Pride Watch Finale! Thor: Ragnarok
Jul. 3rd, 2018 12:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
glitter_n_goreA couple days late, but who's counting?
When I first saw this movie back in November 2017, this is what I had to say:
“Ragnarok is a queer space opera pride fest made of rainbow fireworks and lightning and I need to see it ten more times.”
Having achieved that (I think--I lost count of my rewatches at 7), I am still not tired of this movie, I still love it to bits, and I want to live in it.
But what I was going to say has been slightly overshadowed by one Tessa Thompson, aka Valkyrie, aka Real Life Badass Warrior Queen, COMING. OUT.
GIF Valkyrie power-walking down the rainbow bridge as fireworks go off behind her
Source.
THAT'S how you drop a mic at the end of Pride Month.
Do I need to include a trailer for this one? Have we all seen it? No? Well go watch it if you haven't, and then come back because I'm holding back no squee here. Ragnarok is far and away the best of the Thor movies, the only one I've seen in theaters twice, and already the one I've rewatched the most despite only having had it on DVD for a few months. I am a little annoyed by a particular corner of the internet who keeps insisting it's the only good Thor movie, but never mind. We all know they're wrong and bandwagoning isn't going to fool anyone.
If you weren't aware of this, Valkyrie in the comics is bisexual. I haven't read the comics, but I do remember Tessa Thompson working hard to make sure everyone knew she was playing Valkyrie as bi, and persuading director/writer/actor Taika Waititi to film a scene that more explicitly confirmed her character's attraction to women, AND marching a pack of other female actors into Marvel's head office to say, "Hey, we need an all-female Marvel movie. What's the hold-up?" ALL of this happened, and I still remember people saying she shouldn't be playing Valkyrie because straight actors shouldn't play queer characters.
I hope you are all extremely embarrassed right now. See, this is why I think the "Only queer actors should play queer characters" thing is a bit rubbish. You don't know someone's sexuality until they tell you. Moreover, I thought we were supposed to be fighting this straight-as-default thing. We hate it when it happens to us. Why keep applying that assumption when the target is famous? And why push people out of the closet before they’re ready--another thing we’re supposed to not be in favor of, by the way? What I'm getting at is, while I think it's awesome that Thompson is out, and I am thrilled to add her to my List of Famous Bisexuals (yes, I have a list), she shouldn't have had to do that in order for queer girls like me--especially queer girls of color--to love her, and Valkyrie, in this movie.
And for the most part--we did! Yeah, this scene:
Loki vs Valkyrie fight scene. With health bars added in. Because, why not?
Don’t ask why this scene in particular made my queer fangirl heart sing, it would take WAY too much time and I’ve spent too long on this post already. But it did, and I wasn’t alone in feeling that way about it. The prevailing attitude when I got back from the theater the first time, especially in the bisexual fandom corner, was people squealing with delight, and feeling seen and catered to for the first time in our lives.
Listen: I know this movie has flaws. Everything made by humans inevitably has flaws. A lot of queerness in this film is subtext and head canon still. (See my Covenant review for my thoughts on subtext and head canons.) I just don't care right now. Probably never will. This movie makes me happy. And honestly? I feel like that should be enough.
When I first saw this movie back in November 2017, this is what I had to say:
“Ragnarok is a queer space opera pride fest made of rainbow fireworks and lightning and I need to see it ten more times.”
Having achieved that (I think--I lost count of my rewatches at 7), I am still not tired of this movie, I still love it to bits, and I want to live in it.
But what I was going to say has been slightly overshadowed by one Tessa Thompson, aka Valkyrie, aka Real Life Badass Warrior Queen, COMING. OUT.
GIF Valkyrie power-walking down the rainbow bridge as fireworks go off behind her
Source.
THAT'S how you drop a mic at the end of Pride Month.
Do I need to include a trailer for this one? Have we all seen it? No? Well go watch it if you haven't, and then come back because I'm holding back no squee here. Ragnarok is far and away the best of the Thor movies, the only one I've seen in theaters twice, and already the one I've rewatched the most despite only having had it on DVD for a few months. I am a little annoyed by a particular corner of the internet who keeps insisting it's the only good Thor movie, but never mind. We all know they're wrong and bandwagoning isn't going to fool anyone.
If you weren't aware of this, Valkyrie in the comics is bisexual. I haven't read the comics, but I do remember Tessa Thompson working hard to make sure everyone knew she was playing Valkyrie as bi, and persuading director/writer/actor Taika Waititi to film a scene that more explicitly confirmed her character's attraction to women, AND marching a pack of other female actors into Marvel's head office to say, "Hey, we need an all-female Marvel movie. What's the hold-up?" ALL of this happened, and I still remember people saying she shouldn't be playing Valkyrie because straight actors shouldn't play queer characters.
I hope you are all extremely embarrassed right now. See, this is why I think the "Only queer actors should play queer characters" thing is a bit rubbish. You don't know someone's sexuality until they tell you. Moreover, I thought we were supposed to be fighting this straight-as-default thing. We hate it when it happens to us. Why keep applying that assumption when the target is famous? And why push people out of the closet before they’re ready--another thing we’re supposed to not be in favor of, by the way? What I'm getting at is, while I think it's awesome that Thompson is out, and I am thrilled to add her to my List of Famous Bisexuals (yes, I have a list), she shouldn't have had to do that in order for queer girls like me--especially queer girls of color--to love her, and Valkyrie, in this movie.
And for the most part--we did! Yeah, this scene:
Loki vs Valkyrie fight scene. With health bars added in. Because, why not?
Don’t ask why this scene in particular made my queer fangirl heart sing, it would take WAY too much time and I’ve spent too long on this post already. But it did, and I wasn’t alone in feeling that way about it. The prevailing attitude when I got back from the theater the first time, especially in the bisexual fandom corner, was people squealing with delight, and feeling seen and catered to for the first time in our lives.
Listen: I know this movie has flaws. Everything made by humans inevitably has flaws. A lot of queerness in this film is subtext and head canon still. (See my Covenant review for my thoughts on subtext and head canons.) I just don't care right now. Probably never will. This movie makes me happy. And honestly? I feel like that should be enough.