A key reason behind Thor: Ragnarok’s success has been its humor, its theme, and the feel that it provides about taking the viewers on a sleek adventure through the legendary fantasy world of the MCU.
Underneath the garb of all the adventure and humor of Thor: Ragnarok is a portrayal of various themes visible in the modern political scenario and by showing Asgard’s ultimate destruction, it serves as a reminder that the lines on the map are never more important than the people who live inside those lines.
Hela is pivotal to all these themes and she just wants to make Asgard great again. The writing team of Eric Pearson, Craig Kyle, Christopher Yost and director Taika Waititi took creative liberties while depicting the origin story of the Asgardian goddess of death, thus, letting her become a symbolism of the return of nationalistic fervor in the political equations.
Odin, the Allfather of Asgard is Hela’s father. She was there when Asgard aspired to become an empire and wasn’t shy of succeeding via a military conquest and forcibly overtaking other peoples. That was the time when by using the force, they brought the nine realms under control.
Everyone in Asgard seems to have forgotten that period because when violence grew too strong, Odin exchanged conquest in lieu of diplomacy as his political masterstroke and he tried his best to put the nasty past of Asgard behind, as well as his daughter.
However, the fragile peace established by Odin is torn apart courtesy Loki, who pulls too many tricks to gain political power. Odin’s death gives Hela a chance to come back and to put in place an “Asgard First” policy in the realm.
In the course, who was to be Hela’s executioner? Skurge, a working-class Asgardian who only seeks recognition and to have a purpose in life. There is a sequence in Thor: Ragnarok which shows Hela asking Skurge about himself and that’s probably the most crucial in the film. Skurge starts talking about how his father was a stone mason; she interrupts him quickly. She is not interested in knowing much about Skurge. However, she takes advantage of his wish to prove himself as a loyal Asgardian and offers to make him a part of something much bigger than himself.
After Hela gains control of Asgard, it comes to Thor, the next generation of Asgard’s rulers to amend things. Thor is a born royal and his journey to Asgard as well as loss of hammer makes him understand how those beyond the elite class exist and the fact that his strength wasn’t dependent upon the gift his father gave to him, but, came from within.
Thor then raises a coalition of people keen to protect Asgard. Loki, the clever guy, now feels responsible, Valkyrie, a veteran warrior who had become disenchanted with Asgard’s rulers, Bruce Banner, the smartest and angriest person at any given time and Heimdall, a colored guy who is at the forefront of the domestic resistance and also Korg, Miek and some other refugees from Sakaar who come to Asgard.
The film’s themes reach a crescendo in the end. Hela is powered by Asgard, the place known by the land existing within its geographical boundaries, and that’s a typical nationalist opinion.
The core message is that Asgard is its people, not the location. The moral is that a nation is never superior to the people inhabiting it. This truth is the one that compelled Thor to make a sacrifice that finally ended Hela’s threat. Asgard, the nation is destroyed to protect Asgard, the people. Asgard becomes a population of refugees. Korg was lyrically talking about what a brand new, inclusive Asgard would be like just before the landmass blew up.
Thor: Ragnarok is a positive story for those who consider nationalism as an unwanted thought. Ultimately, Skurge understood Hela’s deception and made a warrior’s sacrifice. Loki no longer focused on using his wit to gain power, but, to use it to destroy a demagogue. The nation of Asgard and its people gain more diversity and though, they lost their soil, they are more determined for the future.
Thor: Ragnarok is currently playing in theaters.
