The Beauty Inside Movie Analysis

Film is a powerful tool for social change, from serving as social commentary to creating tangible revolution. Each society has its own set of problems and histories, making way for unique and distinct nuances to come through in the films it produces. This is notably depicted in the films Orlando by American director Sally Potter and The Beauty Inside by South Korean director Baik, which both use the storytelling trope of the protagonist waking up in a different body yet engage with the content differently to reflect their respective societal problems. Potter and Baik also employ filmmaking tools, such as staging, costume, editing, and dialogue, to further emphasize their arguments. Although both films utilize a similar trope to indicate that

This trope is used to emphasize that the same person exists no matter the body they inhabit, and therefore should be treated the same way no matter their outer form. The difference, however, is that, in Orlando, the protagonist does not change in appearance – only in the clothes they wear as well as basic anatomy. Otherwise, they are recognizable as the person they were the day before. On the other hand, The Beauty Inside’s protagonist completely transforms in appearance, crossing gender, age, and sometimes even nationality, and thus is not recognizable from the person they were the day before. These differences make way for the respective social issues being commented on in each film. With Orlando only changing in anatomy and clothing while everything else remaining the same, the audience can clearly see how society treats him differently now that he looks and dresses like a woman. And with Woo-jin changing completely into a seemingly different person altogether, we can clearly see how society treats him differently based on his physical appearance. By emphasizing that the same person exists regardless of these specific changes, Orlando further emphasizes that gender is a social construct rather than biologically determined, and The Beauty Inside emphasizes that the true beauty of an individual lies