Ozempic Culture: How the Obsession with Youth Is Reshaping Media

The rise of GLP-1 receptor agonists like Ozempic marks a transition toward a “body economy” where medical interventions, social media filters, and aesthetic procedures are increasingly viewed as mandatory for personal and professional success. According to the CCCB contemporary arts center exhibition The Cult of Beauty, this shift reinforces historical standards of perfection while rebranding them as matters of individual responsibility and self-management.

The New Body Economy and GLP-1 Medications

Weight-loss drugs originally intended for diabetes management have evolved into symbols of a broader societal demand for bodily optimization. As noted in the exhibition The Cult of Beauty, the discourse surrounding these treatments has become increasingly “totalitarian,” driven by social media platforms that amplify the pressure to maintain youth, thinness, and a lack of visible aging. Christopher E. Forth, a history professor at the University of Kansas and author of Fat: A Cultural History of the Stuff of Life, identifies these trends as an “invisible regimen” that modern neoliberal subjects feel obligated to follow.

Cultural Reflections of Bodily Perfection

Contemporary cinema and television have begun to mirror the anxieties of a culture obsessed with physical modification. Coralie Fargeat’s 2024 film The Substance, starring Demi Moore, serves as a parable for the exhaustion of chasing eternal youth, depicting a television star who uses an experimental drug to create a “more commercially viable” version of herself. Similarly, Aaron Schimberg’s A Different Man explores the limits of physical transformation, illustrating that changing one’s outward appearance does not inherently resolve internal insecurities.

Other works highlight the darker trajectory of this trend:

• The Beauty (Disney+): A series by Ryan Murphy that imagines a virus that confers physical perfection but eventually kills its host.
• The Ugly Ones (Netflix): A dystopia where cosmetic surgery is mandatory upon reaching adolescence.
• Insatiable (late July): A horror film centered on a medical student who uses a drug made from human ashes to lose weight.

The Historical Roots of Aesthetic Pressure

The current obsession with the body is not entirely new. Curators Júlia Llull and Blanca Arias of the CCCB exhibition argue that Judeo-Christian morality historically linked beauty to righteousness, while deformity or difference were frequently coded as signs of disorder or sin. This historical context helps explain the resurgence of the “monster” figure in contemporary body horror, which serves to embody everything the current canon seeks to expel.

Rosario Villajos, author of La educación física, notes that while beauty ideals were once delivered through magazines and television, they now persist through screens that never turn off. “We live in an era where we are told that if we aren’t thin, young or attractive, it is because we haven’t tried hard enough,” Villajos says. This creates a environment where failing to meet aesthetic standards is viewed as a personal failure rather than an impossible social construct.

Future Trends: Beyond Biological Limits

Discussions regarding longevity are intensifying as medical technology pushes the boundaries of human biology. Director Maria Martínez Bayona, whose film The End of It depicts a future where aging is treated as a medical condition, observes that the focus on living forever has become a major industry. Figures such as Bryan Johnson, who claims he’s going to live forever, represent a growing movement that views human finitude as a problem to be solved rather than a natural state.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is the “monster” figure appearing more often in recent films?

According to curators Júlia Llull and Blanca Arias, the monster serves as a figure that embodies everything the current beauty canon seeks to expel, reflecting anxieties about constant bodily intervention.

How has the role of media changed in promoting body standards?

As noted by author Rosario Villajos, media has moved from magazines and television to constant, 24/7 exposure via social media, which reinforces the belief that aesthetic perfection is an individual responsibility.

Is the “body positivity” movement still effective?

Aida González Rossi, author of Gorda sinvergüenza, suggests that body-positive discourse has often been absorbed by the system, sometimes creating new, equally restrictive standards for how one “should” be fat.

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