Beef’s hidden meanings: Everything you didn’t spot in Netflix series

The Netflix series Beef has been named the best show of 2023 after a coveted 100 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The ten-episode black comedy series was released last Thursday and tells the story of two strangers who get involved in a traffic accident and its aftermath.

Beef stars Steven Yeun as Danny Cho, a failing contractor with a chip on his shoulder, who faces off against Amy Lau (Ali Wong), a person who lives a very different, picturesque life as a self-made entrepreneur.

Thousands of fans have taken to Twitter to share their thoughts on the drama, with many praising the show for being unlike any other they’ve seen. However, there are several moments that viewers may have missed on the first viewing.

Now MailOnline breaks down all the symbolism in the show.

The name

While it’s soon apparent why Beef is called Beef, the name didn’t catch on to the showrunner quickly.

Lee explained, “There are surprisingly few catchy words or phrases that sell the feud aspect of the show, and the few that exist have been done before.

“If Netflix had seen the list of potential names, there might not be a show today. They were aggressively bad.”

He revealed that he had initially toyed with the idea of ​​calling the show Eye for an Eye, but wanted to capture the “aesthetic appeal of a snappy one-word title.”

George’s sculptures

While George’s artwork may have just looked like shapeless blobs, the art department made the sculptures in-house, specifically designed to represent George’s emotional state.

Production designer Grace Yun revealed that the “amorphous blob shapes represent how George floats through life and doesn’t really limit himself.

“He’s very free-flowing and welcoming of what’s going on around him.”

George’s art changes after the time jump, a decision made carefully with his new mental state in mind and as he struggles to come to terms with his breakup with Amy.

Grace explained that they wanted to show, “he’s a little worn around the edges and like he’s grown up and matured himself, we wanted him to try different types of glazing and use colors that resembled the patina of something that was under much fire was baked. heat.

“It’s much bigger pieces to show that he’s also becoming a bigger fixture in the house, literally in the house.” He is no longer confined to the cellar.’

The episode titles

Viewers praised the “nice” title sequence cards used for the episode and the lengthy episode names.

Speaking to Netflix, Beef creator and showrunner Lee Sung Jin revealed how he referenced influential texts and films for the drama.

Episode one is titled The Birds Don’t Sing, They Screech in Pain and is from a quote from German director Werner Herzog’s Burden of Dreams documentary.

It’s a reference to Danny and Amy’s journey in the opening episode, who initially appear to be two ordinary people before the depth of their pain and trauma is revealed.

Episode two, The Rapture of Being Alive, is a quote from an American writer Joseph Campbell, his answer when asked by Bill Moyers in a 1988 interview what he thought was the meaning of life.

It was chosen for the second episode, because we say that’s when the protagonists become obsessed with getting revenge and tapping into their primal impulses.

Episode three, I Am Inhabited by a Cry, is a quote from Sylvia Plath’s poem Elm, depicting a woman as an elm with her experience of love lost.

It resonates with the third episode, as it shows Amy and Danny being convinced that their feelings of loss and emptiness will go away if they get the things they covet in life.

Episode 4, Just Not All at the Same Time, comes from Betty Friedan’s quote “You can have it all, just not all at the same time,” her answer to the question of whether women can have it all in life.

This is shown in the episode where Amy insists it’s possible during her Vegas Q&A, despite the fact that her personal life is in tatters.

Episode five is titled Such Inward Secret Creatures, part of a quote from Iris Murdoch’s novel The Sea, the Sea.

In the quote it refers to people inflating the importance of things they value and in the episode this is shown by the character’s desperation to flatter their own egos.

Episode six, We Draw a Magic Circle, is from Ingmar Bergman’s film Through a Glass Darkly, which depicts building a a wall around what you want to believe as a way of self defense.

This is reflected in Amy’s strong belief that all the negativity in her life, from the traffic accident to her mother-in-law’s fall during the robbery, it’s not her fault.

Episode seven, I Am a Cage, is from Franz Kafka’s Die Zürauer Aphorismen – a collection of aphorisms – with the full quote: “I am a cage, looking for a bird.”

The protagonists show their feelings of emptiness and insecurity in the episode – with Amy saying she has a feeling in her chest that “feels like the ground,” while Danny searches for answers in the church.

Episode eight, The Drama of Original Choice, summarizes the season by referencing Simone de Beauvoir’s book The ethics of ambiguity.

It takes a look at Danny and Amy’s lives from birth to the present, exploring the domino effect where the choices we make today are predetermined by our past.

Episode nine, The Great Fabricator, is from the French philosopher Simone Weil’s quote that attachments are the largest processor.

In the penultimate episode, things come to a head as the attachments begin to unravel, with Isaac seeking revenge on Danny, Naomi opting to save herself over Jordan in the panic room, and Danny and Paul cutting ties.

The final episode, Figures Of Light, is a play on Carl Jung’s quote: “One is not enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.”

This is demonstrated in the finale as the characters finally begin to address their behaviors and toxic traits instead of hiding and shifting blame.

Jordanian home

Jordan’s house was designed to reflect her “eccentric, unique, powerful” personality.

The aesthetic is designed to look a private exhibition space for herself, with furniture that looks uninviting but exclusive.

With the crown room, the scenographers also wanted to link up with the theme of private curation and cultural appropriation.

They made sure the items came from Asia or South America because of the character’s need to appropriate things.

Amy’s wardrobe

Costume head, Helen Huang, made sure Amy’s outfits were warm, neutral colors and shapeless clothing.

Ali explained that Helen had told her, “I find it so interesting when Amy wears these clothes that are apparently zen and neutral, but then she has these crazy thoughts.”

Revealing how it affected her acting style, Ali continued, “My costume already felt like a cage in a way.

“And it wasn’t meant to feel that way — Amy chose those clothes, but it’s like the person she wants to be and someone she’s not.”

Amy’s house

The design of Amy and George’s house is deliberately cold and unwelcoming, with the wooden slats on the stairs designed to look like a cage.

The set designer explained, “I spaced them out a little more so that while they look very zen, they also make your house feel like a cage.”

Ali said, “I’ve always had that feeling, once I got dressed and got on set, where I felt like I was in a cage. But no one else could see or feel it but me, you know?

And that made me feel a little alone. So I have to give credit to those people for really helping me get into character.”

Danny’s apartment

The set designers were keen to show the contrast between Danny and Amy through their very different aesthetics.

They explained, “That was one of the unique and fun challenges for the location department, finding locations for Danny and for Amy that are very different.

“Amy’s world is very smooth and clean and ambitious and Danny’s is much rougher.”

The team wanted to “use the starkness and angles of that location to really show [Danny’s] character and where he comes from,” adding that they “wanted [it to] feel trapped, but in a different way than Amy’s house, in a much more cluttered and boxed-in way.”