The Substance

I feel this one in my soul. Women are subjected to cultural ideals of beauty from the moment they’re born and in return its effects are timelessly detrimental to our wellbeing. I used to avoid looking at myself, so much so, that after a couple years I couldn’t recognize my aging self. Over time I began breaking down the societal conditioning my brain had latched on to. I was only a child when it first began, that type of conditioning is hard to break free of. Even though my perspective has shifted from that narrative, it persists occasionally. Anytime that narrative pops back up I remind myself of the misogyny that caused it. Coralie Fargeat perfectly shows how fatally controlling this narrative is, while also touching on the importance of self acceptance to be able to break free from it. “You are one. Respect the balance.” I’ll never forget the first time I watched this without knowing who had directed it. I automatically assumed it was a man because of the way it was shot. After discovering it was written and directed by a woman every piece started to click for me. She deliberately filmed it from the male gaze because that’s the world we live in. Brilliant. There’s too much to say about this, I could go on for days. One more thing! I fucking love that this is a gory body horror, that’s exactly what it feels like to live with the weight of idealized beauty.