti-state critique of authoritarian violence; anti-authoritarian satire
Koushun Takami's notorious high-octane thriller envisions a nightmare scenario: a class of junior high school students is taken to a deserted island where, as part of a ruthless authoritarian program, they are provided arms and forced to kill until only one survivor is left standing. Criticized as violent exploitation when first published in Japan--where it became a runaway best seller--*Battle Royale* is a *Lord of the Flies* for the 21st century, a potent allegory of what it means to be young and (barely) alive in a dog-eat-dog world.