Chapter 4 of “The Untitled MCU Project” takes a look at 2011’s “Thor”. The further I find myself engulfed in this project, the more I realize how ultimately applicable the lessons I’m extracting are to our survival during the current global pandemic. Not only do we find ourselves in a completely unprecedented situation, but we are attempting to tackle an enormous problem without anything closely resembling capable leadership on a national level. We are are now more than 40 days into our statewide “Safer at Home” order, and Thor has revealed some of the most presently applicable life and leadership lessons yet.

Thor is particularly interesting to me, mostly because he’s so far the only “mythical” superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Both Iron Man and The Hulk were essentially the results of science experiments, where Thor is not even from Earth, but hails from the kingdom of Asgard.

Here are my favorite life and leadership lessons from Thor.

Lesson 1: Pride and Vanity Does Not a Good Leader Make

Near the beginning of the film, The Frost Giants of Jotunheim attack Thor’s home kingdom of Asgard on the same day that Thor is supposed to be crowned king as he takes over the throne from his father, Odin. The attack ultimately postpones the transition of the throne to Odin’s eldest son. Thor is furious that his father is not interested in retaliation. He insists that the Jotuns must learn to fear Thor, just as they learned to fear Odin in previous wars. Odin responds, “That’s pride and vanity talking, not leadership. You’ve forgotten everything I’ve taught you about a warrior’s patience”.

Thor is under the assumption that being a good leader means that you are feared by your enemies and revered by your constituents. Leadership is not defined by being “bossy” and forcing compliance through fear, or by the “whatever I say goes” mentality. Leadership is not an immediate result of a given title. No, rather, a true leader is someone who inspires, someones who motivates a group to strive for a common objective.

In our current climate, however, it is truly so interesting to see how much pride and vanity is overwhelming even the slight potential for true leadership to shine through. The need to bolster the ego often comes from a place of overwhelming insecurity, and at no time in history has this been more apparent than now. Self-serving validation under the guise of leadership is not only ineffective, but it’s also dangerous. Odin was not feared by the Jotuns because of his ruling with an iron fist. No, instead they feared him because of his stern and capable leadership abilities. His calm in a crisis allowed him to mobilize his soldiers and his army during the original war with the Frost Giants. The goal is always to be ready for war, but ideally to never have to engage.

Pride and vanity tell us we need to be the center of attention and by being such, we are automatically assumed to be a great leader. But it is not the one who yells the loudest that truly motivates people or is able to successfully lead a group long-term. If we want to be a truly successful leader, we must lead from the middle and not be so ignorant as to think that we won’t make mistakes. As humans, we make mistakes. None of us are without flaws. However, where the real flaw lies is when we let our pride and vanity conjure up some lie that we are somehow better than others just because of the title we are given.

The most relative example of this is on display with our current national leadership. Unfortunately, we have a President who cares far more about his image, his pride, his vanity, and his ego than he does about being (or learning how to be) a competent leader. I truly don’t believe that anyone with even a shred of critical thinking ability could honestly and truthfully look at the way the response to this global pandemic has been handled and give it a 5 star review. A true leader knows that they may not be the smartest in the room, but they do take the opportunity to collaborate with a team of experts to in order to assist when it comes to making difficult decisions. I do believe that our greatest leaders are those who have set aside pride and vanity and instead have been in the trenches willing to roll up their sleeves and put in the hard work necessary to succeed.

Lesson 2: We Each Have Different Coping Mechanisms

When Thor’s friends from Asgard are mulling over how they are going to get the Bifrost open in order to get to Earth and bring Thor back to help fight the battle that is brewing, Volstagg is eating copious amounts of food. He is criticized for eating at such a difficult time and says, “Do not mistake my appetite for apathy”. He is stressed about how he is going to help get Thor back to Asgard to restore his proper role of King while Loki is claiming that Odin has died and is wrecking havoc throughout all of Asgard. Thor’s other friends are assuming that because of his choice to eat, that he is apathetic to the problem at hand. However, this happens to be the coping mechanism that works best for Volstagg.

In times of crisis, stress, and grief, we all have different coping mechanisms that we resort to in order to get through a tough time in our lives. I think this is an important lesson to pay attention to both in times of the current global pandemic as well as after. I’m not saying that emotional eating is always the healthiest choice for coping, but let’s be honest, so many of us have definitely been there. (Did I eat 4 brownies yesterday? Yes. Do I feel bad about that? No.) While we try to navigate the current climate of global grief (better described as a total clusterf***) sometimes it’s nice to have the reminder that “it’s ok to not be ok”.

Lesson 3: Stay Curious

I think many of us have the habit of often remaining in a very fixed mindset about who we are “supposed” to be and about how the world works. Near the end of the film, there is an exchange between Thor and Dr. Erik Selvig where Thor realizes he didn’t have it all figured out.

Thor: “You know I had it all backwards. I had it all wrong.”
Erik Selvig: “It’s not a bad thing finding out that you don’t have all the answers. You start asking the right questions.”

Thor: “For the first time in my life, I have no idea what I’m supposed to do.”
Erik Selvig: “Anyone who’s ever going to find his way in the world, has to start by admitting he doesn’t know…”

By staying curious throughout our lives, we have the opportunity to expand upon who we are and discover more about ourselves than if we would by remaining in a fixed mindset. This is also a great invitation for innovative problem-solving. If we move away from the “I already know everything there is to know” mentality, we have the opportunity to look at problems from a different angle, which will often lead to a better, “less stuck” solution. Right now, many of us may feel lost, like we don’t know what we are supposed to do, but maybe this is the greatest gift we could ever receive. Once we admit that we don’t have all the answers, we can start, as suggested in the film, to start asking the right questions.

The further I get into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the more I realize how truly applicable the fictional lessons are to our real-life circumstances. And while some days of this “safer at home” order completely zap all creative energy away from me, I still look forward to the days where I am able to share with you my favorite lessons and photos inspired by these films.

Thor

Photography By: Krystyn Slack