fuckyeahrichardiii replied to your post “foundlingmother:
philosopherking1887:shine-of-asgard:
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It felt like the film equivalent of that move in modern comics where writers essentially douchebro beloved characters (this is especially true if IM comics) in part for the explicit purpose of alienating female fans. The whole time I was sitting in the theater I felt like I was being insulted.
Funny you should mention that, @fuckyeahrichardiii… I recently saw a post from @flange5 where she referred to that kind of behavior by male comics writers (in reference specifically to Iron Man comics, I think) as “fencepost-pissing,” because they’re making a point of “leaving their mark” on the character rather than remaining consistent with the character as it’s been established previously. I remarked that according to that definition, Taika Waititi is also a fencepost-pisser.
YES! This is absolutely true, and a great way of thinking about the movie. I didn’t watch a lot of interviews (and tbh have had the tag for the movie blocked for a while since seeing stuff from it made me so upset) but the teeny bit I did see gave me the impression that TW seemed happy to made his mark on the franchise and to have given us an All New, All Different!™️ Thor. And given the fact that his main point of pride is that Thor was “funny” (to some people, I guess, though not to me), this is a pretty simplistic take on character innovation.
This new Thor was lobotomized, buffoonish, and, well, cruel. But the entire movie seemed to be characterized by a kind of cruelty, in a way. Not only did it lack a heart and soul, but it displayed contempt for the very idea of any kind of genuine earnestness, and clearly open contempt for the storylines and character development in the earlier movies.
That’s one of the several reasons why stupid comments comparing TW’s Thor to that of Kirby and Lee send me into a hate spiral: not only are these comparisons wrong on aesthetic grounds (Ragnarok seemed to be drawing its over-the-top look from the goofy brightness of 90s comics) but they absolutely ignore the fact that Kirby and Lee? Loved. These. Characters. The earnest affection that bubbles out of 60s comics, and absolute seriousness with which Thor’s emotional ups and downs are treated, are the antithesis of what TW did with Ragnarok.
Taika Waititi pissed on his fence post, alright. He also left a giant stinking turd in the yard.