Taiko Waititi was not fooling around

So, I'd heard about how very, very obviously Taiko Waititi put his ethnic stamp on Thor: Ragnarok, how indigenous-focused the movie is.  Like, at the end, Valkyrie (played by an indigenous woman, with a storyline that reflects the experiences of indigenous peoples) arrives to save the day in a ship painted in the colors of the indigenous flag.  And there's a significant number of indigenous peoples in supporting and background roles, in addition to Valkyrie.  But I wasn't expecting much, because the examples I'd heard (the indigenous flag one) were ones that seemed ... safely background.  Like, indigenous peoples who care about their heritage will probably get the flag color on the ship, but most white people won't.  I am a white person who tries to be an ally, and I wouldn't have noticed without it being pointed out.  So it's the kind of thing Marvel could safely throw as a bone to people of color without making a statement that would offend any racist white people who saw the movie.

But folks, I was wrong.  Here is an exchange from the movie (approximate, since I don't remember exactly):

Topaz: tells the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum that there is a slave revolt)
Grandmaster: I don't like that word
exchange between Topaz and Grandmaster while she figures out which word he doesn't like, and it turns out it's the word "slave"
Topaz: So, the 'prisoners with jobs' are revolting ...

Explicitly, in the movie, is a statement that 'prisoners with jobs'='slaves'  What a commentary on the modern police state and prison-industrial complex!

That was the biggest one, and I just had to share it.

Also, I've been sad that there was no Jane because I like Natalie Portman and I think the Jane/Thor relationship was a rare example of a het romantic relationship in movies that neither diminishes the woman nor is devoid of actual chemistry.  But I'm not sad any more, because Valkyrie is awesome, and boy howdy did she and Thor have chemistry.

I haven't seen a Marvel movie since Winter Soldier, but I'm glad I made an exception for Thor.