The First Purge (2018) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

The First Purge takes place in Staten Island, one of New York City's five boroughs. The film uses Staten Island as a microcosm to depict how the Purge experiment unfolds in a contained community setting, contrasting the area's diverse, peaceful reputation with the violence that erupts during the sanctioned night.

• staten island
• setting
• location
• new york
• purge location

The First Purge is set in mid-21st Century America, during a period marked by economic downturn and sociopolitical upheaval. This future-facing timeframe allows the film to explore its dystopian premise within a recognizable but troubled American society.

• time period
• era
• mid-21st century
• dystopian
• future

The First Purge delivers a critical message about state-sanctioned violence and political manipulation. The film argues that allowing (and encouraging) violence as a societal release valve primarily victimizes marginalized communities while serving the interests of those in power.

• themes
• message
• meaning
• social commentary
• political message

The film exposes corruption through the New Founding Fathers of America's orchestration of the Purge as a social experiment. Dr. Updale helps design a program ostensibly for catharsis, but the narrative reveals it as a calculated scheme to eliminate disadvantaged populations while consolidating political power.

• corruption
• new founding fathers
• nffa
• dr updale
• political corruption

The First Purge presents violence as both a societal construct and an innate human trait. The Purge experiment reveals how quickly people abandon moral restraints when legal consequences disappear, exposing the dark impulses that exist beneath civil society's surface.

• violence
• dark impulses
• human nature
• society
• chaos

Nya is the film's central protagonist, portrayed by Lex Scott Davis. She is a resilient character who actively opposes the Purge, driven by her determination to protect her brother Isaiah. Nya embodies hope and moral resistance against the decay of her community.

• nya
• lex scott davis
• main character
• protagonist
• hero

Skeletor, played by Rotimi Paul, is a volatile and unstable junkie who becomes one of the most dangerous participants in the Purge. His character represents the unchecked chaotic violence that the Purge unleashes, demonstrating how the experiment brings out the worst in vulnerable individuals.

• skeletor
• rotimi paul
• villain
• antagonist
• violent character

Dr. Updale, portrayed by Marisa Tomei, is the architect of the Purge experiment and a key figure in the New Founding Fathers of America. She represents the morally ambiguous scientist who designs a program of mass violence while grappling with the ethical implications of her creation.

• dr updale
• marisa tomei
• scientist
• architect
• nffa

Dmitri, played by Y'lan Noel, is a drug lord operating in Staten Island who navigates the Purge by protecting his territory. His character explores the duality of survival and morality, as he makes tough choices that blur the line between criminal and unexpected hero.

• dmitri
• y'lan noel
• drug lord
• survival
• complex character

Staten Island is significant as the designated testing ground for the Purge experiment, chosen for its diverse community makeup. The film uses Staten Island as a microcosm to show how the Purge affects ordinary neighborhoods, transforming familiar streets into battlegrounds and revealing the social fractures within a contained urban environment.

• staten island
• diverse community
• urban setting
• social experiment
• microcosm

The First Purge portrays survival as a primal instinct that drives characters to extreme measures. Characters like Nya and Dmitri must rely on courage and resourcefulness to navigate relentless danger, highlighting how the Purge forces ordinary people to become combatants in a life-or-death struggle to protect themselves and their loved ones.

• survival
• instinct
• protection
• family
• fight or flight