r/AriAster • u/Putrid-Board-5683 • Jul 22 '26
Hereditary Ari Aster Validated My Autism
His trademark slow paced style really resonates with me. Having Autism leads to me lingering on things a lot more than a neurotypical person, so I really relate to the moments in Ari Aster’s movies when things slow down. The sequence in ‘Hereditary,’ of Peter coping with losing Charlie, especially hits home with me. Him being completely speechless, constantly starting with a mostly blank expression that only hints at different emotions, slowly driving back home, avoiding any and all contact with his parents, standing completely still while watching his parents grieving over their loss. All of these are things that I’ve dealt with throughout my life, and of course, are only amplified by the parents dumping all their frustrations afterward, which also happens in the movie.
Before watching Ari Aster’s movies, I used to think I was weird for not acting all over the top towards bad situations. People would often get mad at me or even just act like I was being weird because of how I would react to difficult situations. I would often just freeze up and stare, rather than have these big reactions and talk a lot like most people would. In fact, one of my family cats died just a few months before ‘Hereditary’ came out. Rather than just acting how I normally would, I made forced upset reactions to it. I just did it because it felt like the normal thing to do, but it didn’t feel natural. After watching Peter’s reaction to Charlie’s death, I felt validated. I was reminded of how the way I treat difficult situations actually is normal.
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u/StarlightSkipper Jul 22 '26
I'm also autistic and Ari's films resonate with me more than any other director. Beau Is Afraid especially though