In life, we really only have two choices. We can either fake it, or fuck it. If you have crowfeet, saggy tits, and a pop belly, you may decide to get some plastic surgery and commit to faking it. Or, if you’re just tired of spending money, on achieving an unrealistic beauty standard, you might just say fuck it. The Substance, a blockbuster body horror film works to strike a balance between faking it and fucking it. And if you watched the movie, you pretty know how it turned out. Elizabeth Sparkle played by the talented Demi Moore, seesaws back and forth between the younger more likable version of herself, and the older more refined version. Only the balance is disrupted when the younger version Sue, takes more than her share. As a result, Elizabeth starts to rot away. And like most great horror films, her greatest fears realized. She ends ups turning into a literal monster. The Substance is a modern horror masterpiece, because it’s cautionary tale of how fucked up our lives can become, if we never stop faking it. I’ll explain how and why in this video, so please stay tuned.
The Deeper Meaning Behind The Substance
The Ugly Stepsister, another smash hit body horror film, touches on the dark side of romance and dating. Much like the Substance, it takes on many of the body horror elements that will gross out movie fans. I mean I don’t know if I am ever going to be able to eat peas or even string beans again. Anywho, both the Substance and the Ugly Stepsisters are movies about false expectations. And as citizens in a civilized society we are constantly bombarded with images and messaging of who we should be. Then, the indoctrination starts and we begin faking it. Elizabeth Sparkle, born with natural beauty, rose to fame as a model, actress, and fitness coach/influencer. She is in fact, a literal star, beloved by her fans, and idealized and admired by her peers alike. Like any shiny star, her light starts to fade when she turns fifty. Harvy, played by Dennis Quad, tells her that she is no longer desirable, and will be let go from her prime slot fitness show. This scene is not only sad, but it also shows how Elizebeth has allowed others to define her self-worth. Yet, as opposed to giving him the finger with a graphic fuck you, which he clearly deserved. She fakes its, shrinking into her seat and feeling very much like the shrimp that Harvey is devouring, or the small fly that drowning in her glass of wine.
What was the hidden message behind The Substance
We see similar themes taking place in the Ugly Step Sister, where Elvira walks into a doctor’s office with the poster, Beauty is Pain, proudly displayed on the wall. This poster is a subtle reminder of the politics of beauty, and how women are going to have to endure both physical and emotional pain to pursue it. While Elvira experiences extreme physical pain through archaic and often unsanitary procedures. Elizebeth experiences the emotional pain of being bereted and rejected by Harvey, one the day where she was supposed to be celebrated the most. But Elvira also misses out on her own fuck you moment, when Prince Julian flat out rejects her. Instead of these women, storming off, and saying that I’ll find someone else who is open and willing to love them. They buckle down, and conform, turning to unconventional methods to please men, who literally hate them. Worse, they implode. We see Elizabeth walking down long empty hallways, or sitting alone in bars, or starring off into space in her empty apartment. Elvira has no friends and stuffs her face at night, to cope with the pressure of not being pretty enough. The loneliness is palpable in both movies. And much like in The Shinning, where the isolation causes Jack Torrance to go utterly insane. The loneliness causes Elizabeth to make bad life choices. She gets into a car accident, and walks away unscathed. Instead of being joyful, that she got a second chance at life. She decides to take a black market drug that changes her life. Elvira could have just said, fuck it, I am just going to be fat, and maybe then, she would have developed a better relationship with food. But instead, she ingests a tape worm, resulting in her life taking a wicked turn. Both characters result to faking it, to please other people. But by doing this, they start to neglect, and then inevitably hate themselves.
The Substance Ugly Hunchback Creature
The prettier Elvira gets the nastier she becomes. She tortures her stepsister Agnes, demoting her to a maid, tears her dress, and even threatens to hack her to pieces with a butcher’s knife. Elizabeth goes down a similar path. The Substance allows her to cycle back and forth between the younger, more vibrant, prettier version of herself, a version known as Sue. While Elvira has a tape worm, robbing her of her decency and nutrients. Elizabeth has Sue, the highly sexualized version than men approve of. She engages in a spicy work out video, that leaves men drooling. This is especially the case for Harvey, who is over the moon about the shows increased ratings. While Elvira and her wicked mother Rebbeca clip’s Agnes’s wings, baring her from dance classes and attending Prince Julian’s ball. The seven days off, seven days on, balance between Sue and Elizbeth is disrupted when Sue starts to steal more time. Sadly, both characters seemed to get rewarded for their bad behavior. Elvira steals the show by becoming the lead dancer, earning the respect of her dance teacher and admiration from other girls. Sue becomes America’s sweetheart, and asked to host a New Years eve galla, where she would be the star of the show.
The Substance Sue and the significance of Fred
Both characters seemed to be high on life, by conforming and faking the front. But sadly, neglecting your true self comes with dire consequences. For Elizabeth it comes with body parts, literally rotting away, first a finger, then a leg, then an entire body that is distorted into monstruous proportions. For Elviria it was losing her hair, throwing up tape worm eggs, and cutting off her foot, to fit a shoe that wasn’t designed for her feet. Neglect results in self-hate, where they have to become someone else to feel accepted and happy. In both movies, there are voices of reason, the first one being Alma, Elvira’s sister who tells her that she doesn’t need to swallow a tape worm to be super thin. The other is Fred, he is the man who saw Lizzie Sparkle as the most beautiful woman in the world. Despite Fred’s compliments, Elizabeth can’t bring herself to go out on a date with him. Why? Because she doesn’t feel as beautiful as he sees her. Worse, she has a terrible addiction. She has an inflated ego that needs flattery and admiration to remain relevant. While Elvira needs to eat, eat, eat, eat, to satiate her tapeworm. Sue, Elizabeth Sparkle’s other half, needs to be worshipped and adored. That’s the primary reason why she couldn’t terminate her.
The Substance and the making of Elisa Sue
Maybe the worst thing about faking it, is that you start to lose your grip on reality. Afterall, the Substance is all about the balance between your authentic self, and the mask that many of us have to wear, to fit into mainstream society. What happens if the mask never comes off? What happens if you’re always performing? What happens if your true authentic self endures a sudden and tragic death? What happens to us if we are not grounded in some form of reality? We become a mutation of what we once were. In body horror language we become monsters. However, there is a triumphant ending in both The Ugly Stepsister and in The Substance. Elisue finally gets her fuck you moment, when she just explodes with mad rage. And in true, Carrie like fashion, everything turns red. After tumbling down the stairs, chipping her tooth, and breaking her nose, Elvira is truly, the Ugly Stepsister. Yet, she seems to be smiling through the pain, and silently saying fuck you, to a beauty standard that never truly appreciated her. Both movies send the subliminal message that you can’t always fake it, sometimes, you just got to say fuck it.
What do you think that the Substance is about?