The Substance- My Thoughts

I had been hearing a lot of good things about ‘The Substance’ and finally decide to watch the movie a few days ago. And well it was strange and uncomfortable at times. I was generally impressed with the whole concept of the film. While gory and a bit horrific to watch at times, the sheer amount of layers made some of the more uncomfortable parts worth it. And I am not one to get squirmy when it comes to movies. But before I dive in on my own thoughts and opinions of the show, a word of warning to the easily disturbed… This one might not be for you.

Right off the bad, the movie starts with the idealized Hollywood experience, that eventually fades away. As Elizabeth Sparkle’s Hollywood star becomes beat up and dirtied by the average passerby. The movie makes it very clear that she has aged out of her time of fame, and that we are not about to watch a movie about an older actress become a beloved starlet. Instead, we see Sparkle hosting a fun Zumba inspired T.V show. Now I immediately will say that Demi Moore looks amazing. If I look half as good as her when I am her age I would cry. But the movie of course isn’t really geared for my gaze. It instead is highly influenced by the male gaze and to some extent the female gaze, as we do expect celebrities to have a sense of timelessness. That of which Sparkle is deemed not to have and is let go.

I won’t get into the whole progression of the move, as if you are reading this, I am assuming you have also watched the movie. And if you haven’t, you really should, or you can grab a kick overview from the internet. I’m more fascinated by a few of the main arching themes I found while watching the movie. The first being the male gaze and the pressure we place on female celebrities of remaining young and having the perfect body. Second, how easy it is to mutilate bodies for fame and to stay reliant. And finally, the mother daughter psychological element that played out between Sue and Elizabeth, despite them being the same character. So buckle in, this is about to be a long one.

The Substance, while being a futuristic body altercation has a fairly close alignment to current medical procedures we see in todays society when it comes to be young. While Sue doesn’t face the same decay and alterations as Elizabeth, we do ultimately see the end result of over use of the procedure and essentially what most today would call a botched job. Each time Elizabeth decays and ages, the more Sue is viewed as youthful and beautiful. This is well hidden in the very simple statements of minor characters, and when we watch Sue stabilize herself. Her eyes become brighter and she gets that rejuvenated sense of being. This could absolutely be an analogy to all kinds of other drugs that actors and actress alike have used to remain energetic and perky. So there is already a multi-layer conversation about Hollywood and drugs going on here. They are just hidden in the guise of the substance and as Elizabeth’s spinal fluid that Sue needs to stabilize herself. Well there may be some moral reservation of the use of each ‘drug’, both characters are able to justify their own desire to continue using/ having the experience. Even when Sue has misused Elizabeth’s body, Elizabeth still continues the experiment and we never see her try and take back the time she lost from Sue. Because at the end of it, she is willing to let her body be mutilated and crippled in the hopes that she can continue to live out her dream through Sue. She isn’t even able to kill Sue when push comes to shove. And If I am being honest. Sue deserved it.

Well I am not a women in Hollywood, I understand the concept her. Because we are constantly bombarded by phases like anti-aging, younger looking, and revitalizing. As a society we have been influenced by the numerous companies and media sources that aging is one of the worst things that can happen to us. Even with body positivity and inclusivity. Humans still fear getting old, even if it’s a natural thing. And Hollywood is a big player in that narrative. Even in the era of body inclusivity. We still often deal with not having the right body. So even with the potential dangers, when presented with being able to use something like the substance, a lot of people would. We do every day. We may read the warning labels, or skim them, but ultimately the potential shiny end result is too tempting. Especially if you already know what to expect, or have had the taste for it. Well it’s easy to view someone else and think you’d never go to the same lengths, we all often find change terrifying. So instead bodies are mutilated for a shred of notice and to lengthen something that cannot last or be maintained.

Where we see that this is particularly prevalent to the male gaze, is portrayed in the character of Harvey, the shareholders all being men, and the upgrade to the show. Harvey is the extreme of this. He is the blunt force that dominated the studio and gets away with it too. Where he’s be seen as problematic and predatory in other departments, in show business he is essential. He and other male members of the team are able to make comments that gross us as the viewer out. Because they are saying the quiet part out loud for us. The movie exposes them but lets them get away with this behavior. Even though we know its wrong, and at times we may even feel uncomfortable with how Sue’s body is framed and shown off. We also see it in how Sue and Elizabeth are treated by males they both interact with. Men in the apartment complex are nice to Sue, they want to do things for her because of how she looks not because of who she is. And the same happens to Elizabeth, they don’t care about who she is, they only see her in how she looks. And this only gets worst as she ages. It’s horrible. But it factors in why this story is completely realistic when you think about it on a deeper level. While we might not see the extremity of the monster at the end of the movie, numerous of celebrities, find themselves on lists proclaiming how they aged poorly or were the victim of a bad plastic surgeon. And even though the story may focus on the women aspect of it, it’s important that we do see the man with the birth mark. Because it’s not just women who alter themselves to remain this ‘better version’ of themselves. Women well at the for front of the perfect, ideal self, are not the only ones who feel this pressure. However, it is commonly viewed as a female problem. I could go on about this, but for the sake of time and to relieve myself of feeling like this has to be a university paper. I’ll leave it here. Though I’d be curious to do some more research into it.

Finally, I found myself musing over how this movie made me think of the negative aspects of mother vs daughter. It often falls more in line with postpartum depression, and doesn’t happen in ever mother daughter relationship, but the resentment Sue and Elizabeth felt towards each other was more along the lines of mother vs daughter. Even though they were the same person, just two bodies. We do watch how they come to see themselves as two separate beings. And considering the reversed birth, and the need for spinal fluid to keep Sue stabilized. There is a strong point for this kind of relationship for the two. It flows into this narrative on mothers coming to resent their daughters for being a prettier younger version of them. To the point where they are consumed by how their body was ruined in order to create their daughter. It generates a sense of resentment, as the daughter doesn’t appreciate what the mother has given her or how it’s destroyed the mother. But on the flip side cause the daughter to resent having to be responsible for this emotional outburst and having to care for the mother and resolve her destruction. This parallels in Sue and Elizabeth, as Elizabeth goes out to get their refill packages (food), has to continuously give from her body for Sue, and resents that Sue is young and successful and seemingly ungrateful for what Elizabeth has sacrificed for her. And Sue in turn is often left to clean up the aftermath of Elizabeth’s emotional breakdowns, as shown by the apartment being trashed every time she wakes up, how she creates the hidden room for them, and she has her breaking point where she screams about Elizabeth needing to control herself. The more they resent each other the more they hurt each other, which than translates to it hurting oneself for the sake of being successful.

Overall, this movie had me thinking and analyzing. Which is something I often find lacking in horror movies. So well I was successfully horrified and creeped out by this one. It’s become a favorite of mine in how it lends itself to deeper thought. You have to really question what you saw and how we got there. But I think it’s what makes this so successful.