“As Hårga takes, so Hårga also gives”: Approaching Trauma through the Lens of Carnivalesque in Ari Aster’s Midsommar

Abstract

This paper scrutinizes Ari Aster’s 2019 film Midsommar, utilizing the theoretical framework of Dominick LaCapra’s theory of “empathic unsettlement” which demands a mutual recognition of the other side for both the victim and the witness, and Mikhail Bakhtin's carnivalesque as a means for potential transformation and healing in the context of societal structures that perpetuate and contribute to trauma. The concept of carnivalesque is based on the idea of subverting and destabilizing societal hierarchies, dogmatic thoughts, traditions, and institutions using humor, parody, and satire as well as embracing “grotesque” possibilities of “lowering all that is high, spiritual, ideal, abstract” to their bodily-material level. Accordingly, the main character of the film, Dani, who has been traumatized by the tragedy of losing her whole family following her sister's murder-suicide, is depicted in the beginning as being unable to manage the psychological distress that has arisen from her bereavement, compounded by the apparent lack of empathy and support from her emotionally distant partner, Christian. During a midsummer festival in Sweden that Dani and Christian attend, a diverse array of bewildering customs and rituals related to death, sex, body, and relationships take place, initially causing utter shock, yet subsequently inducing a gradual feeling of acceptance that grows into a sense of healing purification in her. Thus, in Midsommar, Bakhtin’s concept of carnivalesque functions as “empathic unsettlement” for its traumatized protagonist, presenting alternative modes of healing through its mockery and subversion of power relationships whereas putting an emphasis on the body, laughter, and role-play in the face of trauma.

Keywords

• Keywords: Midsommar
• Carnivalesque
• Grotesque
• Bakhtin
• Trauma

References

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