Burnwinter wrote:I can imagine finding it pretty troublesome if I were from Sweden.
I think it's more that it felt like such a missed opportunity. There's so much self-gratification and ugliness in both Sweden and Scandinavian culture that they could've addressed; look at Denmark's treatment of muslims for instance, or the rise of the Swedish Democrats and the way they've made it their mission to co-opt and weaponising traditions by gaslighting people into thinking they represent and mean something they don't.
The actual horror in the latter case isn't about some weird old pagan rituals surviving in a fenced-off community; it comes from the neofascistic attempt to reinterpret cultural moments that have already been de-mythologised to the point where they carry absolutely no religious or nationalistic affiliation anymore. Consider this: half of this country don't even know we have a national day, and half of the other half think it's Midsummer. The only sacred Christmas tradition we have revolves around watching an old clip show with Donald Duck at 3 o'clock every Christmas Eve (I'm not making this up!). It took me until my teens to realise that the origins of Christmas had anything to do with Christianity since the whole holiday has been so decoded.
I don't reckon America, looking at traditions from the point of view of a fundamentally Christian country, has ever understood just how disconnected they are from their roots over here, but it's a crucial thing to understand about Sweden if you want to understand where the modern nazis will do the most damage. The first thing that will go is the quirky culture of inclusivity. It's not a coincidence that Jimmie Ã…kesson, a man who I'd bet every cent in my pockets has never watched a Bergman film or read a book by Karin Boye, dresses up in a traditional folk dress every year and does a photo session where he talks about how multiculturalism is a threat towards the Quintessential Swedish Culture.
Midsommar as a movie doesn't get this at all of course; in fact, by using the weight of tradition as the backcloth for Alice's evolving trauma, I'd argue it gets it wrong to the degree where it plays into the hands of the Swedish Democrats. Mock the traditions of old by involving foreigners and partying people who disregard this Serious Ancient Culture and you'll get what's coming.
These weird-as-shit and completely made up traditions, clothes and settings in the movie are further highlighted by the otherworldly aesthetic choices, such as shooting it in a completely different country where trees, houses and people look all wrong, and imitating artworks which are supposedly inspired by rather obscure frescos (which by all means might have a wikipedia page devoted to them that a cultural researcher could stumble over) that are lost on any domestic audience. It's a fictional tale about a fictional country.
There's more, but these are some of my main issues. I do think there's a real horror movie waiting to be made about this place, but the horror will be found in assimilation and revision, not in ancient rites.
