“HORSE GIRL”: THE FINE LINES IN THE FABRIC OF REALITY
“HORSE GIRL”: THE FINE LINES IN THE FABRIC OF REALITY

Summary/Abstract: This study follows, with reference to the 2020 motion picture Horse Girl, the way in which reality as people conceptualize it can change, in someone’s perception, in such a drastic way as to encompass the existence of alternative worlds and parallel universes. We mean to trace the main character’s transformation of awareness, the how of this process and its gradualness, by paying attention to environmental details and what they tell the protagonist, i.e. the manner in which these need to be interpreted so as to yield her final outlook. In other words, we enter the mind of the allegedly mentally disturbed, trying to understand her perception. It is a rupture from regular views and vision, a reticence to embody givens and take things for granted. To this end, we will start from some symbols thrown at us in the very first minutes of the film, in which almost every detail mentioned and seen is relevant and rich with figurative meaning. Then, we pass on to apparently embracing the position of the devil’s advocate, in the section dedicated to glitches in reality, showing the evidence that presumably leads to mental insanity as the only valid explanation for the occurrences. We subsequently follow Sarah’s imaginary journey through an intricate conjunction of spaces permeated with clues as to what she is experiencing. Towards the end, we reach the reverse hermeneutic regarding her mental state, realizing that, at least in the fantasy world of the film, what she has been envisaging might be the truth. The conclusions summarize the findings and the angles which the concept of reticence may acquire in our context.

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