“We come from the land of the ice and snow”: De-colonising superhero cinema through music
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7146/politik.v23i1.120311Keywords:
Led Zeppelin, Marvel, Thor: Ragnarok, Postcolonialism, Film, MusicAbstract
In this short intervention we examine the relationship between Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song and the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Thor: Ragnarok. We do this to highlight the doubleness of both texts’ meaning, which gives each an aura of postcolonial subversion. This relation is important because in this case Immigrant Song was central to the production of Ragnarok, with director Taika Waititi allowing the song to suffuse the film from its inception. When we speak of music in film, we must also consider the deeper role of music in inspiring the tone of various filmic productions.
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Singer, M. (2002). “Black Skins" and White Masks: Comic Books and the Secret of Race. African American Review, vol. 36(1), pp. 107-119. http://doi.org/10.2307/2903369.
Stahl, M. (2013). Unfree Masters: Popular music and the politics of work. Durham: Duke University Press. http://doi.org/10.1215/9780822395775.
Thor. (2011). [DVD]. Directed by K. Branagh. Paramount Pictures.
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Dittmer, J. (2007). “America is Safe While its Boys and Girls Believe in its Creeds!”: Captain America and American identity prior to World War 2. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, vol. 25(3), pp. 401-423. https://doi.org/10.1068/d1905.
Dittmer, J. (2013). Captain America and the Nationalist Superhero: Metaphors, narratives, and geopolitics. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Dolan, J., Doyle, P., Tannenbaum, R., Hermes, W., Wolk, D. and Rafferty, B. (2019). The 40 Greatest Led Zeppelin Songs of All Time. Rolling Stone. Available at: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/the-40-greatest-led-zeppelin-songs-of-all-time-154694/good-times-bad-times-1969-169350/.
Erao, M. (2017). Thor: Ragnarok Trailer Song Helped Get Director Hired. Screenrant. Available at: https://screenrant.com/thor-ragnarok-trailer-song-director/.
Frith, S. and McRobbie, A. (1990). Rock and Sexuality. In: S. Frith and A. Goodman, ed. On Record: Rock, Pop and the Written Word. London: Routledge, pp. 317-332.
Gavaler, C. (2018). Superhero Comics. London: Bloomsbury Academic.
Gilroy, P. (1993). The Black Atlantic: Modernity and double consciousness. London: Verso.
Guerrasio, J. (2017). It Took the Entire Making of 'Thor: Ragnarok' for Marvel to Finally Nab the Rights to a Led Zeppelin Song. Business Insider. Available at: https://www.businessinsider.com/led-zeppelin-immigrant-song-in-thor-ragnarok-2017-11?r=US&IR=T.
Jarvis, B. (1985). The truth is only known by guttersnipes. In: J. Burgess and J.R. Gold, Geography, the media, and popular culture. London: Croom Helm, pp. 96-122.
Leane, R. (2017). Thor: Ragnarok – Director Taika Waititi Interview. Den of Geek. Available at: https://www.denofgeek.com/uk/movies/taika-waititi/52768/thor-ragnarok-director-taika-waititi-interview.
Marcus, G. (1975). Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock n’ Roll music. London: Omnibus Press.
Robinson, J. (2017). Thor: Ragnarok Proves Marvel Is Not Afraid to Learn from Its Mistakes. Vanity Fair. Available at: https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/11/thor-ragnarok-chris-hemsworth-mark-ruffalo-interview-best-thor-movie.
Singer, M. (2002). “Black Skins" and White Masks: Comic Books and the Secret of Race. African American Review, vol. 36(1), pp. 107-119. http://doi.org/10.2307/2903369.
Stahl, M. (2013). Unfree Masters: Popular music and the politics of work. Durham: Duke University Press. http://doi.org/10.1215/9780822395775.
Thor. (2011). [DVD]. Directed by K. Branagh. Paramount Pictures.
Thor: The Dark World. (2013). [DVD]. Directed by A. Taylor. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
Thor: Ragnarok. (2017). [DVD]. Directed by T. Waititi. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
Waksman, S. (2001). Instruments of desire: the electric guitar and the shaping of musical Experience. Harvard University Press: Cambridge.
Welch, C. (1998). Led Zeppelin: Dazed and Confused. London: Carlton.
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Published
2020-05-27
How to Cite
AlAwadhi, D., & Dittmer, J. (2020). “We come from the land of the ice and snow”: De-colonising superhero cinema through music. Politik, 23(1). https://doi.org/10.7146/politik.v23i1.120311
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