You Narrative Analysis

 

Activity 3.7- You 

 

1. The premise of the plot of the thriller show, You, is to follow the life and to get inside the mind of character Joe Goldberg and his unhealthy obsessions with the women that come into his life. Joe’s crushes turn into sinister murders. He uses the help of social media to stalk them and then to actually stalking them in their day to day lives. He doesn't let anything stand in his way, even people. Joe uses his charming personality and attractive face to insert himself into the women's lives.  

 

2. The show, You, portrays the unhealthy habits of trauma, stalking, and psychopathy. Main themes that can be recognized in You are the relationships between love and the need for control and the high possibilities of danger and abuse that women in the 21st century face with their partners. 

 

3. The narrator in You is the main character, Joe Goldberg. It really helps the viewer see into his twisted mind and understand him. Having Joe as the narrator gives us the information as to the reason why he is doing the stalking, obsessive behavior, and murder. Throughout the whole series you are never left wondering as to why something is happening or has happened since Joe’s high skills in stalking help us. 

 

4. Yes, the narrative in You is built around conflict. Usually, it is Joe and the women he is obsessing over. He is trying so hard to get into their life. But when things don’t go to plan it creates conflict. He tries to reason with them but after a failed attempt he turns evil and takes matters into his own hands. This is started with kidnapping them and then holding them hostage. He tries to reason with them one more time but if that doesn't work it all ends the same with the woman dead. Obstacles that Joe overcomes each season are the risks of getting caught and people in his way. A lot of times he breaks into the woman’s house to see into their life, and he risks getting caught by them, but never does. Also, people in those woman's lives can be a struggle since they may see what kind of person he is and try to warn them, but of course Joe takes care of them. This show really gives us the perspective of the killers out there. 

 

5. The protagonist and antagonist are both Joe. He is the main character, and it is his story that makes him the protagonist. But he is also harming other characters in the story so that makes him the antagonist. The character that helps Joe is the character Love Quinn. She was introduced in season 2 and stayed until season 3. She is just like Joe, a stalker, and a murderer. They bond over that and “help” each other. They feel the need to protect one another. But that all ended in season 3 when Joe found another woman, Marianne, to obsess over and it ended in Love getting murdered by Joe. There aren't other characters that exist in the show to help Joe since every time he commits murder he moves and goes for another women. So, he doesn't really get the chance to make friends.