SocraticCinema

We will be meeting at Southeast Regional - Room C!

Join us for a fascinating exploration of identity, beauty, the male gaze, internalized misogyny, and the quest for perfection as we discuss The Substance (2024), featuring the dual lives of Elisabeth Sparkle and Sue!

Please note: We will not be watching the movie during the event, nor is viewing it beforehand required.

Brief Summary
Elisabeth Sparkle, a Hollywood icon facing the end of her career, takes a leap of faith to regain her youth by using a mysterious black-market treatment. This process unlocks a younger, "perfect" version of herself named Sue. However, the catch is strict: they must share one consciousness, switching bodies exactly every seven days without exception. As the allure of the younger life becomes impossible to resist, the delicate balance between the two begins to crumble, raising powerful questions about how far we are willing to go to be seen.

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## Philosophical Discussion Questions:

### Theme I: The Trap of Perfection

Focuses on beauty standards, the fear of aging, and the self-destructive pursuit of "better."

1. If you were offered a guaranteed method to create a "better" version of yourself—younger, healthier, or more attractive—but it required a significant, painful sacrifice, would you take it?
2. Do we value youth and beauty because they are inherently virtuous, or purely because society tells us they are the only things that matter?
3. Is the pursuit of cosmetic perfection a form of self-empowerment, or is it an act of submission to external standards?
4. Why do we often feel a sense of disgust or fear toward the natural aging process of the human body?
5. If everyone could be beautiful, would beauty cease to have value, or would we simply invent new standards to judge one another?

### Theme II: Identity & The Divided Self

Focuses on the mind-body connection, self-hatred, and the "Ship of Theseus" paradox.

6. If you could duplicate your consciousness into a new body, would that new person still be you, or would it be a separate entity entirely?
7. How much of your identity is tied to your physical appearance? If you woke up tomorrow in a completely different body, would you still be the same person on the inside?
8. Do you view your past self (you at age 10) and your future self (you at age 80) as the same person, or do you treat them like strangers?
9. Is it possible to truly love yourself if you hate the vessel (the body) that carries you?
10. The film posits that "you are one." Can two distinct bodies ever truly share one consciousness, or does physical separation inevitably lead to psychological separation?

### Theme III: The Male Gaze & Complicity

Focuses on objectification, internalized misogyny, and whether we are victims or participants.

11. Elisabeth seems to despise the network executives, yet she risks her life to please them. To what extent is the "male gaze" something done to women, versus something women internalize and police within themselves?
12. In the film, the younger self (Sue) actively exploits her sexualized appeal to gain power and money. Does wielding one's beauty for profit subvert the male gaze, or does it simply reinforce the system by playing by its rules?
13. The film uses extreme, voyeuristic camera angles that force the audience to participate in ogling the characters. Does this make us (the viewers) complicit in the very objectification the movie is criticizing?
14. Is the societal fixation on youth and fertility (represented by Sue) a result of "toxic culture," or is it a biological hardwiring that we cannot escape? If it’s biological, is it fair to blame individuals for their preferences?
15. Often, the harshest critics of a woman's appearance are other women. How does the "male gaze" mutate into a "competitive gaze" among women, and is that competition actually more destructive than the original objectification?

### Theme IV: The Ozempic Era & Medical Ethics

Focuses on "miracle" drugs, the definition of health vs. aesthetics, and the ethics of biological shortcuts.

16. In the film, the "Substance" is a black-market secret, whereas Ozempic is a prescribed medication. Does medical approval make changing our bodies for aesthetic reasons more ethical, or does it simply make vanity more socially acceptable?
17. Society often labels weight-loss drugs as "cheating." Why do we feel that a beautiful body must be earned through suffering (diet and exercise) to be valid?
18. If a drug existed that could make you permanently thin and beautiful with zero health side effects, would refusing to take it be an act of bravery or an act of foolishness?
19. The film suggests that Elisabeth Sparkle is discarded because she ages. In a world where drugs like Ozempic can indefinitely prolong a certain "look," does aging become a personal failure rather than a natural process?
20. We often say "my body, my choice." Does that autonomy extend to using medical resources (like diabetes medication) for purely cosmetic purposes, even if it creates shortages for those who need them for survival?