I had the opportunity to watch “Thor: Love and Thunder” recently, and frankly, it made me quite mad.
I know that’s maybe a hot take, but let me explain myself. See, I didn’t care too much about the sad CGI. I didn’t mind the bad jokes. What bothered me the most was the carelessness with which this entire story seemed to be crafted—and by extension, the carelessness with which Marvel has been treating its entire franchise as of late.
On the surface, the storyline of this film is fairly straightforward, as superhero movies go: we are introduced to a villain (Gorr the God Butcher), a hero (Thor, God of Thunder), and the hero’s current state of affairs (Thor has ultimately lost his sense of identity and purpose). We are given a quest to follow (children are kidnapped; Thor has to save them) and introduced to the additional key players (Jane Foster, Valkyrie, Korg the gladiator). We watch the quest unfold, witness the main characters undergo a bit of character development (maybe), and boom—the movie is complete.
Now, I have watched an adequate number of superhero movies over the past six years—especially the Marvel ones—and I know numerous issues have arisen recently. It seems the writing quality is declining, the jokes aren’t landing, and many beloved original characters are either dead or reduced to sidekicks in their own movies. The latter point has been done in part to (rightly so) introduce a new, diverse generation of superheroes—but I can say with confidence that I have a problem with how Marvel has been doing this. “Thor '' is just one film that exemplifies the company’s storytelling problems.
One main reason for the decline in production quality is Disney’s desire for massive profit. In addition to Marvel Entertainment, Disney has absorbed some of the largest filmmaking companies to date—including Lucasfilm and 21st Century Fox—over the past few years. Disney has also released more than 25 remake, sequel, and spin-off movies in the last five years. It’s clear that they’re mining nostalgia, and that’s fine—as long as they’re doing it well. But the thing is, they’re not trying to do it well. And they’re beginning to cut more corners.
Marvel specifically—already a large company before Disney acquired it—attempts to hook as many viewers as possible with palatable, non-confrontational storylines. Their unwillingness to push boundaries results in underdeveloped and even badly-written characters, especially when it comes to marginalized identities. For instance, the upcoming movie “Captain America: New World Order” has faced criticism on various social media platforms for “promoting genocide against Palestinians,” and the 2022 “Eternals” film received backlash for their disappointing South Asian representation.
In a similar vein, Marvel commentators keep a running joke going about the company’s yearly introduction of its “first” queer characters. These characters are touted as “groundbreaking” in movie promotions—but when the films actually come out, audiences are disappointed with what often turns out to be queerbaiting. With “Thor,” for instance, Marvel promised great representation in the character of Valkyrie. It turned out the film contained just a single scene where Valkyrie’s sexuality was discussed in one forced and preachy exchange.
Marvel has also historically done a bad job with their female characters. It took them ten years to give Black Widow (played by Scarlett Johanssen) her own movie, and it didn’t even introduce a female-centered film until 2019 with the release of “Captain Marvel.” And the company has been trying to change, but given its history, its current attempts to “represent” in mainstream movies have been falling rather flat.
To Marvel, "good representation" of women means making “strong female characters” without emotion, characters who are not allowed to lose a fight. They are not allowed to fail lest they show their weakness and thus no longer serve as feminist figures. In “Thor: Love and Thunder,” this is manifested in the way Natalie Portman returns to the franchise: she is given no unique spin—she literally comes back as female Thor, with all the same powers that man Thor has. But now it’s feminism because she’s a woman.
But good representation does not come from crafting “strong” characters who are so overpowered that they will never lose a fight. It does not come from simply making female versions of male superheroes or non-white versions of white superheroes. And it does not come from hailing every single LGBTQ+ character as the “first ever,” only to give them flimsy plot lines and put patronizing lines in their mouths. In doing so, the company is not empowering these individuals—it is taking away from their personhood. It is refusing them the space to have real stories.
Instead of putting new faces in old, Eurocentric narratives, we need to put new faces in new stories—stories that showcase rich cultural backgrounds and identities in sincere ways, stories that give characters the space to be multidimensional, to display vulnerability, loss, and even weakness—to ultimately experience a fuller, more dynamic range of humanity.
Some may argue that at least Marvel is trying to do better. And others may argue that it doesn’t matter the motive, so long as change is happening. To an extent, I agree: I’m glad that Marvel and Disney are putting out more minority representation, regardless of their core motives (i.e. money). There are even some standouts, like the new miniseries “Ms. Marvel,” which displays South Asian culture through more nuanced performances and better writing. But that is just one miniseries out of the numerous films and shows that Marvel has released. And something needs to change.
Good storytelling begins with compelling characters—so it cannot happen when characters are given three personality traits (“minority” being one of them) and didactic, vacant lines to hammer home how much Marvel cares about representation. I acknowledge that Disney as a whole does not have a great history in terms of these subjects. The company has a lot of racist and homophobic roots that it has spent years trying to hide. So you may wonder why I am choosing to pick at it so much when other companies are doing the work, telling the stories. To be honest, it simply frustrates me that the second largest media company in the world—and the most popular—is not trying to push more boundaries. It disappoints me that an entertainment corporation as large as Marvel is choosing to essentially be the people-pleaser of the movie industry, remaining in a safe and unassuming space. Ultimately, Marvel’s desire for profit outweighs their desire for a good story—and thus, for compelling, meaningful characters. But Marvel is reaching a breaking point. If they want to stay afloat, they have to start increasing the quality of their films. Nothing will ever be perfect, but there is always room for growth and change. And as a movie-going audience, it’s our job to start asking for much, much better.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.