Luca Guadagnino’s We Are Who We Are (2020) is a captivating exploration of queerness, identity, and adolescence. The series defies traditional television conventions, merging cinematic artistry, nonlinear storytelling, and global themes to create an immersive, introspective experience. At its heart, it tells the story of two teenagers, Fraser and Caitlin, who find solace in each other while navigating their emerging queerness.

Themes of queerness and cultural dissonance resonate throughout, capturing the turbulence of adolescence against the backdrop of a U.S. military base in Italy. The narrative portrays its themes through its fragmented, exploratory style. Rather than adhering to a linear plot, Guadagnino prioritises mood, intimate character moments, and emotional nuance.

The military base—rigid, hierarchical, and regimented—serves as a foil to the characters’ inner worlds. Its imposing structure mirrors the broader societal expectations that the protagonists push against. For Fraser and Caitlin, this environment becomes a breeding ground for rebellion and self-expression, increasing their desire to transcend boundaries.

The series also uses the military to critique broader gendered structures of power. By setting the story within the context of a U.S. military base, Guadagnino magnifies the stakes of the characters’ gender exploration, showing how personal acts of defiance become revolutionary in a space defined by control.

Guadagnino’s genre-blurring approach further enhances the series’ transmedia sensibility. By blending coming-of-age drama, military realism, and art-house aesthetics, We Are Who We Are challenges storytelling norms, offering a richly textured experience. This invites viewers to engage with the narrative across multiple levels, revealing the complexity of identity and queerness in a globalised world.

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