Welcome to the Heavy Spoilers show, I'm your host Deffinition and this episode we're breaking
down some of the scariest details hidden in the background of scenes during Midsommar.
The horror by Ari Aster is filled to the brim with subliminal images, hidden meanings and
metaphors that make the movie a real trip to get through.
In this video we're gonna be breaking down some of the creepiest details hidden in scenes
that not only foreshadow the plot but also the mental state of the characters.
There will be heavy spoilers here, so if you haven't had a chance to see the movie yet
and don't want anything potentially ruined then I highly recommend that you turn off
now. Make sure you subscribe to the channel for videos like this every day and please
drop a like if you enjoy the breakdown.
With that out the way, thank you for clicking this now let's get into every creepy detail
in the background of Midsommar.
Midsommar Details
Ok so Midsommar has a lot of themes laced throughout it. There's grief, breaking free
of a toxic relationship and finding a new family.
Dani, our central character, goes through all of this during the film after the death
of her sister and family early on.
The entire plot of the movie can actually be seen in a mural that depicts the entire
events of the film and it makes me wanna take off my crown and pronounce Ari Aster as the
new spoiler king.
This opens the movie, or at least the directors cut version but please let me know if it's
in the theatrical too and it bears a lot over the movie.
Get it...bears...nevermind.
As you can see the painting starts with death, which is meant to represent Dani losing her
family. There is the pipes connected to them and death.
Next is the grief and despair that Dani feels whilst Christian tries to console her...also
check out Pelle in the tree sketching there which I'll get into in more detail in just
a bit.
They then travel, are greeted by the Hargas and Dani becomes the May queen.
The bear and people falling from the cliff can be seen as well as Pelle leading the group
with a flute in his mouth. This is similar to the pied piper who lead a bunch of children
to...well we don't know but it shows that they are being strung along by the character.
This painting also represents the seasons of Winter, spring, summer and autumn. This
motif is very much laced throughout the movie with there being mentions of life being divided
into seasons.
In the Hargas we learn that children under the age of 18 are considered to be in the
spring section of their life. Ages 18 to 36 are considered to be Summer and this is age
bracket that the central cast fit into. The film is also set in summer hence the title
and thus this why we mainly focus on them.
Autumn is classed as ages 36-54 and Winter is classed as 54-72 when the group die.
However, as we know the group don't mind seeing death before this as several characters are
sacrificed throughout the movie.
Christian is sacrificed at the end of the film after Dani takes up the position and
he is stuffed into a bear and burned alive.
This motif of a Bear and Queen can also be seen in the film early on when we see a picture
of a bear and girl with a crown on hanging above a bed.
This is a painting by John Bauer, a swedish artist known for making paintings of swedish
folklore and mythology.
Just before Christian is told that he can impregnate a member of the group we also see
an image of a bear being burned alive.
He is placed in a chair, directly infront of it which means that he can do nothing but
look at it. It is placed on the wall against the room that he is about to go into and this
will be where he decides to betray Dani or not.
It tells him his fate however he does nothing to avoid this and thus he is paralysed much
in the same way that he is paralysed at the end of the film.
Pelle does say in the movie that his family died in a fire and he was raised by the Hargas.
It could be that they were sacrificed when he was very young and thus he ended up becoming
adopted by those in the village.
We see a scarecrow doll sat on a bookcase during the movie and another figure beside
it. This represents the corpses that are stuffed with hay and put beside Christian at the end
of the movie when he is stuffed into the bear.
We can also see a picture of the scarecrow from the wizard of oz.
Dani has a painting of two moons in her room symbolising an almost endless night for her.
Juxtaposing this the days at the festival are almost none stop and this contrast shows
the difference between her two lives.
Upon entering the festival there is a big sun doorway and also a sun painted onto the
central platform which also indicates the two suns in the area.
We spend a moment with Dani's family in the film and you can see by their bedside that
there is a picture of Dani that has a crown of flowers above it, showing that it was always
her destiny to travel this path.
Though Dani's parents die in the first act they actually return later in the movie when
she is crowned and can be seen as members of the crowd.
Dani's sister haunts her throughout the movie and she appears behind her at one point in
a mirror when she is having a bad trip. It's a blink and you'll miss it moment but it's
definitely there.
Dani's sisters face can also be seen in the trees after the ritual and the image of her
sucking on an exhaust pipe is superimposed into the surroundings showcasing that the
grief Danny feels is in the area and has forced her to take this path with the group.
Clearly this is her being haunted by the fact that she could have actually saved her parents.
When we first see them they are visibly breathing and though Dani is hysterical and wanting
to phone the police, she phone Christian instead. He tells her it's nothing and that she is
overreacting. Had she not listened then she likely could have saved her parents life and
thus she subconsciously hates Christian.
In looking up whether there had been other faces spotted in the movie I did come across
some posts that said there was one in the snow out the window at the start, however
I am unable to see this.
There is also meant to be one during the airplane scene but again I couldn't spot this. Apparently
if you line up the smashed head of the person that jumps off the cliff you can see that
the islands and the face are similar but I can't really see it laid out here.
Speaking of the cliff jumping scene there are what looks to be faces in the rocks behind
the group.
Dani finds a new home with the Hargas and this is exemplified in several motifs and
at many points in the movie.
Throughout the majority of Midsommar, Dani's clothes are all really baggy and they don't
really fit her. The first outfit that doesn't hang off is her the dress made for her at
the village and this showcases that she fits in better with them than anyone else.
Pelle gives Dani a picture that he sketches of her and he tells her that it's something
that he only does on birthdays. When Dani is pronounced as the May Queen he too draws
one for her signifying her new birth.
Dani and Christian in their relationship pretty much go round in circles, refusing to end
it with one another even though they are both unhappy.
Towards the climax of the movie Dani dances around in a circle as part of the May Queen
ritual. This cyclical behaviour represents the constant spinning of their relationship
that is continuously going round in circles and getting nowhere.
Dani is becoming exhausted by this, however she manages to break free and in the same
moment breaks free of Christian. Dani is pronounced the May Queen whilst Christian cheats with
Mya.
Mya rearranged is of course May.
She seduces Christian with a love potion and the recipe for this is actually showcased
in a painting even down to the hair in the food. Lovely that, wish...wish the wife would
do that for me.
When the potion or rather spell is being put over Christian we can see that his drink is
a completely different colour to the rest of the group, showing that something has been
added to it.
Anyway when Dani catches Christian cheating she cries and a group of women ritualistically
sob with her. This contrasts the sobbing that she does with Christian who doesnt really
seem to react or care at all. This happens at several points throughout the movie and
they seem very distant emotionally with Christian having little empathy for her.
However, here there is a shared empathy that shows she has more in common with them.
At one point he tries to light a candle for her but he cant. This metaphorically shows
that they are struggling to keep the quote flame burning between them.
The Hargas initially start off in all white clothing, however throughout the film they
start to gain colour, most notably red to their clothes which indicates the blood that
has been shed for the festival.
The R rune that appears throughout the movie at several points translates to a journey,
growth or evolution which is what many characters go on throughout the film.
The death rune appears on Christians clothing, marking him for sacrifice and letting us know
he doesn't have long left.a
The carpet to the shining pattern is often laced throughout films and you may have noticed
it in several other movies. However, it also appears as Dani's blanket in the film and
is a nice little nod to that horror classic.
And that's our entire list, I really wanna rewatch the film to see if there's anything
I missed but after three watches those were the main things that I spotted.
Your Thoughts
Now obviously I'd love to hear your thoughts on Midsommar and if there are any other scary
details that I missed. Comment below and let me know and if you enjoyed this video then
please give it a thumbs up and make sure you check out our breakdown of all of the times
that Pennywise was hidden in the background of a scene in It Chapter 1 and 2.
We go over all of the hidden appearances so it's definitely worth checking out if you
wanna know more.
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