By Niylah Hardy
The controversy with the new movie called The Substance, directed by Coralie Fargeat, has taken the internet by storm.
The movie is about a woman named Elisabeth Sparkles. She runs a renowned aerobics workout TV show. However, Elisabeth faces a devastating blow on her 50th birthday because her boss fires her for being too old. Elisabeth is now jobless and insecure from all the hurtful comments from her boss. On her way home, Elisabeth gets in a car crash and is sent to the hospital. There, a doctor approaches her and gives her a number to call and says, “It changes lives.” She then proceeds to call the number. The number responds by helping her out, telling her what she needs to do.
Elisabeth follows the rules and switches her body into a young girl named Sue. Sue has Elisabeth’s mind now, and she plays the same role as Elisabeth. Each week, they switch out and get a week to themselves. Each week, it gets worse for Elisabeth because Sue keeps going overboard with taking fluid from Elisabeth and using it for herself.
Now, every time it’s Elisabeth’s turn, she transforms into an ugly person. Soon enough, Elisabeth gets tired of Sue using her and she decides to terminate her, not realizing if that happens she stays herself. Elisabeth then stops herself and ends up getting terminated by Sue. That’s where everything goes downhill. Sue needs Elisabeth to live, but when she tries to swap it ends up deforming the both of them, and both end up being terminated.
The movie’s controversy settles on the beauty standards of women and how women feel about themselves. The deep meaning of this movie shows how women cover up their natural beauty because of what people say. It shows how women abuse plastic surgery, which makes them look like a totally new person.
The physical transformations make Elisabeth and Sue feel disconnected from their own bodies and they continue to eat off of each other to gain popularity. This goes to show the insecurities that women have and the impact it has on people who are influenced by them. The movie reflects how women and femininity appear to other women, and how it sometimes leads to harming natural beauty and losing body positivity. The movie is good and gory, and should bring awareness to women who should love themselves.
beniciapaw.com 