Of monsters and men: Physical attractiveness and the appearance of monstrosity in Netflix’s You

Abstract

The series You, which has become part of the cultural zeitgeist since the first season became available on Netflix in December 2018, has introduced a protagonist at the same time in line and notably different from other serialized serial killers. By establishing the main character, played by former Gossip Girl heartthrob Penn Badgley, not only as the protagonist but romantic lead in a format blurring conventions from both the psychological thriller and the romance, the series challenges viewers to negotiate their attraction for a television character that seems ‘unloveable’. Portrayed as both a (literal) stalker and serial killer in the series, how viewers talk about Joe Goldberg underlines an understanding of the contemporary monstrous body as a site of manifestation. Through a discourse analysis of comments posted on Twitter and YouTube about the show and its main character, this article highlights how viewers interrogate questions of monstrosity and morality through the visuality of the body. As an interpretive repertoire centred on Embodiment, highlighting the attractive and non-threatening body functions as a practice of meaning-making that is aware of, but does not necessarily follow an ‘intended’ reading by the producers of popular culture.