Blow-Up (1966) by Michelangelo Antonioni is a richly layered film that invites various interpretations centered around perception, reality, existentialism, and the nature of art through the story of a fashion photographer, Thomas, who believes he has photographed a murder. As he enlarges the images, they become abstract, questioning the reliability of perception and the nature of truth. Set against the superficial and hedonistic backdrop of 1960s London, the film critiques the emptiness beneath the glamorous surface. Thomas’s detached and disaffected character embodies existentialist themes, searching for meaning in an indifferent world.
This theme of questioning reality and searching for meaning resonates with contemporary issues, and a few things have been coming to the surface lately; maybe it’s because I am paying more attention. I have been particularly fascinated with the “glow-up” obsession. In our generation, that was just a good old-fashioned makeover movie, but in newer generations, it tends to mean all kinds of cosmetic and surgical ways to make themselves fit into a specific mode of whatever beauty standard is of the moment. I often wonder what will happen to them when they actually become middle-aged, or god forbid, “old.”
In comes the new age of the “glow-down,” perhaps because even younger generations are beginning to understand the effects these trends have had on not only mental health but also challenges whether these beauty standards serve personal empowerment or societal expectations – what does it mean to be feminist? Am I doing this for myself, or am I doing it for someone else, or even a beauty standard? This line of questioning comes deeply into play as we age up. In a recent interview, Chloe Sevigny, the lifelong “it” girl, said, “I think aging is really one of the worst things of all time. Maybe it’s easier when you’re over the hump and just an elegant older lady. Middle age is really tricky.” It made me wonder, is it all toxic positivity that forces us to feel like being middle-aged is great? Some days, I feel great; most days, I don’t. It is tricky, especially when your mind tells you you are 22.
Perception or reality – I am not totally sure. I guess it’s something we have been challenging through the ages and not just about aging. Most of us are searching for meaning in a world that has become entirely indifferent to us. A world where we become unseen, and maybe it’s because we don’t want to be literally seen anymore, but seen not for who we were but who we have become. Jenny Mollen sums this up perfectly in the piece Do We Nip It, Tuck It, or Just Say, ‘F**k It’? where she writes, “In a society where youth has always been a currency, we are all tragic heroes fighting against insurmountable odds.” The chicken and egg factor of this is real; society presents us with a double bind as women when we are young to be hot but not too hot. That double bind evolves for us as we age, putting us into the “she’s so hot for her age” category and asking us to disappear. So what does that leave us with except knowing, truly knowing, how much wiser we have become. A woman I know who is older than me once told me when I was in my early thirties that she used to cry about things when she was younger; now, she just washes her hair. I thought then, I can’t wait to get to that point.
There is a lot of comfort in knowing that these conversations and explorations into these themes have existed throughout history, even if they look slightly different. The modern discourse on beauty and aging reflects a search for authenticity and self-acceptance in a world obsessed with superficiality.
My dear friend and co-founder shared this with me yesterday, invoking a sense of question and the knowledge that at least I am halfway.
In gratitude,
Ali, Forty Fifty
Also, if you like this post, please do ❤️ it as it allows for further visibility on Substack, which allows us to continue doing our thang. xo
ICYMI
Embracing the Unraveled Fabric
Middle age brought clarity and self-assurance, allowing this author to create her own narrative, free from the weight of others' expectations. Read her story.
Other Reads This Week
“Do We Nip It, Tuck It, or Just Say, ‘F**k It’?”
A truly hilarious rant about aging by actor and writer
.Chloë Sevigny Finds Middle Age ‘Tricky’ but Loves a Scent Associated With Grandmothers
The actor was open about her struggles with aging and what she wants next in her career.
The ‘Glow Down’ Is the New Glow Up
After years of skin-care routines, med-spa visits, and plastic surgeries, some creators are now reversing it all.
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