(May 1 , 2024 ● Oslin Pierrette)
Tradition. We honor tradition for those that came before us. Many traditions, even some that date back centuries, maybe even millenniums. We follow these traditions because it’s the way of our people, it’s what we believe in. For all these reasons, it illustrates the importance of tradition, and why we must carry and live them on, ensuring its sacredness for the next generations to come. But that doesn’t mean traditions can’t be absolutely absurd, just so ridiculous. And I feel that’s what Midsommar speaks to. Humans ability and willingness to follow absurdity, with full on blind faith. If your tradition said to jump off the cliff, would you? Of course, you have to, it’s tradition, I’ll happily do so to honor my ancestors and people, and for my soul enrichment.
As a kid, or when I was younger, and seeing multiple cultures and traditions. It just seemed it was carried with such a high level of importance, especially the importance of carrying on traditions. Didn’t know the core reasoning for why, but I just knew it had to be something so important and grander than my understanding. The royal monarchies and stuff like that, traditions of the next heir to the throne and whatever else they did. Human sacrifices that I saw in apocalypto. The extreme tribal markings in certain countries, like the lip plate. I never understood their reasoning, but I was blessed I wasn’t them people. Blessed I wasn’t born in that time and place. But even with that, you leave it alone, because you can’t just disrespect other people’s beliefs, traditions, and cultures. Until I grew up and really tried to find the reasoning to a lot of these different cultures and traditions. You research, did God ask them to do this, to dress up like that, to follow that tradition, is this within their religious texts? And no, not exactly, it’s just traditions and values that are highly associated with religion. Wait so the Bible didn’t ask the pope or pastor to wear those weird wizard robes, nope, so then why is it so important? And other religions don’t have dress codes like that either, that’s putting them in these traditional garments, so why is it so important, I can understand cultural importance in that sense, just not the absolute need because of religious tradition. Why do humans have such ideals and uphold them? What is it conducive to if it’s not a nothingness? Are many traditions baseless? And now with that understanding I look at many traditions as gimmicky nothingness, just baseless. Something I’m not scared to openly believe in, the baselessness of cultures and expressing these beliefs, thoughts, and views.
That’s what I felt watching Midsommar, how overwhelmingly fraudulently important these traditions were. I mean first you want to understand why people believe in this culture and their belief. And you’ve seen in many cases throughout history, the belief in human sacrifices. There’s something understandable to this thought process. We thank nature for their abundance of gifts to our life, maintaining this harmony. So for our thank you, our gratefulness, we give you these offerings back, enforce reciprocation. And people happily do so, because of whatever they believe in and their tradition. And they’re being brainwashed by being born into these cults, this is their upbringing. You see how deeply deluded their understanding of life is, especially with how they are happy with the act of dying for their community. They have this great self assurance, that’s based in sadistic fraudulence.
But how do people get recruited into cults is a more important question, not just recruited, but recruited and acclimated into these cults. Dani is your perfect example. She has no real friends or family. And is in a great period of deep loss and hurt. She’s just so confused about life. These are the perfect people to prey on. Being directionless and lost is a deeply scary existential place to be, especially when you’re alone and truly no support system whatsoever. When you’re in this deep dark abyss, you’re very vulnerable. You can easily be blindsided, vulnerable, and susceptible to brainwashing. Your heart and mind are open to change, because it definitely needs to. So that gives the perfect opportunity for these people to swoop in and offer everything she seemingly needs. She needs family, friends, loved ones. She needs to be held and comforted through her deep pain. A place to feel home, where she feels that’s a deep absence in her life. So even through all this absurdity, she’s bought in, with the help of herbal remedies that made her open up a bit more than usual, that helped her connect. But she’s part of a community that now loves her. Her own pagan cult.
What is their origin? That’s the question many need to ask themselves. Who would start something like this, with being so sadistic with creating these types of principles. And you see they’re just making up stuff as they go. Their voice of reasoning and truth is their child product that must be deeply inbredded and disabled. What voice of reason and truth that must be. And people just follow it. Human’s ability to follow something of this sort is deeply scary. We have the ability to deeply lose ourselves in absurdity, and not even know it, doing it proudly. Nothing is too absurd for the human kind. Maybe people need to look into the origin, to see the fallacy of their ways.
I will give them though their understanding of community is off the charts. They act as one big family, they are deeply connected. They all deeply believe in their main principles. To the point when a point of interest is going through deep pain, and they’re in their cries of pains. Many will join in with you in your cries, they will emulate your tone and rhythm, and it’s this grand feeling of you are not alone. Many are here with you through the pain, and will all adopt your pain until you get through it. It’s so odd to see, but you oddly feel like wow, this deep sense of community that is there for me. Feel comforted by their compassion. Pain is nothing to be feared of, you are not alone in this, don’t worry.
Also you can respect their appreciation for nature. Understanding it’s really beautiful harmony, and trying to ensure the continuance of the harmony by aligning with nature, make sure you’re moving along with it. Bring respect and deep thanks. It’s just that they take things a bit too far with the sacrificing. But besides some of that, some of their principles are commendable.
One thing I’ll say about that community thing that they do, when one person is going through pain, in their cries of it, the community will join in and cry with you, so you don’t feel alone. Even coasting someone through their first time with sex. In her moans, a room full of naked women are there to moan with her at her rhythm, tone, and pace, so she doesn’t feel alone or uncomfortable. You see how ritualistic their unison cry thing is. But all that to say when people are dying, in their moments of excruciating pain, like when the guy jumped off a cliff in the ritual, but didn’t die. Everyone in the community shared his pain, and also the ending, when there was another sacrificing ritual of people burning themselves alive in the fire. You saw these horrifying witchcraft-like visuals of the community in their screams. You saw the absolute absurdity of this. Where you’re like, why do you deranged people do this, this is the clear sign that something is wrong with these people, this is a cult. Pagan Rituals.
I’m just not a believer in many traditions and many cultures. You can’t bait me with its many ages and centuries old. You can’t falsify its importance to me. Cool, tell me your origin story and reasoning for this. What is it based on? Is it connected to God? What are the reasons for your ways? How am I benefiting from it? I have to know, I don’t do no blind following, I have to be informed. I don’t go for the traditional garments these religions call for, that actually you never see God ask for. I’m not going for these grand monarchy or royal family games, once you look into it, you see these are just little boys carrying on these childish games, instead of being based in reality and humanity, they’re based in their delusion for power. I never would want to put a plate in my lip or follow any tradition even remotely like it, so much thankfulness to be born outside of that. We look at some of these different cultures as their own beautiful thing. But I have pity on some of these people that just don’t know the ridiculousness of their ways. Cultures and traditions are made by the same ridiculous people next to you, it’s just under the guise of centuries old fraudulent importance that is tricking the people. We legendize people just because they are from long ago, we’re so far removed to feel how ridiculous they were, but we have to understand they are just another human that is not infallible, never forget that. I’m not being fear baited by these people, who have been practicing these cultures and traditions that are sacred to them, like the feeling of don’t disrespect it. But it’s disrespectable, maybe someone needs to come centuries later, and open the eyes of a people that have been blind to their own ridiculous ways. So many baseless traditions, the world runs on so many of them. And we enforce many to a strict punishable by death for breaking values of these cultures, that’s how crazy people are tied to their ridiculous ways. I’m just not going for none of that.
Like this is less of a review, and more my expression for my detest of many traditions and cultures. I never liked the sentiment of people saying you don’t know your own culture, that has been taken from you. And it’s like no, not denying your sentiment. But my culture is based on my love and passions, and me seeing through my visions within them, building communities within them. My culture is based through a deeply depthful connection to true beauty, and expanding that. My culture feels everlastingly beautiful and fruitful. The vibrancy of my culture feels so potent. And this is my way of life, that is full of harmony and principles that make beautiful sense. The only sacrifice you have to make is discipline and devotion, that aren’t really sacrifices, just a means for the beauty to be accomplished and had. And bring respect to beauty and nature, be thankful, and be for the well-being of the people. I’m all for these cultural values.
Really good movie though. Beautiful one as well.