Confronting Gendered Ageism: The Substance
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5195/cinej.2026.821Keywords:
ageism, gendered ageism, film analysis, body horror, male gazeAbstract
In contemporary media and film studies, age and gender discrimination have become increasingly prominent topics of discussion. Within the visual media industries, the representation of women based on age and gender often manifests either through overtly sexist portrayals or through their complete erasure from visibility. The social construction of aging and its impact on women, particularly how women are rendered invisible both on and off screen in the media and film industries remains a contested subject. Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance (2024) vividly exposes, through the lens of body horror, the intersection of gendered ageism, the exhaustion caused by an obsession with youth and beauty, and the ensuing bodily/self-loathing, as embodied in the story of a woman dismissed from her job in the male-dominated media industry on her 50th birthday. This study employs a qualitative case analysis of The Substance through the lens of feminist film theory and gendered ageism, exploring the pressures, alienation, and burnout experienced by women in the media sector. Fargeat uses the film to generate a powerful awareness of the social norms surrounding age and gender, while revealing the profound psychological damage inflicted upon women as a result of this intersectional discrimination.
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