Omitting this incredibly violent and incredibly exploitive imagery significantly alters the entire point of the book; a cautionary tale about the moral corruption of a capitalist society. Although not excessive virtue-signaling as required for “woke” it is indeed itself a form of whitewashing purposefully intended to protect the moral sensibilities of the viewing audience.

(notice I said “excessive” virtue-signaling. Virtue-signaling doesn’t automatically equate with “woke” when it’s part of the story, for instance movies about Global Warming like “The Day After Tomorrow” or “Don’t Look Up” aren’t automatically “woke”)

Reducing the level of graphic violence simply to avoid an X-rating to get a wider audience and presumably more profit is a transgression of the very message of the book itself. An inverted virtue-signaling conundrum.