By Elena Basati,
The 2024 film Substance, directed by Coralie Fargeat, elicited diverse reactions. While some hailed it as a feminist critique of the societal pressures women face under male-dominated standards, others debated whether the film successfully portrayed the feminist struggle to maintain youth and beauty in such context. In this article, I won’t be assessing whether the film achieved its intended goals; instead, I’ll analyze specific scenes and connect them to broader issues surrounding women, ageing, and social expectations and the extents the latter will reach in order to satisfy these standards.
The plot of the film is based upon the story of 50-year-old Elizabeth (Demi Moore) a TV gymnast facing her career’s downfall due to her ageing. The now middle-aged woman does not appeal to her viewers anymore, leading her arrogant and sexist boss to fire her from the show, in pursuit of finding a younger woman to replace her. Elizabeth now has to face this new way of life of being away from the spotlight and accept her image of an older wrinkled, undesirable woman. However, to her surprise, she finds the Substance, a green liquid, promising to change her life completely.
The Substance purpose is to create a new younger and appealing self from Elizabeth, that can enjoy all that life has to offer to a young desired woman for 7 days. Elizabeth, in desperate need to regain her beauty and cherish youthness once again, uses the Substance and creates Sue. The former gives birth to the latter through her spine and a new human is brought to life. Sue becomes Elizabeth’s replacement, takes her job and subsequently her fame. But as the story unwraps and develops, Sue misuses the Substance in order to extend her days alive, causing the premature ageing of Elizabeth. Firstly, Elizabeth wakes up with a finger resembling one of a much older woman and then as Sue continues to misuse the Substance, Elizabeth faces more serious consequences, becoming a completely aged woman, that is isolated in her house, boiling with rage for her other self.
As Elizabeth ages, she is perceived as less and less feminine and therefore is not desirable or appealing to others. It is evident that what is considered feminine is for women to exist in an alternate state. The natural body that is unshaved and barefaced is considered unfeminine. Therefore, the natural body is the grotesque body and the unnatural body is the new natural. The “unmodified” body, is a concept related to Immergut’s idea of the natural (grotesque) body being perceived as unnatural while the modified (classical) is the natural body. The grotesque body is the raw one that exists in nature and the classical body is like a blank slate with no clues suggesting it is indeed human. In today’s world, the natural body is the one that has no openings, no fluids, no hair, where individuals strive for perfection and it can only be achieved by erasing features that do not satisfy the prototype set by society, which means predominately white men.
The film is a depiction of the tortures women subdue themselves to, in order to become the best version of themselves and appeal to the male gaze and patriarchal standards. In the 21st century, an increase of cosmetic surgeries has been noticed, young women nowadays seem more obsessed with their image than ever and are willing to undergo expensive and harmful procedures to reach the “ideal” look. Inspired by the concept of Panopticon introduced by Foucault (1975), that describes a prison where the inmates are constantly being surveilled by a guard and consequently, the prisoners feel that the guard is always present because they have internalized his gaze, in a similar manner, women act like they are under the watch of men and, therefore, their appearance must be impeccable at all times. Can we therefore assume, according to Foucault, the natures of women’s decision on going through a medical operation depends on societal pressures? Women may think that by undergoing cosmetic surgery they are making the best choice for their well-being, but in reality they perpetuate societal norms constructed by men and therefore contribute to their own objectification.
Cosmetic surgery promises significant results, although it’s a rhetoric of domination that rises from the inequality of power between the two sexes. As Foucault has stated, practices of colonization have been camouflaged as beneficial methods that aim for the general good, similarly, women’s bodies are colonized by men. Susan Sontag on her book The Double Standard of Aging (1972), examines how aged men are perceived, in contrast to older women. She states that men are allowed to age without penalty, in several ways that women are not. Specifically, the desire to be the “right age” has a special urgency for women it never had for men. Masculinity is identified with autonomy, competence, and self-confidence, all qualities that improve with age. However, femininity is identified with incompetence, passivity, helplessness and being nice, qualities that are not improved with age.
Reflection on the social pressures that link a woman’s value to her youth and looks is encouraged by Substance, which also shows how these expectations skew femininity into something theatrical and unachievable. Regardless of whether the film’s critique is successful or not, it poses significant queries on the price of upholding these standards and the toll they have on one’s identity, independence, and sense of value. It makes us question if these norms can ever be fully removed and how deeply embedded they are.
References
- Fargeat, C. (Director). “Substance” (2024)
- Foucault, M. (1975). “Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison”. Pantheon Books.
- Immergut, M. (2010). “Manscaping: The tangle of nature, culture, and male body hair. In L. J. Moore & M. Kosut (Eds.), The body reader” (pp. 287–304). New York University Press.
- Sontag, S. (1972). “The double standard of aging”. Saturday Review.
- Defining the simulacrum of feminine performance. youtube.com, Available here
