it’s also a commentary on the cultlike structure of white supremacy and white supremacist indoctrination, especially through their use of Nordic neopaganism
to preface—ari aster is a Jewish man. he’s writing this story from someone directly affected by white supremacy (and if one doubts this: feel free to look at the white supremacist response to the film! it wasn’t positive)
anyway, the hårga are canonically neo-pagan white supremacists. ari aster has pointed this out in interviews explicitly, but if one pays attention and is familiar with white supremacy, it becomes painfully obvious.
many of the runes used commonly used among white supremacists.
the odal especially is seen throughout the film, down to the tables they sit at being arranged in an odal. this rune is used constantly by white supremacists to denote a love of White Heritage. what’s especially interesting about the use of the Odal is this—the particular way it’s drawn on many tapestries has the inclusion of “wings” or lines on the ends. The odal is most commonly drawn without these wings in modern usage....except, of course, used in the context of white supremacy. the odal with wings was the insignia of the 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen, and is still commonly used by neo Nazi groups today.
their leader, an old white woman who snarls about The Black One, wears the ansuz, despite them not seeming to worship Odin—this is, of course, another symbol used by white supremacists (hell, there’s a hate group that has a prominent presence in Sweden but exists worldwide calls the Soldiers of Odin). the inclusion of The Secret Nazi Language of the Uthark in the set at the beginning of the movie makes it clear this was intentional
also, there’s not a lot of evidence for the “age old rituals” they use (the ättestupa and blood eagle) actually existing—the idea of them though? absolutely relished by many white supremacists.
just getting into the rest of the movie—the colors are blindingly white, bright, and the characters of color stand out clearly against it. josh, who is the more obviously respectful and dedicated academic, is deliberately passed over in favor of Christian by the harga for information for their dissertations, and Christian outright rips off his topic. they kill the white characters for disrespecting the cult’s heritage—but kill the characters of color to show their devotion.
the movie is a MASTERFUL commentary on how white supremacists grow their numbers—they don’t start out with swastikas and genocide. they start out with a kind word, with a promise of understanding, of community.
“i lost my parents too” pele tells dani. he draws for her, he wishes her a happy birthday. the women dance with Dani, dress her up, comfort her. the cult makes her the may queen. she feels safe with them. she feels comforted, wanted. has an emotional bond with them, even as they slowly isolate her, and prime her to believe what they do.
as a Jewish person myself—this was all intentional. the horror for me isn’t just the cult. it’s that this happens every day, and more often than people would think. the horror is in the knowledge that this is how people are radicalized to scream “Jews will not replace us”, or shoot up a synagogue.
anyway. here’s a couple articles from POC what also talk about this.
