Excessive Sexual Immorality, Violence Ruin YOU Season 1
By Ashley Ausburn, Contributing Writer
YOU season one follows Joe Goldberg in his obsessive pursuit of an aspiring writer named Guinevere Beck. Although the show is well-written, it contains far too much sexual immorality and violence for Movieguide® to recommend to any viewer, as the content discussed in this article doesn’t even scratch the surface of how vile the show can be at times.
After meeting Guinevere, known affectionately to her friends as “Beck,” in Mooney’s bookstore where he works, Joe is instantly smitten. Joe looks Beck up on social media and becomes obsessed with her, leading to a complicated romantic relationship between the two leads and everyone in Beck’s life.
YOU has a dominant romantic worldview with elements of paganism. Although Joe is highly logical in his thinking, he lacks the common sense and morals to see that murder and violence are wrong and allows his emotions and fixation on Beck to fuel his actions. Joe pursues a romanticized reality that leaves many people dead or broken in his wake. Joe uses love to justify everything he does, no matter how wrong or immoral it is, including cheating on his girlfriend, stalking, and killing.
The stalking aspect can be horrifying at times, as Joe is watching Beck almost all the time, even when Beck is doing activities that this article won’t mention due to the nature of them.
The dialogue in YOU is studded with foul language of all kinds, as well as characters taking the Lord’s name in vain. There are several instances of violence throughout the series. Joe’s whole motive is to kill everyone that Beck is close to so it’s just him and her. Throughout the season, Joe murders people, often in grotesque ways.
There’s also domestic abuse. Joe’s neighbor Claudia is shown with injuries from her boyfriend. At one point the injuries become so severe that she’s taken to the ER. Joe ends up killing Claudia’s boyfriend for what he does to her.
There are several sex scenes in YOU, with multiple scenes of implied nudity. Nothing is explicitly shown during these scenes, but both sex and nudity are heavily implied. None of these scenes occur with married couples. Joe and Beck also hook up while Joe is still in a relationship with Karen.
There are homosexual elements and scenes of homosexual romance when Joe finds out that Peach, Beck’s best friend, is also secretly in love with Beck.
Sexual encounters happen throughout the show, not just in one episode. Joe fantasizes often, which is even more creepy and disturbing than seeing the sex scenes in the show. The scenes are so lewd we wont go into more detail.
YOU has a mild level of alcohol use among drinking-age adults. Beck meets friends in bars on several occasions and once gets drunk enough to fall onto subway tracks and almost die. The show references drug usage and shows characters smoking marijuana. It also shows a depiction of someone going through withdrawal. The character is shown vomiting in a trash can and looking ill while she detoxes.
Other problematic features of YOU include terrible role models, dysfunctional family systems, stalking, cheating on significant others, lying, greed, and stealing.
YOU is a well-written psychological thriller with a set of characters that feel very real, and an intriguing plot that keeps you on your toes. Watching Joe use social media to stalk and manipulate Beck’s entire life instills a very real fear in viewers. The problems with this show don’t reside in the writing or production, but with the horrible content and morals it portrays.
YOU features extreme and excessive violence, sex and miscellaneous immorality, and Movieguide® doesn’t recommend it for any audiences.
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
