Midsommar, 2019
November 14, 2022 | CAROLINA MEJIA
Midsommar (2019) starring Florence Pugh is an A24 daylight-horror film. The movie begins by revealing that Dani (Florence Pugh) has recently suffered a large trauma in which her family was killed in an apparent murder-suicide. Her boyfriend, Christian, is disinterested in the relationship but continues to stay with Dani primarily out of pity and because her mental health is decreasing rapidly due to the grief. Friends of Christian see Dani as a burden and think it would be best if he broke up with her, to which Christian agrees but feels bad leaving her at such a difficult time in her life. Christian plans to visit Sweden with his fellow grad-student friends, Josh and Mark, who have been invited by their friend, Pelle, to experience his ancestral commune’s midsommar festival in Sweden that occurs only once every 90 years. While they originally planned to not tell Dani, she finds out that they are all going and asks to come along.
Throughout the film, Dani shows signs of severe anxiety and PTSD, often having panic attacks and going away to cry. As they arrive at Pelle's commune in Sweden, an uneasy feeling rises in contrast to the beautiful, open scenery. The Härga people are extremely hospitable and display a deep appreciation for community and shared experiences. The group is first made to witness an Ättestupa ceremony in which elders will throw themselves off a cliff when they turn 72 so that they will not have to be cared for by the others. After this, members of the grad-student group begin to mysteriously disappear. The next day, Dani and Christian are separated from each other and both given a hallucinogenic tea made from psychedelic mushrooms. Christian partakes in a mating ceremony in which a dozen of the Härga women mimic the moans of another Härga woman as she has sex with Christian. Dani accidently sees this ritual, feels heartbroken, and runs away to have a panic attack. A group of women comfort Dani and join her as she cries, once again, emphasizing the importance of shared experiences and emotions in the community. She is crowned as “May Queen” after competing in a hallucinogenic dance competition amongst the women.
The grad-students, which have all disappeared up until this point, are revealed as stuffed corpses that the Härga plan to sacrifice in their final ceremony. Dani is given the choice to either sacrifice another member of the Härga community or Christian, who has been drugged and stuffed inside of a bear. She chooses Christian and watches him burn with the others inside a temple. The community wails and cries while the temple burns, mourning and empathizing with their deaths. At the end of the movie, Dani is shown weeping and crying with Härga as the temple burns. She is draped head to toe in beautiful, ornate flowers. She frowns and then, slowly, begins to smile.
Midsommar offers interesting perspectives on life, death, and morality. Care ethics can heavily be applied to these perspectives as the film draws attention to the power of emotions, empathy, love, and support. Care ethics are a type of ethical theory that recognizes care as a virtue and stresses the importance of compassion and human relationships. It argues that there is a direct correlation between morality and care. This theory came into circulation during the second half of the 21st century from feminist thinkers such as Carol Gilligan, Nel Noddings, Anette Baier, and Virginia Held. Most ethical theories focus on reason and autonomy. However, those who argue for the ethics of care maintain that basing morality off of logic and reasoning is unrealistic because caring is an essential part of life and emotions are attached to everything. Feminist thinkers contend that there is a difference between the reasoning of men and women because women are raised to be caretakers and encouraged to be more in touch with their emotions.
Hence, care is a fundamental part of moral reasoning for women. Despite the separate positions of men and women, care ethics are not only exclusive to women. Most ethical theories do not consider humanity and empathy when it comes to decision making or moral reasoning. The straightforward approach towards ethicality ignores the human nature and empathy that exists in us all.
Care ethics can specifically apply to Midsommar because of how Dani’s experience with the Hälga helps her to overcome the death of her family and make up for the support Christian was not able to/ willing to provide. Upon immediate interaction with the Hälga, Dani is introduced to a completely different world than the one she was living in. The people are inviting and welcoming to her. They validate her emotions and offer her care and empathy. It is starkly different in comparison to her interactions with the grad-students and Christian who make her feel like a burden and unwanted. This seemingly makes Dani the perfect target for a cult as she has little ties to the outside world, is in a vulnerable state, and seeking consolation. The Härga continuously hide behind a mask of caring while committing acts of horror. For instance, most of the grad-students were terror-stricken and disturbed after witnessing the ceremony in which elders threw themselves off of a cliff. The scene is extremely graphic and unsettling however,
Pelle immediately explains how the ceremony was a sign of empathy and not death, putting a postive spin on a horrifying act. The Härga offer a completely different perspective on life then what is taught in Western Society. Through Dani’s experience, it is almost easy to understand why she was able to assimilate so easily despite being exposed to such a foreign environment. With each new terrifying event, the Härga rope her deeper and deeper into their community– giving her more explanations, more insight, and more excuses as to why murderous things were happening. The close attention and care that they provide Dani with eclipses her ability to sense danger. Although she should have been scared or frightened by the things that were happening around her, all she could feel was an overwhelming sense of love. This allowed for her to feel free and happy for the first time in a long time because she had previously associated death with feelings of anxiety and depression while greiving the loss of her family. When she finally smiles at the end of the film it is a sign of relief because she knows that as long as she stays with the Härga, she will never feel alone.
Midsommar displays a scary side of human nature that can only truly be understood by those who deeply and painstakingly care. Desperation for love and support is not an experience only unique to women, but can be associated with the roles that women are expected to play in society. The notion that a woman must be endlessly devoted to her husband and her children— a caretaker, a provider, and a source of comfort— leads most women to correlate love with validation. Signs of affection serve as validation because it means that a woman is fulfilling her maternal duties and in align with the societies expectations of women. Hence, if the people around a woman show a lack of affection, it is easier for it to feel like a personal attack on their character. The fact the women are also expected to be the ones who give love, leaves them with little room to actually receive it. This leads many women to crave love or validation because they are not so easily provided with the same level of affection that they give others. While some may associate this as a specifically female weakness, it is reality of life and human nature. Everyone desires love but in the woman’s case, it is exasperated by social roles and expectations. Dani’s character in Midsommar displays a woman who is in desperate need of support and care, actively being rejected by her boyfriend and friends. She is a character that most people can relate to specifically because of her yearn for love.
The justifications that the Härga provide for their actions ties in directly to the basic principles of care ethics. They maintain that no act done in the service of love or devotion can be evil. However, this is an extreme interpretation and can come with dangerous consequences. The grad-students were unaware of the horrors that they would face when they agreed to travel to Sweden. Although they were not exactly virtuous people and mistreated Dani, their deaths cannot be justified by the Härga’s intentions. Midsommar aims to offer commentary on the destructive nature of love more than its beauty, compelling viewers to consider the extreme sides of empathy and care without denying the need for its existence. It brings to life a common saying in a terrifying sense: “Kill them with kindness.”