A fading Hollywood aerobics TV star is fired on her 50th birthday by her crude male producer for being too old. She injects a black-market serum that spawns a younger, more perfect version of herself, leading to body horror, addiction-like rules, and grotesque self-destruction as the two versions battle for dominance. The narrative centers on female aging, beauty obsession, and identity fragmentation under societal pressure. Strong feminist themes visibly critique patriarchy and Hollywood's treatment of women through exaggerated satire of male gaze and beauty standards.
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Was our 79% Woke rating accurate?
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for The Substance.
Woke representation / casting
No forced diversity or casting mismatches visible.
20%
Woke political dialogue
Satirizes industry sexism through crude male dialogue.
50%
Identity-driven story themes
Story centers on women's beauty obsession and identity destruction.
65%
Western institutional / cultural critique
Hammers patriarchal Hollywood and beauty standards as the enemy.
60%
Woke character or canon changes
Not present in this title.
0%
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Backlash is weak and mostly artistic/feminist internal debate.
25%
Creator track record context
Director/writer Coralie Fargeat's track record includes feminist *Revenge* and public statements framing this as critique of patriarchy and women's societal pressures.
85%
Production
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