‘The Substance’ as allegory of dynasties
By JD Flores
Bulatlat.com
Everyone is talking about the body-horror movie The Substance and what is says about the pitfalls and extremes of Hollywood glamorizing and dehumanizing women as objects of beauty, the abuse of and tragedy that women undergo to follow such a standard. But the way I see it, it also is about the extreme of loving political dynasties, and bloodlust.
This may be a far-off take on the movie, but if director Lana Wachowski could say her cyberpunk film series The Matrix is about homosexuality, perhaps The Substance can be about the horrors of dynasts capturing our consciousness.
Let’s start with the characters of the old Elisabeth Sparkle and her younger alter-self Sue. They are symbiotic characters in a bizarre way — one has to fall into a coma-like state for seven days while the other lives in the world, and vice versa. It’s very much like how dynasties seem to leave their elected post once their consecutive terms end and their younger generation takes over; then the cycle repeats. The “switch” as the film explains, needs to be done, to stabilize the entity. “Remember, you are one.”
Dynasts in local governments do the happy switching. Mayor becomes district rep, child who is vice mayor takes over, or mayor swaps position with wife who happens to be district rep. It’s just like the way Elisabeth and Sue just stick the IV needle to transplant the consciousness to the other self.
But unlike the movie, there’s no dysfunction in this symbiotic dynasts. There is stability with the cycle, with their name, and the system in politics that leaves them entrenched: patronage, ayuda, projects for barangays in exchange of loyalty, or sometimes there will be no programs at all.
Though dynasties come in various styles, histories and political colors, none could be more bloody colorful and a bit dysfunctional like the Dutertes.
The Duterte dynast act and think that they are celebrity rockstars. That all eyes, all media, will catch their every word, every cuss, every smirk and taunt, and even an action of slitting the throat.
Digong has mastered politics as entertainment. Just when you think you are done with six years of his spiteful speeches and ramblings in COVID-19 meetings, he hijacked the Senate proceedings and turned it into his near eight-hour extended Gikan sa Masa program cursing criminals and justifying his order to police officers to kill drug users and pushers who fight back.
Their mantra – drugs, kill, drag critics to hell — breeds its own fandom, and the bloodlust for more. But alas, the next gen of the Dutertes are like Sue — glossy eye candy but reckless. Reckless to the point of “misuse” of power, the confidential funds, the P51-billion infrastructure projects spent in just three years for one district alone, and the rumored night-outs and binging instead of showing up in office. No wonder the old Digong looks weary like Elisabeth, the power is bleeding from them, and it needs to be stopped.
But where does this end? Can this symbiotic condition of dynasts be stopped?
Does it end like the Monstro Elisasue splattering blood in what was supposed to be her crowning moment of validation?
Weeks ago, VP Sara’s presscon was all about rant and bloodlust, as she spew about her fever dream of cutting the head of her former Uniteam tandem, and taunt her detractors that it is fine if they drag her to Hell as she is the president of Hell.
It’s not only their followers who are splattered with such uttering of bloody wet dreams but even the detractors, the public who are already with politics and mindless bickering. This is what the DDS asked for, but with dire consequence. As the country reels from typhoons, soaring prices of basic commodities, traffic and floods, the dynasts are after each other’s throats.
The movie ends with the disfigured Elisa Sue shattered on the pavement, as the original Elisabeth crawled away she sees stars and remembers basking in her moments of fame.
Fame and power are temporary. Wanting too much of it is tragedy. (RVO)
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