Loki: An Allegory About Internalised Racism
Posted: December 6, 2011 | Author: Connie | Filed under: Racism | Tags: comic book movies, movies, Thor | 18 Comments »All his life Loki believed he was Aesir by blood. For years he’s been fed negative messages about Frost Giants – probably that they’re backwards, barbaric and unattractive. For years he’s participated in the Othering of an entire race (species?) and hating them for just being who they are. As the victors of war, Asgard would paint themselves as the noble and courageous warriors in every story and the Frost Giants as untrustworthy, cowardly and sly. Frost Giants are the butt of every joke. It’s clear Loki views them as disposable as everyone else in Asgard when he lets them into Asgard to be killed, just so he can make a point about Thor’s inadequacies.So what does he do when he finds out he’s adopted and biologically Jotun? Naturally, he manipulates events just so that he can commit genocide on his own people.
Maybe this sounds like a long bow to draw for people who haven’t experienced internalised racism, but in my opinion his reaction is a realistic portrayal of what racism can do to people of colour. I’m not saying anyone is going to commit genocide but that’s a lot of hate that’s being directed to people who’ve done nothing to him personally. And because Loki is a Frost Giant that’s also a lot of hate directed inwards AT HIMSELF.
Realistically, those negative messages don’t melt away the instant Loki knows about his heritage. No, what he wants now is to be accepted as Aesir “in spite of” the fact he is Jotun. Because of that he has to be more Asgardian than anyone else in Asgard. He has to hate the Frost Giants more, he has to be tough (not “soft” like Thor at the end) and he has to do something that will prove beyond doubtthat he is Aesir at least at heart.
Imagine if Loki knew he was Jotun from the beginning. His friends and family in Asgard treat him well, but still make remarks about the Frost Giants and how they’re an ugly race of people. They’d try to watch what they said around Loki, but sometimes let a racist joke or remark slip. And they’ll glance at him guiltily and think they’re helping when they clarify: “No you’re good, you’re not like the otherJotun.” Loki will grow up thinking he’s loved as long as he’s a certain “type” of Jotun and one that acts like he’s Aesir and goddamn, why wasn’t he born Aesir?
After he finds out, Loki monitors his behaviour. He makes sure he does everything Aesir, divorces himself from any Jotun-esque traits he might hold. He denounces the Frost Giants more than anyone else, he hates them and their culture and everything they are more than anyone else. He makes derogatory jokes about them, maybe even encourages others to do the same.
I read much of Loki’s pain and loss through the film as an allegory for internalised racism because I experienced it for myself for many years. Internalised racism is growing up with the message that only white people can be complex and successful and happy. Non-white ethnicity and culture is, at best, regulated to a supporting role for the privileged; at worst, it is outright hated, mocked and derided. You want to be happy right? Your brain does a little irrational flip and tells you the only way to be complex, successful and happy is to emulate a privileged person, right down to the racism.
Of course you can never be as good as a white person but you can try**. You can try to be better, and you can try to out-act their privilege. You can proudly distinguish yourself as one of the exceptions to the rule, the “good” type of minority that “acts white”. The price is giving up your heritage, distancing yourself from native cultural practices, from languages, food and clothing.
The emotional toil of loathing yourself stays until you come to terms with your own oppression. But the sense of loss has never left me. When I think back to how I was operating under internalised racism, I remember the positive experiences and opportunities I refused to take because they were too “ethnic”. I remember the deep shame of being non-white, my embarrassment of being seen with other non-white people and especially those who couldn’t “act white” enough for me.
I think about the racist things I did and got away with because of my ethnicity and I’m really glad I’m not that person anymore.
When Loki announces he wants to “destroy that race of monsters” you know, on some level, he’s referring to himself as well. And then my heart breaks into tiny pieces because I remember exactly how it feels to hate who you are.
*I realise that Thor is pretty white-washed in terms of casting and there are only two characters of colour, but nevertheless I found this storyline compelling when analysing it from a racialised point of view.
**People of colour who are able to “pass” as white will have to be a subject of another post.
Bonus author commentary! This post was also labelled “embarassing over-projection onto fictional characters” in gdocs.
I love this post. <3
This definitely comes under the heading “It’s our blog, and we’ll over-identify with Loki if we want to”.
The urge to turn this into a “It’s our blog, we’ll spam Tom Hiddleston’s face if we want to (again)” is strong, but I will resist and refresh Tumblr instead.
Brilliant. Thor is that rare movie that gets better every time I look back on it. Right after watching it my friends and I convened for a giddy re-hash of Loki’s motivations throughout and though we touched a little bit on this it wasn’t immediately clear to us. Thank you for the analysis!
Loki striving so hard to be the most Aesir of the Aesir is exactly what makes him the perfect villain. Wow.
Alright, alright. I shall now add Thor to the Netflix que…
Connie, this was beautifully written. I can tell that you are really writing from the heart, and your insights into Loki are brilliant. I had a similar feeling about the character and wasn’t sure if I was the only one who saw allegories about internalized racism and self-hatred. I was adopted as an infant from South Korea and raised in rural America as a “white” American kid. I completely understand the issues that can come with internalized racism and deep feelings of conflict that come with it. I often felt stared at by people in my hometown, especially when my parents and I went out. But I feel just as alien when I’m in more diverse areas, where I’m seen as “too white” or ignorant of my “own” culture. I love that there are characters like Loki out there (Love him so much that I cosplayed as him). Here’s hoping his character continues to grow in interesting ways after “The Avengers”! Thanks for a great read!
Oh wow, thank you for your comment! <3
I’ve also been in situations where I have felt ignorant of my cultural heritage, even appropriative when I try to adopt parts of it. Or, quite commonly, had it thrust upon me by well-meaning white people. Obviously our experiences are significantly different on some levels (you’re more Loki than I am in this instance), but I’m glad the post and this particular interpretation resonated with you. I think one of the important functions of Sci-fi/fantasy is to provide distance from otherwise controversial issues. Whether or not Thor intended this interpretation I think it is a good example of internalised racism without automatically invoking white guilt (and defensiveness and complete unwillingness to listen).
(Not to sound like a creepy internet lurker but I actually follow you on Tumblr)
Ok, so this is the third draft of this comment, as I can’t quite work out how to tell you that this post was AMAZING.
I started to write a response but it was at 2000 words before I decided that maybe it’s a blessay instead of a comment.
Although I will say that before I read this, I always interpreted Loki as the vengeful geek, so I think I may qualify for the “embarassing over-projection onto fictional characters” badge too…
I just made embarrassed and pleased noises. Thank you so much!
I have to tell you that the movie and the whole story all together is an appropriation of the cultural history and religious myths of my people, not to mention our actual pantheon, into a sexist racist comic book movie. I watched it under some duress because I love the actor who played Thor and I can not tell you how uncomfortable it was.
Of course everyone I know then shushed me. This is definitely media that falls under the problematic but pretty category!
I think we need to be careful about using the word appropriation in this context. The situation is simply not comparable to the situation of non-white peoples whose culture is used in white-dominated media, particularly in ways that are used by predominantly white filmmakers to glorify white protagonists, such as with Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai. We should reserve the word appropriation for these cases.
I feel I must also point out that no one is actually “Norse” anymore – as I’m sure you know, “Norse” refers to Scandinavian people from the 8th to the 11th century. While you clearly feel strongly about Norse myths and culture, we actually know very little about Norse religion, which has not been actively practiced for centuries. If there were people actually practicing Norse religion, we would know a great deal more about it than we do! We have their “Bible” (ie myths) but we know very, very little about their actual religious practices. It’s a dead religion which has bequeathed us a mythology, the same way the classical Greek and Roman myths come from dead religions.
Also, as soon as you start talking about ‘Norse’ (even historically) as an identity, you also start having to talk about pillaging and raping etc. because that was the main thing they exported. (Also combs. Combs are the most common thing found on Norse archeological sites.)
You should obviously feel free to be uncomfortable and annoyed on a personal level with the portrayal of the Norse gods in the context of Thor, but I think it’s important not to misuse the word ‘appropriation’ in this context and acknowledge that this is not really a social justice issue.
I think the other thing to add here is that we usually reserve the word “appropriation” to refer to the co-opting of non-white cultures because they have been systematically oppressed, colonised and victimised by white people (and still are today). None of these things ever happened to the Norse people – not only were they white, but in fact they were the perpetrators of these acts in many cases. Just as it makes no sense for a British person to complain of someone appropriating the Arthurian legends, it makes no sense for us to speak of appropriating Norse mythology.
Ugh, you are totally right. I overstated and generalized and this is definitely not a social justice issue, just a personal one.
For me the Norse legends and gods are the foundation of my religion, so the movie made me very personally uncomfortable. When you then layer the sexism and race issues on top, it makes it personally and societally problematic.
No worries, I know I’ve done the same thing with other issues myself.
Your response to being called out has been absolutely stellar. Brava!
Thank you for putting this better than I ever could have.
I can only agree.
I am white, but I had the same feeling about Loki. And being jewish isn’t far from being black in germany. you would besuprised how often people/friends tell me that “I don’t act jewish” or “look jewish” at all.
I think they did a great job with loki in the movie.
This is all so true. As a first generation American with a middle eastern background growing up post 9/11, I can’t even convey how deeply I recognize some of this in myself. Thanks for sharing and putting your experience out there.
Loki’s breakdown into genocidal rage aside, I think a lot of people could relate to him on the basis of feelings of inferiority in general, if not specifically internalized racism. It makes me really wish more media with the hero/villain dynamic fleshed out their baddies too.
Just wanted to say that I really enjoyed your article (and am so happy to have stumbled upon this entire blog)! I’m an African-American woman who grew up in an all-white town in the American South, so I totally connect with your analysis of Thor and your personal experience with internalized racism. Thanks for sharing!