Adult World sticks fairly close to a character-driven coming-of-age story, emphasizing quirky personalities over identity checklists. The protagonist's arc is about personal growth rather than agenda-driven messaging. There's little emphasis on forced representation or the flawless, hyper-competent "diverse" character trope, which is refreshingly rare these days.

The film gently pokes at some social conventions, but it doesn’t go out of its way to undermine family, masculinity, or traditional morality. Masculine characters aren’t pathologized, and neither are cultural institutions reinterpreted to fit an obvious ideological slant.

While the cast and worldview lean into quirky, liberal-arts sensibilities, dissent isn’t villainized, if anything, there’s room for flawed, layered characters with different perspectives. No overt monoculture of ideology here; some alternative views are present even amidst the indie backdrop.