{"id":2537428,"date":"2019-08-01T11:29:44","date_gmt":"2019-08-01T18:29:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dostoevsky-bts.com\/blog\/?p=2537428"},"modified":"2019-08-01T11:29:44","modified_gmt":"2019-08-01T18:29:44","slug":"is-dostoyevsky-as-scary-as-midsommar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dostoevsky-bts.com\/blog\/is-dostoyevsky-as-scary-as-midsommar\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Dostoyevsky as Scary as Midsommar?"},"content":{"rendered":"

How the Scary Experience Does Not Make Up a Scary Story<\/h2>\n

Here\u2019s a fun fact of my fictional preference: I am not a huge fan of scary stories. Sure, I\u2019ll read up on ghosts, the paranormal, or discover the horrendous curse of the century but I won\u2019t become the #1 fan of these tales. After watching a horror flick or reading a scary novel, I feel like I\u2019m always left with the story trying to convince me \u201cThe haunting is real\u201d and \u201cBeware of what\u2019s out there\u201d (cue the \u201cOooo\u2019s\u201d and wavy fingers).<\/p>\n

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MIDSOMMAR (THE FLOWER POWER OF DANI)<\/h3>\n

I recently saw Midsommar <\/em><\/strong>and as interesting as a horror flick it was, I could not help but\u00a0see that director\/ writer Ari Aster\u2019s recent work was the complete 180 to one of Russia\u2019s darkest novelist whom I\u2019m constantly analyzing. So much so that I realize, Dostoyevsky does not tell scary stories. The suffering and tormented souls affected by social and political issues? Yes. But is\u00a0he trying\u00a0to give us nightmares? No.<\/p>\n

Midsommar <\/em><\/strong>follows the journey of Dani who, on a rocky relationship, goes to an isolated Swedish village with her boyfriend and his friends to \u201cexperience\u201d a religious group\u2019s brightly lit summer festival. To put it simply, it\u2019s the scary adventure of an emotionally and psychologically scarred woman who finds herself participating in the rituals of a suspiciously jubilant cult- complete with hallucinations, jump scares, guts, and death. Oh, and her boyfriend sucks.<\/p>\n

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THE DARKNESS OF DOSTOYEVSKY<\/h3>\n

Whenever someone takes a glance at the cover of a Dostoyevsky novel, it\u2019s understandable that they might mistake him as the author of the horror genre. Rightly so, his themes deal with human suffering, social violence, and philosophical darkness. The man himself grew up around his parents\u2019 sick patients, imprisoned in his youth, struggled with gambling addiction, and lost his wife to tuberculosis. He was always working and writing in fear of losing a grasp at happiness, health, and social well-being. Throughout his life, Dostoevsky has witnessed physical and moral suffering from all walks of life which sharpened his perception about the woes of others.<\/p>\n

Open any of Dostoyevsky\u2019s novels and you will find factors that could be put in a scary movie such as Raskolnikov hacking two old ladies (Crime and Punishment<\/em>), Prince Myshkin always looking over his shoulder\/ being followed by a murder (The Idiot<\/em>), Rogozhin slashing away with a knife (The Idiot<\/em>), demonic forces taking over a town (Demons<\/em>), and more. In our film inspired by Notes from the Underground<\/em>, Notes from the New World<\/a><\/em><\/strong> shows Steven\u2019s pending death with the Russian Mafia. \u00a0Dostoyevsky\u2019s ability to see and analyze what causes our anguish, fears, and response to social injustice are essential factors for a horror story. In summary, Dostoyevsky\u2019s experiences of tragedy have the power to affect one\u2019s psyche but do not mean for us to live in fear.<\/p>\n

As mentioned, Dostoyevsky does NOT<\/strong> write horror.<\/p>\n

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A QUICK BREAKDOWN ON HORROR\/ SCARY STORIES<\/h3>\n

When we read a scary story, we share a perspective from the character who is in fear and we feel extreme tension rooted in the emotion of the victim. It\u2019s what that makes us hold our breath when the attacker or enemy, a relentless unstoppable force, comes near. It\u2019s a scary moment that emphasizes that no one and nothing will be there to save us or the victim. Thus, horror is the dark threat from the human soul, surrounding environment, or personal experience\/ event that the characters and the audience are left to feel haunted by.<\/p>\n

Taking Midsommar<\/em><\/strong> for example, Ari Aster inspiration from a bad breakup<\/a> is expressed in Dani\u2019s rocky relationship which leads to a brutal end. Aster warns viewers through Dani\u2019s journey that the relentless force of a human spirit, as broken as it may seem, should not be underestimated. In times of grief, Dani\u2019s desperation to move on led to sacrifice: she will do anything to forget the sorrows of the past. Without spoiling the film, I will say that Dani deals with both scary and non-scary forces beyond her control throughout the entire film. When she finally gets the power to control something, she makes a great sacrifice that leads to an unsettling rebirth that will haunt the village for generations and your plans to join a Swedish\u00a0cult.<\/p>\n

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SUFFERING 180<\/h3>\n

While Midsommar<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0lends a bleak look at disturbing practices within a social setting, it shares the same irony Dostoyevsky has in his bleak look of people dealing with the suffering human condition. But there\u2019s a difference in the way we deal with the scary aspect of social norms. In both stories, we\u2019re shown the scary side to unstable relationships and the forces of social practice\/ rituals. Dani\u2019s experience leaves us afraid but again, these are\u00a0just social norms she happened to experience.<\/p>\n

The brutality of social norms is something Dostoyevsky has always showcased throughout his novels and that we suffer through it. His novels are less gore-y than many horror films out there but they nevertheless prove our suffering. Suffering and fear don\u2019t just exist in scary stories- it\u2019s a human condition we are already accepting and dealing with constantly. It\u2019s not about living in fear of an evil uncontrollable force; rather it\u2019s about our ability to overcome it as part of our lives.<\/p>\n

While Dani\u2019s suffering turns into a horrific Swedish cult trip, suffering for us is real and normal. According to Dostoyevsky, suffering will always be a normal part of the human condition and therefore, not horrifying. \u00a0It\u2019s why when I finish reading a Dostoyevsky novel, I\u2019m not scared to live.<\/p>\n