A cult expert reveals the true meaning behind Summer solstice
group crying scene, explaining the most worrying reason behind the cult members’ behavior. Released in 2019 and serving as director Ari Aster’s anticipated sequel to Hereditary (2018), Summer solstice follows Dani (Florence Pugh) and her friends as they travel to Northern Europe to attend the titular Swedish festival in a small village. It soon becomes clear, however, that the village is actually a pagan cult, and many chilling and memorable scenes follow, including one in which the cult members echo Dani’s cries during an emotional breakdown.
In a recent video for Wiredprofessional cult deprogrammer Rick Alan Ross analyzes Dani’s group crying scene in Summer solsticeexplaining that there is more to the moment than meets the surface. Responding to a question sent by someone on the Internet, Ross explains that the scene is less about the cult members showing empathy and more about them absorbing Dani into their group and stripping her of her individuality.. Check out Ross’s explanation below:
I saw Midsommar, and I would say this [the group crying scene is] It’s really not about empathy. It’s about repressing Dani’s feelings. The group essentially wants to anesthetize her so that she is no longer a problem. So by surrounding her, they’ve encapsulated her, and it’s almost as if they’re saying, “Dani, you no longer have your own individual feelings. There is only the group.”
What the group crying scene means for Dani in Midsommar
How the moment is crucial to Dani’s character arc
Although members of the Harga cult may in fact be operating with the intention of absorbing Dani into their ranks, Summer solsticegroup crying scene, the moment still works on an emotional level in terms of Dani’s arc. The film begins with Dani’s sister killing herself and her parents by carbon monoxide poisoning, and Dani, understandably, isn’t enjoying the moment well. She is receiving little support from her boyfriend, Christian (Jack Reynor), and his friends treat her as someone who must be tolerated.
The crying scene, then, is a crucial ingredient for the chilling Summer solstice ending, which shows Dani smiling as the May Queen while Christian is sacrificed. She is no longer treated as a social outcast and feels celebrated, loved, and free from the trauma that haunts her throughout the film. Even if the group crying scene is a manipulation by the cult, Dani feels like empathy, and real empathy is what she’s missing in the story of the people in her life.
Our opinion on the group crying scene in Midsommar
Ari Aster offers many memorable moments
As was also seen in Hereditary and the film’s shocking ending, Aster is a director skilled at delivering memorable moments in his films. Summer solstice there are a few of these moments, including the opening scene, and the group crying scene is certainly among them.
Even if the scene isn’t scary or gruesome, is exceptionally powerful in terms of Pugh’s leadership performance and its overall impact on Dani’s development. The moment has already been widely remembered online, but in context it remains powerful. The expert analysis above states that this particular Summer solstice The scene, like so many in Aster’s filmography, also has more sinister tones.
Source: Wired