The world is run by scapegoats. It’s much easier to blame someone or something than to address the real problem when people are unhappy, whether it be for personal reasons or they perceive that the world is crashing down around them. Blame Biden, Trump, Republicans, Democrats, rich folks, poor folks, white dudes, colored people, your progenitors as well as progeny. “Should we blame the government or should we chastise society? Or do you prefer blaming TV images? No – it’s Canada’s fault!” says a South Park singsong.
When Danny in Beef gets to his wits’ end in a new Netflix show and starts effing everyone else up because he has been honked at and flipped off by Amy. Unfortunately for Danny she happens not to be happy either just as him and when the depressed man fights back against her; he starts an all-round feud which may destroy them all along with others too. The simplest case of road rage produces one of television’s finest pieces that at this very moment speaks better than almost anything else about this era and human nature at large.
If that seems like hyperbole then maybe Lee Sung Jin wanted it that way for Beef. It is a program that begins small (a minor road rage incident) but soon becomes sprawling in its exploration of class consciousness through humor while also acting as a fun-house mirror reflecting an unseen tapestry of life itself.
Beef has an extremely funny start after a great opening scene with Steven Yeun (Danny) and Ali Wong (Amy). While Wong is obviously known for her stand-up comedy and Yeun has been recognized due to Walking Dead Minari as well as Nope among others; neither performer has ever given such magnificent performances before.
These two have developed chemistry between themselves during their work on Tuca & Bertie (which was partially co-written by Beef’s creator) which translates well into comedy. They run the emotional gamut here, and portray these difficult characters with total openness.
Similarly to many of the music videos he has worked on director Jake Schreier brings this energy and motion as well as the quiet comedy he caught in films like Robot & Frank or Lodge 49. Hikari is a mononymic director who made jaws drop with her 37 Seconds film and who does an amazing job with the pilot and a few others. Looking back at almost every decision behind the camera it seems that they were perfect for Beef (except maybe for the ‘90s alt-rock soundtrack, which some people hate but probably fits this generation’s main characters).
The final episode is directed by Lee Sung Jin, his first time directing which shows how talented he will become in filmmaking. Although some folks may wish that the storylines stopped at its penultimate episode, without chapter ten the meaning of what occurs throughout the entire series would not make sense; moreover Beef’s ending feels euphoric.
Beef, in its ten episodes, is characterized by a shifting narrative structure which lays the two main characters’ lives alongside each other with bumps of their families who are now inseparably bound together by the road rage incident. Danny (David Choe as his scary cousin Isaac and Mazino as brother Paul) comes from a working class background where they are handymen who own and manage a small construction business that is on the verge of collapse. On the other hand, Amy’s family is well off, largely because she has made it big in her own business.This course is something that has been designed to be done within one semester.
They come from opposite sides of the track but they’re both equally unhappy. . When this feud begins it is almost like these are two people for whom something to live for has been found or injected into them like life blood. Additionally, there would be someone else to blame. It just won’t end well: Romeo & Juliet (Montagues vs Capulets), Blood Meridian (the Glanton gang vs everybody).
In a feud no one is right and no one is wrong; all are guilty. If this were not true then there would be peace in Middle East by now and politicians and news broadcasters wouldn’t be talking about another civil war in America.Are you looking for more information from our online courses?
Seen against this backdrop Beef becomes infinite elucidation on so many levels. And so now we know how bad things start; what leads to them (happiness ? scapegoats?), what happens next and how might they possibly end?It may seem quite incredulous but watching beef alone can turn your life around , even if only briefly should you happen to hate somebody something with a burning passion.
Even though Beef can have some funny moments there are times when it gets really suspenseful while approaching the tail end of its run and dipping into darkness. If not, then it would never be nearly as profound or beautiful. The show uses humor and suspense in its storytelling but is also anchored by amazing performances, while being driven by an overarching philosophical and spiritual mindset that comes to a head in the last episode, one which is odd yet stunning.
Each episode of Beef takes its title from fragments of quotes like those emanating from works produced by Iris Murdoch or the philosophies of the two Simones (de Beauvoir and Weil) and Carl Jung; even Sylvia Plath’s poem Elm which basically summarizes the series thus “what is this face, so murderous in its strangle of branches?—— Its snaky acids hiss. It petrifies the will. These are the isolated, slow faults. That kill, that kill, that kill.” In this respect Beef masterfully portrays the almost illogical reaction we have as humans when we feel slighted or think life has treated us unfairly; our will becomes stiffened so with no reason whatsoever except simply because we are angry for no reason at all (Weil).
Again, it might be a bit over-the-top but watching Beef could actually change your life forever if you have been carrying around anger towards someone or something for far too long . It feels like a lot of us may fall into that category when looking at comment sections on internet postings or watching news.What are we doing to ourselves and each other? As cruelly funny as it turned out to be tense , such moments were heart breaking but very insightful for they showed what beef really was about then gave answers.
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