[Warning--Spoiler Alert]
A Reflection on Immigration? Climate Change? Both? Thor: Ragnarok (2017) destroys not only Asgard but also the tone of Marvel movies. At times the humor bordered on the campy. At first, I almost couldn't take the movie seriously as part of the Marvel franchise. It seemed more of a parody or spoof. The movie poster/artwork itself was a clue that the heroic seriousness reflected in the primary colors of red and blue along with white to symbolize America has changed. The artwork utilizes the lighter end of the rainbow with greens, oranges, and yellows, which indicate some playfulness and light. There were one-liners and slapstick comedy from the very beginning with Thor hanging sideways trussed up in chains and having to interrupt his conversation with apologies to the destroyer-monster Sutur as he spins slowly around and away from facing the monster until he can continue the conversation when he is again facing him. Then the love-hate sibling rivalry relationship between Thor and Loki is ramped up as Loki is content with staying on the new planet Sakaar, which suits his scheming, opportunity-seizing personality more than Asgard, while Thor is determined to go back and save his home world. During a moment of brotherly cooperation, they pull what seems to be an old trick of theirs from childhood (and straight out of “Slapstick 101”)—the “Get Help” ruse of taking others off guard with Thor half-carrying Loki and then throwing him into the crowd of adversaries. As the movie progresses, the reason for the campy humor becomes apparent and true to any Shakespearean tragedy--comic relief from the inconceivable--the destruction of Asgard. Asgard represents an entire civilization and culture dating back to the beginnings of time: a culture whose influence had reached across galaxies to become one of Earth's major mythologies. The campy humor also masked probably the most serious message yet delivered by a Marvel movie--people are more important than geographical places and even the highest and most revered of peoples can be reduced to refugee status. A line in various forms noticeably repeated by Odin, and by Thor in the end, is: "Asgard is not a place. It never was...Asgard is where our people stand." How will Asgardians be received by the people of Earth? Will they be welcomed? Or will they be received with distrust, suspicion, and signs reading, "Send them back"? Even at the beginnings of Western civilization, the Greeks practiced Xenia (from the Greek for "hospitality" according to Dictionary.com). You never knew if you were entertaining a god, and if heaven help you if you slighted the undercover god. Literally, when the Asgardians arrive, Thor will be the god among them searching for a new home. Why has our civilization regressed? What has driven us back to the edge of uncivilized behavior and denial of what science is telling us? Fear and Greed. The fear we will lose what we consider to be our rightful inheritance and place in this one particular world; this world that is now on the brink of being past the point of no return from irrevocable climate change that will destroy whole ecosystems, plant and animal species, along with significant populations of humans. What if that is stripped from us? How will we respond? In the manner of Loki? Hurt, vengeful, and not caring if it all goes up in flames or sinks down below the ocean? Or like Thor? Albeit hurt and crushed, but hopeful and willing to make a new start? What do we have left? Honor and dignity. Even though fictional, the Asgardians at the end of the movie show how to move forward with grace.
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[Warning--Spoiler Alert]
Thor: Ragnarok (2017) destroys not only Asgard but also the tone of Marvel movies. At times the humor bordered on the campy. At first I almost couldn't take the movie seriously as part of the Marvel franchise. As the movie progressed, the reason for the campy humor became apparent--comic relief from the inconceivable--the destruction of Asgard. Asgard represented an entire civilization and culture dating back to the beginnings of time: a culture whose influence had reached across galaxies to become one of Earth's major mythologies. The campy humor also masked probably the most serious message yet delivered by a Marvel movie--people are more important than geographical places and even the highest and most revered of peoples can be reduced to refugee status. A line in various forms noticeably repeated by Odin and by Thor in the end is: "Asgard is not a place. It never was...Asgard is where our people stand." How will Asgardians be received by the people of Earth? Will they be welcomed? Or will they be received with distrust, suspicion, and signs reading, "Send them back"? Even at the beginnings of Western civilization, the Greeks practiced Xenia (from the Greek for "hospitality" Dictionary.com). You never knew if you were entertaining a god. Literally, when the Asgardians arrive, Thor will be the god among them searching for a new home. Why has our civilization regressed? What has driven us back to the edge of uncivilized behavior? Fear and Greed. The fear we will lose what we consider to be our rightful inheritance and place in this one particular world. What if that is stripped from us? What do we have left? Honor and dignity. Even though fictional, the Asgardians at the end of the movie show how to move forward with grace. |
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