just saw a tweet that said "midsommar is fight club for women" (as in, women misunderstand midsommar and idolize its protagonist even when the movie doesn't) and i think that's my lock for stupidest film take of 2020. really came down to the wire there

(a) women saying "good for her" about dani are obviously being at least semi-ironic
(b) midsommar is NOT a morally simple movie! the harga are nasty and murderous AND their norms allow dani to process trauma in a way she couldn't in america. she is, personally, better off now!

(c) idk how to put this that doesn't sound awful, but, uh, women are and ought to be allowed these gendered power fantasies in ways men aren't/shouldn't. patriarchy does in fact exist, and dani's shitty treatment by christian and his friends was very, very gendered.

idk, i just don't have a moral issue with a woman saying "good for her" about, like, dani, or amy from gone girl, as long as she's clearly being at least someone hyperbolic. their violence is not justified by the men in their lives' shitty behavior – but those men are shitty.

(d) it completely ignores the trans reading of midsommar. when my trans woman friends say "good for her" about dani, it's largely under that framework. (a good explainer: https://www.vox.com/culture/21307689/midsommar-trans-review-ending-spoilers)

(e) idk it seems like an excuse for film bros to justify dunking on women as a group for relating to a morally-complex antipatriarchal power fantasy? you can disagree with a reading of a film without being like "women just don't get it! they're so dumb"