hat is beauty? Who sets the standards for beauty?

There was a social media post recently suggesting there are four kinds of beauty; naturally glowy; look like a model; fit the popular pretty aesthetic; or just be plain vanilla-standard pretty. Put that way, it sounds crude and comes off as a social dilemma. One wonders where the society is headed. However, Hollywood and some other media industries put in little to no effort to counter, diminish or eradicate these notions. Hollywood feeds off of pretty faces.

This brings us to a movie that premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. A Different Man is a movie everybody should see. Kardashians and Jenners are the role models leading from the front. They have normalised body modifying surgeries as a simple solution to insecurities. In a society where beauty is money and perfection is the ultimate aim, many young celebrities have grown enamoured with plastic surgery. Drawn into a glamorous world that values faultless appearances, some actors decide to undergo cosmetic modifications, believing this will advance their career and bolster their confidence. Lip fillers, sculpted features and a redefined image are promised to bring success. However, underneath the polished veneer, a deeper conflict unfolds, as the burden of sustaining these new identities become overwhelming.
There is no doubt in today’s world that youngsters impressed by the facelifts, rhinoplasties, liposuctions, implants ad botox etc race to get these procedures. In some cases these surgeries are meant to assist in normal functioning if a person has a disorder (for example those with neuro-fibromatosis). Those who undergo surgeries for a better facial look are often entering a vicious cycle of surgeries and procedures that always leaves them feeling inadequate psychologically and, if overdone, leave them looking more of a monster than a human. Not to mess with Mother Nature is a cardinal rule. But humans seldom learn from history.

As this pursuit of perfection spirals into a fixation, people are confronted with a painful realisation: the altered image that initially felt empowering starts to feel like a prison. The industry’s rigid beauty standards, apps that promote filters and airbrushing along with the introduction of artificial intelligence to recreate a person from scratch in the digital world amplified by social media’s glossy façade, begin to erode one’s sense of self. What once seemed like a solution to insecurity only magnifies it, leaving individuals grappling with regret, loss of identity and the high cost of chasing an unattainable ideal.

The story of A Different Man follows a young actor, Edward, who has neuro-fibromatosis, a condition in which tumors grow on his face. The excellent use of prosthetics on Sebastian Stan who plays Edward is an ode to how far the makeup, film and technology industry have come. Lonely and melancholy he has been unable to find work in New York – his only scored gig being an educational video to normalise facially different individuals. Edward is seemingly content and a little hesitant towards trying a new treatment to alleviate his suffering, being called a ‘monster’ on the streets. His new neighbour is the lovely Ingrid (Renate Reinsve), a young writer whose emotions for him appear to be purely platonic. Despondent that she would never love him, Edward joins an experimental treatment programme that promises to ‘fix’ his disease. His tumours vanish quickly, leaving him with the dashing and handsome features of Sebastian Stan. Now calling himself Guy and assuring people that Edward has committed suicide, he eagerly plots his new personality.

The movie portrays the anguish, agony and internal conflict of people who think being pretty is all they need before coming to the realisation that what they need is acceptance of themselves from themselves rather than conformity to societal beauty standards.

A successful real estate agent - women flocking to his no longer leaking-roof apartment - his life finally seems to be what he had always desired it to be. That is until he learns that Ingrid is making a play named Edward as a commemoration to his memory and struggles. This seems like a cosmic joke to him for when the role he was meant to play finally rolled in he was no longer who he had been. From a role that could have made him a star to dating Ingrid, his life has come to a dark-humour take. The satire only deepens when British actor Adam Pearson, playing Oswald, starts showing up to the set of Ingrid’s play and Guy, formerly known as Edward, feels deep jealous towards him. He begins to regret losing a part of his personality that Oswald carries with pride.

Adam and Edwards’s roles are crucial in this story. They represent every man grappling with societal pressures, specifically the expectations placed on men to remain youthful and powerful in a world that increasingly equates appearance with success. Their, particularly Adam’s, journey underlines the often-overlooked fact that men, too, are under enormous pressure to adhere to unattainable expectations of physical perfection. Edward’s decision to undergo surgery is symbolic of the fear of becoming irrelevant as they age. The movie also shows how humans are the ne plus ultra of unaccepting shortcomings.

The film is being labelled as the best in Stan’s career. However, it does not even come close to the feelings of dissatisfaction and inability to accept oneself as they are. The movie accurately portrays the anguish, agony and internal conflict of people who think being pretty is all they need before coming to the realisation that what they need is acceptance of themselves by themselves rather than conformity to societal beauty standards.

The film, which was released on Apple TV+ on 20^th of this month, also pushes forth the idea that the real pain, humiliation, insecurity and challenges faced by those with diseases can never be replicated by actors even great actors. The real life success of Adam comes as a contrast to the popular notion of “how actors are supposed to look a certain way to be successful” and as a debacle to the film industry that constantly keeps pushing unrealistic standards. The multiple layers of lack of confidence in self and hints towards body dysmorphic disorders point towards deeper issues that are taking a firm grip in one’s mind and in the society, slowly but surely.

The writer has a degree in psychology with a minor in mass communication. She can be reached at ukmaryam2@gmail.com