'The Substance' - A Lesson in Being Yourself with Someone You Half Remember.

The Substance is a film about the choices that we make and their physical and moral repercussions.

Elizabeth Sparkle (played by Demi Moore) is a well known aerobics personality on television who is liked by all.  This love is tempered by the fact that she is fifty years old and her age effectively renders her obsolete within a media industry that prefers their image makers to be young, sexy and pliable to suggestion.

Through a series of unfortunate events, she has an accident then ends up losing her job, she finds the substance of the title or more accurately, it finds her.  The USB stick being the seed for her future transformations (it provides information on how to obtain the substance after playing to the viewer's perceived feelings of inadequacy).

The substance effectively allows the creation of another perfect you, noticibly younger, but the one important lesson is that you and the other you are one.  Also you take it in turns to look after the other you as you are each allowed seven days to live your life, the other you ends up effectively unconscious for a week and has to be kept fed.

Now the first thing that the viewer notices is the location where the substance is picked up (refills also have to be picked up from there too).  On the outside, it is an alley which has seen far better days, but once the key card activates the entrance, the buyer enters an incredibly white and modern room with essentially lots of P.O. Boxes.  These are again accessed with the key card.  You take the box and follow the instructions when you get home but importantly, with one later exception, you go and pick up the drug (the later occasion involves a home delivery, the reason for this, I won't spoil).  It's always your choice.  Thinking back again on the crucial juxtaposition of the poverty and grime of the alley and the purity of the pick up point, the film is possibly reiterating the paradox of everyday life, we are always one step away from an infection, virus or disease of one sort or another, despite the rituals of cleanliness that we undertake.

Anyway, once Elizabeth begins the process after losing her job etc, Sue (played by Margaret Qualley) is born.

The birth of Sue is probably the most shocking sequence in the film.  She effectively emerges from Elizabeth's back.  An earlier sequence in the film involves a doctor after Elizabeth's accident effectively checking her flesh around the spinal area in the same way that you may assess the suitability of cattle or a piece of meat by pinching/massaging the flesh.  This act is clearly to ascertain her viability for the substance but we are not aware of this fact at that point.

I was curious by the decision to use the back for the birth.  Obviously, most regularly, births are vaginal with the exception of Caesarean and other births that may require surgery.  But from a narrative perspective, the speed of the metabolic growth of the perfect you results in the need for a large enough orifice to facilitate the emergence of an adult human being into the world.  I am sure that there is a symbolic significance to this idea.  From a religious perspective, Eve was apparently created out of one of Adam's ribs, but I strongly feel that the back marks the part of the body that you are least familiar with, the unseen (except in reflection).

Another idea that struck me is how similar the casting off of Elizabeth's body for Sue to be born resembles the imago stage when an insect metamorphosis into its final adult form (although, in this case, Elizabeth remains alive and it's not the final stage in Elizabeth's development as we shall later see).

Once Sue is 'born', Elizabeth who provides the matrix body in their symbiotic relationship at this point, is then effectively rendered semi-unconscious for seven days, so Sue has to suture the birth wound and then perform other clinical processes (lots of injections to make sure that Elizabeth doesn't die).  The same is true after seven days when the two switch (Sue becomes semi-unconscious and Elizabeth is responsible for caring for Sue). 

From a psychological perspective, it is interesting how the first time, Elizabeth in her semi-unconscious state sees Sue, is in a mirror.  In Lacan's psychoanalytic theory, the first time a child identifies that it is different from the world outside it and from its parents etc rather than maintaining the narcissitic belief that everything is part of the child's life revolves around the so-called 'mirror stage' in a child's development.  In this film, it's a literal mirror.

Sue is the perfect version of Elizabeth and effectively ends up replacing her in her television slot.  A new and intriguingly, even more sexualised version of Elizabeth's previous aerobics show.

Without giving everything away and returning this blog to the themes that interested me, the use of the substance goes very badly wrong.  The message, 'You are one' goes unheeded.

At its most pertinent, this is a film that questions societal assumptions about beauty and even more crucially, how we co-exist with our perceived notions of our past selves.  Throughout the film, Elizabeth is assailed by images of her past self looking beautiful and younger.  Even Sue, the new version of her is simply an idealised version of who Elizabeth once perceived herself to be.  The links between this film and 'The Portrait Of Dorian Gray' by Oscar Wilde are being liberally explored everywhere but let's return to one of the  underlying themes of the film, is it possible to integrate perceived memories of the younger you with the present you.  Are you the same person, despite the physical changes?  Do we ever really change psychologically?

I suspect that the lesson provided by the film is that the changes are possibly not as huge as we may believe them to be.  Our childhood needs still inform our adult desires.  Those attributes of Sue that the viewer may find despicable, such as the need to be the centre of attention even if Elizabeth has to suffer for the vanity, is probably no different to Elizabeth's past behaviour patterns.  After all, Elizabeth is 'one' with Sue.

The final transformation of Elizabeth and Sue into something so-called 'monstrous' becomes a metaphor for the importance of consolidating our understanding of our past sense of self with our current self.  The merged form is potentially the most beautiful because it has the greatest capacity for becoming something new.  A point of acceptance.  Reaching desperately for the past rather than allowing for the fact that our younger selves are still part of us, helps to instigate many a mid-life crisis (unfortunately, it doesn't work out in this film.  Elizabeth becomes something else).

Ultimately, like Elizabeth Sparkle, what will remain of us will be signs, signifiers and memories in other peoples' minds.  The star on the Walk of Fame may soon become an inscription on a piece of stone.

If this film has one coherent moral, it is to live your life freely without the need for external agents or objects of change.  Your mind is the focal point for learning and change; your body, a transient, ever mutating extension of the unknowable forces that drive us.  Respect your body but more crucially, nurture your mind.

If 'you are one', let one matter.

                                                                                                Barry Watt - 27th September 2024. 

Afterword. 

The Substance is currently screening in a number of cinemas and is definitely worth seeing.  It was directed by Coralie Fargeat.  This blog only touches the surface of the many subjects I could have explored in relation to the film.  Intriguingly, when I stumbled on the idea of the imago, in connection with the metamorphosis of insects, I also learnt that there is a form of relationship therapy called Imago Relationship Therapy developed by Harville Hendrix and Helen LaKelly Hunt, which explores the notion that we may select partners based on childhood needs and views etc.  As such, this form of therapy explores present issues in relation to past memories and events etc.  In many respects, using this psychoanalytic model also opens up this beautifully constructed film, so off you go!

The quotes from the film and the ideas/plot elements are copyright to the individuals and companies connected with the film.

Lacan's 'mirror stage' is like many psychoanalytic concepts subject to continual debate.  Jacques Lacan first posited his theory at the Fourteenth International Psychoanalytical Congress at Marienbad in 1936.  He developed the theory throughout his life.  I am not an expert and I apologise if my distillation of the theory has simplified it.  Lacan is quite a difficult writer to understand, so possibly, get yourself an introductory book to his life and works.  I am working from memory and a brief scan of Wikipedia (Thanks, Wikipedia).  

'The Portrait of Dorian Gray' was written by Oscar Wilde and is well worth reading but does not offer very much in connection with this film.

                                                                                                                                               BW.

Photograph.

.

The Substance promotional poster.  

Used to illustrate the blog but used

without permission).

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The Importance of Being Belligerent?

The other day, a work colleague and friend, posted an image of a jar on Facebook with the instruction to imaging placing a positive word beginning with the first letter of your first name (typing the word in the comments section of Facebook).  I thought about this for a little while and came up with 'Belligerence'.

Now I don't know where the word came from but I do know that I liked the word's phonetic qualities.  For some reason, I had forgotten its meaning (basically, a belligerent person is someone who is prone to being argumentative and aggressive).

So why did I choose this word?  Was it really an accident?

Sigmund Freud talks about how a lot of things we perceive as slips of the tongue actually warrant exploration.  I certainly remember at secondary school replying, 'Yes, Mum' as my name was out out to my embarrassment on one occasion.

In which case, nothing is truly arbitrary and meaning can be ascribed to everything.

This has led me to wonder whether my seemingly random remembrance of this word is my unconscious trying to tell me something.

As children, we are mainly encouraged not to argue, be aggressive or to be angry.  I was bullied at various points throughout my school life, so I can see the problems inherent within that notion.  In very real terms, sublimating your feelings of frustration, fear and uncertainty can cause lifelong issues.  The only time I retaliated at school was after a prolonged period of being bullied.  I ended up getting the boy in a headlock when I just couldn't take anymore.  From then on, him and his mate left me alone.  Also interestingly, when the bell rang at the end of the break time, I retaliated I went straight to my next class.  Conditioning and structure are very important.

By nature, I am not a fighter, although at its most focused, I can see the value of argument and debate but it does need to be controlled in some way.  For example, a child having a temper tantrum every time they want something, probably shouldn't be rewarded with a gift.  Behaviours are learnt or are they?

The writer, psychiatrist, psychotherapist and psychologist, Carl Jung was very interested in archetypes and how as human beings, it is necessary to come to terms with the less palatable aspects of our characters, our 'shadow selves', the bits we consider unacceptable and to try to incorporate them into our more society friendly personas.

I have always been fascinated by the idea of Freud's topography of the psyche, particularly the unconscious and later, the Id.  Those primary energy channels that probably tie up with the most extreme emotions (or help to generate them).  When we experience, love, hate, rage etc, we can probably thank the unconscious for the emotions.

I am currently undergoing a period of intensive self exploration, a confrontation of who I am and who I hope to become.  As such, looking at my moods and the triggers for said moods is imperative for my future progression.  I have learnt that sometimes anger provides a useful release for pent up frustrations.  Being single and mentally going rounds in circles at times (OCD etc), whilst trying to structure and understand a chaotic world does lead to moments where I wish to scream at the moon.

Anger, if channelled correctly, can generate tremendous amounts of positive change and indeed, creativity.  If you don't believe me, just listen to any number of songs such as Bob Dylan's Idiot Wind or Elvis Costello's Tramp The Dirt Down for examples of how the worst life events, relationship break-ups and loss etc can produce incendiary works.

But left untethered, anger can cause physical problems and lead to addictions to try to conceal the more unpleasant aspects of character and rage can produce.

Over the years, I have got most angry inside when I have felt most frustrated, exploited or hurt.  Seeing people angry or argumentative terrifies me as the 'fight or flight' imperative may be useful in a warzone, but serves minimal use in day to day living.

So what word did I find after I finally discarded 'belligerence'?  Benefaction.

But although, I prefer the act of giving, somewhere inside I sense that it goes hand in hand with those primal energies and drives that we live with throughout our lives.  If the human condition is essentially to be born and then to die, at my most withdrawn and/or depressed, I see myself mirrored in the subject of Edvard Munch's The Scream.  

Where there is anger and frustration, there can be hope for change.

                                                                                                     Barry Watt - 17th August 2024.

Afterword.

Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud were both very prolific.  Their ideas can either be read in more condensed forms via other writers or in their own words translated for interested parties.  I can probably guide you in the right directions but you can read more if you want.  Needless to say, my summaries of their ideas are my interpretations of their theories etc as they apply to me.

Bob Dylan's Idiot Wind originally appeared on his album, Blood on the Tracks and in its live 1976 incarnation could well win the award for the angriest and also paradoxically, most life affirming songs of all time.  As part of the indirect lessons suggested by this blog, go and see the performance from Fort Collins in 1976 on You Tube that also appears in an audio form on the album, Hard Rain.

Elvis Costello's Tramp The Dirt Down featured on his album, Spike.  It's an extremely angry song exploring his feelings surrounding Margaret Thatcher and the Conservative Party during the 80s.  One of the most articulate and beautiful songs that you will ever hope to hear.

Edvard Munch's The Scream is a painting that continues to resonate within Western societies.

                                                                                                                                  BW.

Photo.

If you know, you know.

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A Prescription of Bubbles - On Gifts and Other Surprises.

For your current state of mind, I would like to offer you a prescription of bubbles...

In human civilisation, the act and indeed, art of gifting exists hand in hand with other needs such as a survival and companionship.

We gift to connect.

These connections may assume different forms.  Historically, a sacrifice or votive offering to a God or deities to ensure a good harvest, fertility or abundance was a form of gifting, albeit a symbolic or superstitious act of giving.  In these cases, a bloody carcass or a basket of fruit would be given in praise with the hopes of reciprocation for good or better times to come.  Depending upon the straits and preoccupations of the individual or tribes or simply groups of people, these acts of gifting were often accompanied by dance and song which may have augured positive change.

For a moment, just ponder how you have been gifted at various points in your life?

This week at work, I have been given two very different gifts.  I hasten to add that both gifts were precious to me for a number of reasons.

One gift was a week's worth of tea bags that had been collected and wrapped in a ribbon from a friend who had been in Ireland for a wedding.  The tea bags were Barry's Tea and were in sachets.  The kinds of tea bags you get in hotels and bed and breakfast establishments.  She had seen them and thought of me.  I was very touched with the gift.  The decision to give me seven tea bags for a week's worth of oral sustenance and to satiate my hydration needs was very moving.  The friend, because ultimately everybody who gives you a gift is a friend, regardless of their connection to you (family, spouse or work colleague) has bothered to think of you and has chosen to carry a handful of tea across an ocean to hand it to you in a ribbon.  A present of the moment, born of a feeling of positivity generated by the currents of optimism and hope surrounding the wedding.  The marriage of two people and the nice nature of my friend had seen both the humour and use value of Barry's Tea.  I loved this gift.

Another gift I was directly given came about after a random comment to another friend, in connection to the act of creativity.  I had mentioned origami to be told that a friend could only make swans.  Being the inquisitive person that I am, I asked to see the swan.  A little while later, I was given a perfectly folded simulacrum of a swan.  The intricate details of the wings etc astounded me and again, I was touched by the gift.  I was also told that the swan was called 'Barry'.  

Both of these gifts were very different but they both served to make me feel special or elated in some way.  They were both creative gifts.  To me, valuable gifts because of their emotional impact and the positivity that surrounded the acts of giving.

What are the other gifts that you remember from your life?

Personally, I remember lots of books, money and vouchers (I give them as much as I receive them).  A well chosen book can initiate a series of memories and or a sense of space.  Money and vouchers are in many respects an open-ended invitation to change a moment, an opening to experience a transitory feeling.  Possibly, to see something different or to put an object on a shelf or on your body that may bring someone to mind.

I really like receiving creative gifts, although I am grateful for everything I am given.

Also and rather mysteriously, there are indirect gifts.  For me, these are works of art or creativity that were created for the world outside my home such as street art.  Seemingly 'out of place' engagements with the world outside.  Visual messages or the warm hue when something tranquil and meaningful is needed.  The works are not always to everyone's liking but they serve a purpose.

Also the current trend for leaving poetry and prose on lampposts etc can be inspiring.  These can be messages such as the 'Dear Stranger' positive affirmations and reminders that despite your state of mind, you are never truly alone, even if you can't or won't connect at that moment.

Nature provides gifts too, if you are open to receiving them.  Depression often shuts people down but the sudden appearance of an insect or flower may breach the darkening skies and provide light.  After all, who can look at a moth or butterfly or bumble bee and not be truly astounded by their sense of purpose or possibly, joy of existence?  I doubt there are many card carrying union members among the birds in the sky as they tunefully herald in the dawn of a new day?

I am thankful for everything that has been given to me from a place and state of positivity, regardless of how I have felt in myself at the time of receiving.  For example, the poem I was given as a young man by a friend on about a butterfly, handwritten in pencil on a card.  I still have the card somewhere, the pencil is probably fading but the sentiment of happiness still shines.

Dear Reader, what can I give you?  You who have loyally read to the end of this blog.  I can give you a prescription of bubbles.  You can exchange them whenever you want to see something moving in a different direction.  They will be transient, but they will exhibit multiple colours and elicit a succession of emotions in you.  They will rise and burst.  They will change, just as you will change.  Please ride the watery spherical trail with my love and to those who continue to give, my eternal thanks.

P.S. A smile can be a gift in the right moment too.

                                                                                            Barry Watt - 4th August 2024.

Photos.

Barry's Tea.  They really are.

Barry the Swan looking resplendent.

I really like Nathan Bowen's street art.  It's often 

located outside building sites or closed businesses.

Dear Stranger...  Making connections.

A moth or butterfly came to say hello.

A friend's envelope design.

Embroidery on a card.  Again, it moved me. 
A gift from a friend.

I saw this yesterday.  Something about the positive 

affirmation and the little house.

                                                                                                                                  BW.