As a non-New Zealander, it’s probably not surprising that I didn’t spot some of the Māori / Kiwi / Indigenous aspects of Thor: Ragnarok — from things like Valkyrie’s story to the deflating humor. But it’s fascinating and enjoyable to read about the sorts of things director Taika Waititi did here.
And since it’s referenced within this article, I’ll also point to this one for a parallel commentary:
[h/t +Doyce Testerman]
Thor and his magic patu: notes on a very Māori Marvel movie
Dan Taipua explores indigenous ideologies in Thor: Ragnarok, the blockbuster movie from the king of the space Māori, Taika Waititi.Warning: contains spoilers for Thor: Ragnarok
Without a doubt, Taika Waititi is the finest New Zealand filmmaker of his generation. At the time of writing, Thor
I found the Maori and Kiwi accents stood out sharply, but I have friends in NZ and visited them last year. I liked, that despite the many funny elements of the film, it still had a lot of KIRBY and THOR content.
+Laura Ess Oh, yes, definitely. It strays from the Thor canon, sure, and I think sometimes the humor deflates the drama a bit more than I'd like, but it's a very fun, enjoyable, rewatchable, and laudable movie, with a distinct and nifty voice to it. Given my druthers, I like Thor 1 a mite better than Thor 3, but I'd put both of them in my Top 10 Marvel Movies list, off the top of my head.
I think that if you are doing a story about Ragnarok, unless you want a downer of a movie, some humor is useful.
@Marc – True, it’s not the “feel good end-of-the-world topic” of the season.