Words: Sanne Wallerbos (she/her)
CW: body image
If you’ve watched the 2024 Palme d’Or nominated film The Substance, you will most definitely ask yourself – how does one director’s creativity reveal such atrocities within fiendish human forms? Coralie Fargaet has outdone herself by directing one of the most infamous films of the year. Amongst the explicit mutilation and malformation of body parts, however, lies a cinematic masterpiece with a message critiquing the ‘ideal’, toxic image of beauty which has been established in our society.
In the beginning of The Substance, we see the once celebrated, now obscured, 50-year-old actress Elisabeth Sparkle dismissed from the aerobics show she hosts. Elisabeth, played by Demi Moore, soon discovers that the reason for her sudden redundancy is her ageing body. Instead, a ‘brighter’, younger woman is promised to be the replacement of the expired Elisabeth. While drowning in a sea of anguish, Elisabeth gains access to a black-market medicine which provides the ‘substance’, a drug which allegedly creates a more youthful version of oneself. However, as Elisabeth continues to take the substance, she gradually becomes ensnared in a hell of her own creation. As her ‘old’ self decays throughout the movie, she realises that stopping is no longer an option, and tragedy ensues. The substance, a so-called solution for all problems, supposedly dispels insecurities – yet instead it only perpetuates self-hate within the insecure character.
Even though the grotesque depiction and sensations of The Substance are fictional, our current reality is filled with news of the horrific side-effects of plastic surgeries and the dangerous procedures conducted in the black market. The need for bodily perfection is insatiable; it has created a dangerous obsession which threatens to disrupt the body. A recent example of these awful side-effects can be seen in women who suffered from Breast Implant Illness (BII), leaving them in agony for years. People who struggled with BII have reported symptoms of chronic pain, blurred vision, and severe respiratory problems.
The Substance fits within a broader movement of cinema that opposes these socially conventional yet unrealistic beauty standards. The pink summer of 2023 was dominated by Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, which likewise critiques the unrealistic expectations created by society that mostly impact women. Heavy cosmetic procedures, as exaggerated in The Substance, can be seen as a product of these images. Several sociologists and cultural theorists have linked these idealistic beauty types to capitalist and neoliberal values that are ingrained in today’s society. The option of undergoing cosmetic procedures finds itself in the middle of the debate concerning the freedom of choice within the feminist movement. Neoliberal citizenship revolves around values of self-management and self-enterprise, which is understood through discourses of risk and responsibility, but also of choice and freedom. On the one hand, an individual has the freedom to undergo cosmetic procedures, which can be seen as an act of empowerment or ‘self-care’. On the other, beneath this choice lies a poisonous cocktail of thinking about what perfection is when it comes to our bodies. Could it then really be seen as a ‘free’ choice? Or is this illusion of free choice actually the product of unrealistic beauty standards which seem inescapable?
Other problems occur concerning the ‘privatisation of health’, associated with neoliberal reforms. According to researchers, it has caused health to be viewed as a commodity, creating a competitive marketplace for healthcare. The political circumstances of neoliberalism in the late 1980s also made it beneficial for private companies to establish themselves. This time represented major growth for these companies, furthering their expansion. Consequently, this encouraged ‘plastic surgery tourism’, which is when a patient travels, domestically or internationally, specifically to receive medical care, as it is often cheaper and waiting lists are shorter. Studies have demonstrated that this increases mortality rates and chances of complications after surgery. Privatisation, however, makes it harder for the central government to intervene when these problems occur. Only 2 years ago, the UK government introduced a licensing regime for non-surgical cosmetic procedures, which was supposed to help counter corrupt clinics. Despite this, it was found that people were still seeking out doctors who would carry out the procedure elsewhere. Therefore, experts believe that education on the topic would be more helpful.
Despite the government’s attempt to restrict it, people’s desire to alter their bodies in cheaper manners is still insatiable, with these procedures remaining dangerously unregulated. The world of cosmetic surgery can certainly be seen as both complex and intangible. The Substance acts as a disturbing exploration of this complex world and society’s obsession with unattainable beauty ideals. This reflection seems part of a never ending cycle of body dysmorphia leading to desires for body modification, which governs a further disconnect with your body. Elisabeth Sparkle’s tragic journey forces us to question whether our choices around beauty are truly our own, or merely attempts to satiate societal expectations.
Links:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-to-crack-down-on-unregulated-cosmetic-procedures
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10783483
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1367549417705604
