Movie review
October 2, 2017 · 131 min · PG-13
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
Thor: Ragnarok follows the God of Thunder imprisoned on Sakaar as he races back to Asgard to battle his sister Hela, who seeks to restore its old empire through conquest and destruction. The story blends gladiatorial fights, humor, and a final choice to burn down the homeland to save its people as refugees. The narrative centers on exposing Asgard’s imperial history of genocide and lies as the engine for conflict and Thor’s arc, with director comments tying it to real-world relevance and race-swapped casting for Heimdall and Valkyrie drawing public diversity complaints.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Thor: Ragnarok.
Woke representation / casting
Race swaps for Heimdall (Idris Elba) and Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) from traditional white comic/lore depictions sparked visible backlash as forced diversity.
Woke political dialogue
Hela’s lines expose Asgard’s conquest history and resource plunder, with the director calling it relevant today, but no modern activist language or lectures appear.
Identity-driven story themes
The premise and character arcs center on dismantling Asgard’s revisionist imperial legacy in favor of a diverse refugee future, with subtle queer coding noted for Valkyrie.
Western institutional / cultural critique
The story critiques traditional empire-building, historical denial, and glory narratives as destructive forces that must be rejected, with explicit colonial guilt framing linked to real-world parallels by the director.
Woke character or canon changes
Race and interpretive changes to Heimdall and Valkyrie from established comic canon and Norse-inspired source material.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Backlash targeted casting as woke forced diversity and social engineering from fans and groups; themes drew some anti-alt-right praise but limited direct plot-focused “too woke” complaints.
Creator track record context
Taika Waititi’s indigenous advocacy, crew choices, and interview comments on the story’s relevance show a pattern of cultural and anti-imperial inflection.
Production
