Questioning beauty standards in Oscar-nominated ‘The Substance’

Spoiler alert: This column discusses the plot of the 2024 film “The Substance.”

Hollywood was abuzz about Coralie Fargeat’s 2024 film “The Substance” when it arrived on the scene. It was a controversial contender for attention and awards. People seemed to either love it or hate it; audience members walked out mid-film, even as critics called it Oscar-worthy in review after review.

Why the walkouts? Because it dared to show how violent impossible beauty standards can be — leering male gazes, botched procedures, and all.

As someone who desperately longed to claw out of her own skin at the time, it didn’t take much to convince me I needed to see this film. My introduction to it was a poster displaying the spine of a woman — protagonist Elisabeth Sparkle, played by the Oscar-nominated Demi Moore. Her back was stitched shut as though she’d undergone surgery.

“How coincidental,” I thought, since I was considering spinal surgery for chronic pain and (let’s face it) cosmetic reasons.

Maybe it’d be a comfort, somehow. Maybe it’d provide me with some wisdom. I watched it in my hospital bed, as soon as it was available digitally.

Sadly, I was disappointed by the story’s execution of its themes.

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Oh, the connection between Sparkle and the younger, better, more perfect self born from her spine, thanks to the mysterious titular “substance,” was genius. Like in a twisted fairy tale, Sparkle can live in the fantasy of a Disney-princess-like body if she obeys one rule: to switch between bodies every seven days. Failing to do so would result in Sparkle’s original body becoming that of a bald, old, deformed, and hunchbacked hag. She names her double Sue.

What a way to say, “Take care of yourself now, or you’ll pay for it later!”

But because the story’s genres are horror and tragedy, Sparkle doesn’t learn her lesson until it’s far too late. In the third act, Fargeat asks the audience to suspend their disbelief of Sue gaining her own sentience — and then destroying Sparkle’s body, dooming Sue to destabilization.

Falling apart, tooth by tooth, nail by nail, Sue uses the “substance” again to create another body in a desperate attempt to save herself. But a better body doesn’t materialize. A Picasso-like hybrid of Sue and Sparkle does, organs and spines all out of place, almost abstract. Monstro Elisa-Sue (yes, the film calls her that) then seems to resign herself to what she sees in the mirror. People around her, however, scream in terror and unleash a gore fest.

That’s when most audience members begin to laugh nervously or walk out.

A monster by ableist standards

Watching the credits roll, I asked myself, “That’s it? This arc is what’s causing such controversy?”

To someone like me, with SMA and a hunchback so severe that it’s damaging the nerves around her spine’s ligaments, what “The Substance” presented was nothing new. I’m used to bodies like mine being seen as disgusting at worst or pitiful at best. It’s Ableism 101. A far more revolutionary approach, to me, would’ve been a story where a body like mine was somehow accepted and more loved by the creative mind behind the film.

Monstro Elisa-Sue doesn’t even get to live for long. She disintegrates into entrails on Sparkle’s Hollywood star at the film’s end.

But then I thought, maybe that’s the point? That the general public must first reckon with how we react to those who don’t meet our standards for beauty — even “normalcy” — before it can then dismantle those very standards.

I’m still learning how to do the latter myself. I’ve only recently started wearing sleeveless tops that reveal my bony arms and dresses with low backs. Even then, I’ll usually have a sweater with me to cover up.

I’m ahead of the curve, but not that far ahead. Not yet, anyway.

Maybe one day, though, it’ll be a story and perspective like mine on the silver screen. And people will remain seated and empathetic.

Note: SMA News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of SMA News Today or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to spinal muscular atrophy.