You Re Not You

In the film, You’re Not You, the main character, Kate, is a successful woman who seems to have it all; the husband, the house and an abundance of talent. Beck, is a younger character who contrasts Kate due to her carefree spirit, messy life and lack of good judgement. It is not until the two meet due to Kate’s development of Lou Ghrig’s disease, that their personalities and lifestyles rub off on each other. Kate and Beck’s initial differences are continuously pitted against each other throughout the film. Sexuality and desire are focused on and attributed to both Kate and Beck, but in a contrasting manner. The scene that caught my attention compared Beck’s free sexuality to Kate’s longing desire. This sequence’s focus on differing sexualities …show more content…
As the shots move between Kate’s interactions and Beck’s, there is a difference in camera angle. When Kate is shown sitting down, the camera is high, and looking down at her. When she is standing up, the camera is often at waist level, showing as much of her body as possible. When Beck is shown, the camera is either angled at her partner’s perspective, looking up at her, or at her perspective, looking down at her partner. It can be concluded that the majority of Kate’s body is shown when standing up in order to display her disability. When Kate is sitting down, the camera angle paints her in a submissive and helpless light. However, when the camera is focused on Beck, the angles emphasis her dominant positioning and ability. Overall, the camera angles in the nighttime scene depict Kate as someone who can only be cared for, and not desired, while Beck is depicted as sexually free and …show more content…
Numerous long shots at the beginning of the nighttime scene come from behind Kate’s husband and distance the two. The only shots that are tighter to Kate, are done so when the longing and desire are necessary to get across, or she is in a helpless position. On the other hand, almost every shot of Beck is a tight shot in this sequence. Beck’s expression is the main focus throughout the intimate scene. Additionally, almost every shot of Beck’s partner is a tight shot, adding to the momentary connection between the two. It can be concluded that the shots of Kate are intentionally long in order to distance her from her husband. The tight shots of Kate can also be seen to emphasis how much she longs for her husband’s sexual desire. While these shots are devoid of sexual interaction, the tight shots of Beck and her partner show not only their physical proximity, but also their enjoyment of each other and sexual pleasure. In all, these shots further reinforce the stereotype that women with disabilities are not desirable, while women without disabilities are objects of sexual desire. Through the use of reverse shots, camera angles, varying distance of shots and the scene’s overall placement in the film, Kate and Beck are made polar opposites. Kate's sexuality is stripped from her due to her disability while Beck is seen as overly sexual when compared to Kate. On their