santnewgen
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“The Substance” (2024) and AGEPILL
Today in class we watched The Substance, and honestly, I wasn’t expecting it to be that deep. On the surface, it looks like just another body horror film, but it’s actually a brutal critique of aging, beauty standards, and society’s look-based hierarchy.
As I was watching, it became clear how closely the movie reflects the agepill — the blackpill realization that no matter how gl you are, time eventually shits on your halo. The youth halo fades, and with it, your social and aesthetic value. (Mostly for females but who cares jfl)
Coralie Fargeat doesn’t hold back. The Substance shows how people will literally destroy themselves to cling to a version of their younger self — chasing their better form, even if it means losing their identity in the process.
The dynamic between Elisabeth and Sue (her younger clone) is the perfect metaphor: society makes you feel like the only way to stay visible, relevant, or desirable is to erase who you are and replace it with your young self. (from an oldcell perspective)
It’s cope vs. reality — and reality wins.
The AGEPILL
In lookism culture, the agepill is realizing that your social value has an expiration date — and youth is your peak SMV.
The Substance shows this idea through pure horror, blood, flesh, and surgical obsession. It’s lookism turned into a nightmare.
Julia Kristeva would call it a story of the abject — everything society rejects: aging, decay, bodily breakdown.
Sue is the upgraded, Stacylite-coded version of Elisabeth: tight skin, sharp jaw, good ratios. Elisabeth becomes what the world wants to forget: the expired, the invisible, the grotesque.
Barbara Creed’s Monstrous-Feminine shows up too — Elisabeth isn’t just aging, she’s punished for daring to reclaim power. And society frames that as unnatural or horrifying.
Even Noël Carroll’s take on horror aesthetics applies. The real horror isn’t just the gore — it’s watching someone completely erase themselves for the sake of aesthetics. That hits way harder when you realize we see it every day: in fillers, surgeries, facelifts, hormone abuse.
Symbolism in the body horror:
It’s disturbing because it’s accurate. The youthpill and agepill effects are real.
Final Thoughts:
The Substance is what the agepill would look like if it were turned into a movie.
It doesn’t glamorize the youth chase — it annihilates it.
It’s uncomfortable, raw, and necessary.
If you’re into lookism, body dysmorphia, beauty culture, or the psychology of aging, this is a must-watch.
(disclaimer: used Chatgpt to make it more simple and precise)
Today in class we watched The Substance, and honestly, I wasn’t expecting it to be that deep. On the surface, it looks like just another body horror film, but it’s actually a brutal critique of aging, beauty standards, and society’s look-based hierarchy.
As I was watching, it became clear how closely the movie reflects the agepill — the blackpill realization that no matter how gl you are, time eventually shits on your halo. The youth halo fades, and with it, your social and aesthetic value. (Mostly for females but who cares jfl)
Coralie Fargeat doesn’t hold back. The Substance shows how people will literally destroy themselves to cling to a version of their younger self — chasing their better form, even if it means losing their identity in the process.
The dynamic between Elisabeth and Sue (her younger clone) is the perfect metaphor: society makes you feel like the only way to stay visible, relevant, or desirable is to erase who you are and replace it with your young self. (from an oldcell perspective)
It’s cope vs. reality — and reality wins.
The AGEPILL
In lookism culture, the agepill is realizing that your social value has an expiration date — and youth is your peak SMV.
The Substance shows this idea through pure horror, blood, flesh, and surgical obsession. It’s lookism turned into a nightmare.
Julia Kristeva would call it a story of the abject — everything society rejects: aging, decay, bodily breakdown.
Sue is the upgraded, Stacylite-coded version of Elisabeth: tight skin, sharp jaw, good ratios. Elisabeth becomes what the world wants to forget: the expired, the invisible, the grotesque.
Barbara Creed’s Monstrous-Feminine shows up too — Elisabeth isn’t just aging, she’s punished for daring to reclaim power. And society frames that as unnatural or horrifying.
Even Noël Carroll’s take on horror aesthetics applies. The real horror isn’t just the gore — it’s watching someone completely erase themselves for the sake of aesthetics. That hits way harder when you realize we see it every day: in fillers, surgeries, facelifts, hormone abuse.
Symbolism in the body horror:
- Stretching skin = facelift maxxing
- Fluid merging = hormone use / BDD
- Identity loss = youth halo obsession
It’s disturbing because it’s accurate. The youthpill and agepill effects are real.
Final Thoughts:
The Substance is what the agepill would look like if it were turned into a movie.
It doesn’t glamorize the youth chase — it annihilates it.
It’s uncomfortable, raw, and necessary.
If you’re into lookism, body dysmorphia, beauty culture, or the psychology of aging, this is a must-watch.
(disclaimer: used Chatgpt to make it more simple and precise)
