Of Other Homes: Creating Space for Belongingness in Midsommar

Abstract

Using Michel Foucault’s concept of “heterotopias” (other spaces) and “heterochronies” (other times), this essay argues that space and time are essential to understanding Ari Aster’s Midsommar. It examines how Aster uses Hårga’s bygone civilization as a counter-space of deviation that exists outside of modernity. Aster’s spatiotemporal filmmaking techniques serve to cinematize the heroine’s journey of finding a place to call home.