“Supervenus” is an animated short film, exactly 2:38 minutes, created by French filmmaker Frédéric Doazan. The film details our modern day obsession with obtaining the “perfect” body and the lengths that women will go to in order to achieve it.
The heroine is a paper doll type figure inside an anatomy book. When a pair of surgical hands appear her quest for Supervenus begins. She is shaved, nipped, augmented and tanned throughout the film’s duration in the name of beauty. Although a bit graphic, I admit I was taken aback a little when I first watched it, Supervenus literally dissects the history of the female body, and the extreme lengths women have to go through to achieve a disturbingly unnatural idealization of femininity. So much so that even motherhood becomes viewed as something unattractive and to be avoided in the name of maintaining that perfect figure. The sudden addition of makeup, liposuction, and the ready removal of bone tissue redefines our cultural Venus, the goddess that embodies beauty itself.
As the film progresses and you witness one procedure after another the message hits you hard– this is exactly what countless women and men do on a daily basis in search of an unattainable ideal of beauty. Why is it unattainable? Well, because what we see in magazines, television and movies is not real. There is no such thing as “perfection”. It does not exist. But our society has become so taken by this unhealthy quest to achieve it that they are willing to risk the same body that they are fighting to perfect in order to obtain it.
Although not suitable for work viewing due to nudity and some gore, I suggest that you do take the time out to watch it. And as always, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.
Until next time my lovelies ,
Woah! All I can say is this is super deep and a sad but true look at how the pressures of society can make a woman think that she is not “perfect” as she is 😦 We are all #fearfullyandwonderfullymade
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I completely agree Limarie. And the thing is the rules of “perfection” keep changing. So unless you decide to take a stand and love yourself as you are- then the outcome might be similar to the film’s ending.
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Wow. That was more gruesome then I expected (even though I read your warning lol). However, the message it’s trying to demonstrate is so true. I actually loved the video once I was done being creeped out! Can’t wait to see what you will blog about next 😉
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Hi Darla! Lol, I won’t say I told you so…but. No I understand, I felt the same way. I wasn’t prepared for the animation to be so graphic and life-like. But I think the impact it makes on us visually really drives the message home.
Thank you so much for the follow, I’m glad I found your blog via Fattitude today. 🙂
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I’m glad you found my blog too. I’ve been enjoying browsing around. There are a lot of great posts.
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