oliver reads his essay and farleigh says he uses thus a lot and talks about how he doesn’t like the style of the paper while oliver then rebuttals by saying the substance is what matters

i think this is a significant scene in setting up the movie for both the characters and the audience. the conversation points out how the catton’s look down upon oliver due to how he presents himself and how this subsequently helps him take control because they’re too busy with aesthetics. as for the audience, I think it sets up a response to reactions to the movie. a lot of people complained it was gross and disturbing because they were once again viewing it at a surface level and being distracted by the “gross” scenes, taking focus away from the brilliance of everything the film sets up.