We need films like ‘The Substance’ and ‘A Different Man’ now more than ever
The Golden Globes kicked off the 2025 Awards Season last night, and while there were some disappointments and upsets, a few first-time wins highlighted important Hollywood disparities.
Demi Moore won for her turn in The Substance, and Sebastian Stan won for A Different Man. It was a first-time win for both of them, and a much-deserved one. Their performances in their respective roles were truly career-best, and the awards for them were a long time coming.
Both films deal with the idea of not liking who you are and wanting to change yourself because of societal expectations. The Substance deals with the struggles women face in the industry as they age, and the stigma around what they will do to stay young. A Different Man handles not liking your appearance and doing whatever you can to change it, then changing yourself for the worse rather than staying true to who you used to be. Both films have disastrous consequences.
During her acceptance speech, Moore talked about how it was her first win in 45 years of acting, and how she was in a low place prior to receiving the script for the film. For someone who is a household name, especially for those of us that grew up seeing her onscreen, that is an incredibly shocking revelation. It feels like lately, with the state of Hollywood being what it is, we are hearing more about people who nearly gave up acting after decades before finally finding that one perfect script.
Self-worth is more than just other peoples’ perceptions of ourselves
We tend to measure our self-worth by what we do or do not do, what we accomplish or fail at accomplishing. For women especially it is difficult to value ourselves or know our worth. The Substance is one of those films with a heavier meaning that is consistently misinterpreted (hi, Kim Kardashian). Its commentary is about how ridiculous it is to one to attain these goals, and the lengths women will go for them.
She ended her speech with a quote she received from a woman once that stuck with her:
In those moments when we don’t think we’re smart enough or pretty enough, or skinny enough or successful enough, or basically just not enough, I had a woman say to me, ‘Just know, you will never be enough. But you can know the value of your worth if you just put down the measuring stick.’
Meanwhile, Stan used his acceptance speech to talk about the prejudice people with disabilities and disfigurements continue to face:
Our ignorance and discomfort around disability and disfigurement has to end now. We have to normalize it and continue to expose ourselves [and our children] to it. Encourage acceptance. One way we can do that is by continuing to champion stories that are inclusive.
He went on to say, “We can’t be afraid and look away.”
Much of his press for this film has been championing costar Adam Pearson, often stepping aside for Pearson to receive accolades rather than himself. Likewise, Pearson himself has also been using every chance he can to praise Stan. It’s a heartwarming friendship, one you can tell is genuine and borne out of respect for each other. It’s no surprise coming from Stan, who remains as humble as he did pre-Marvel.
The film itself also successfully treads what could be a delicately thin line, and it never punches down when it comes to appearance. Rather, the twist is that the more attractive Stan’s character gets, the uglier his personality becomes. It’s an important lesson to be learned, and it is one that I fear has also gone over the heads of many.
With social media’s omnipresence, and the beauty standards that seem to change year after year, these are the types of stories that need to be pushed front and center. Misogyny still runs rampant. People still look away rather than trying to understand. Women who are household names aren’t seen as worthy enough for an award, and people with disfigurements are not even considered contenders for those awards. Hollywood has its shiny, golden veneer, and they want it to stay that way.
It is more important than ever that we push ourselves and learn to love ourselves. We are unique for a reason; if everybody was the same, or looked the same, we’d want out of that, too.
This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.
