All the Reasons Why Everyone Should Watch Netflix Beef Immediately
Netflix Beef is finally talking about mental illness. It’s now become common to portray a character who suffers from a mental health condition in pop culture. At the same time, the portrayal tends to be one-dimensional, especially regarding depression.
I might not be that familiar with all recent movies and TV series. But every time I come across a depressed character, their suffering is presented in the same way. They’re withdrawn, hardly ever leave their room, struggle to go to school or work, and are emotionally flat. But what if depression doesn’t always look like this? What if you keep up the façade until all the negative emotions surface instead of shutting yourself from the world?
What’s Netflix Beef about?
Beef is a Netflix TV show that tells a story about two strangers who end up in a road rage incident. Danny is a contractor and a disappointment to his family: he struggles to keep his business afloat. He feels responsible for a younger, demotivated brother. On the other hand, Amy is a successful business owner with a husband and a daughter. However, once the audience learns her better, they realise she’s an unfulfilled perfectionist.
How’s depression portrayed in Beef?
Unlike other TV shows, Netflix Beef paints a picture of depression turned outwards. Both characters are quick to anger and make rash decisions that later have devastating consequences. While the show can be classified as a comedy at times, it’s also quite dark and painfully relatable. Danny and Amy describe depression as a solid but empty feeling. And if you’ve ever felt depressed, I’m sure you’ll find it accurate. It’s also common for depressed people to embark on a self-destruction journey just like they do. Even though you might have never chased a stranger who honked at you, you probably engaged in some unhealthy coping skills that got you through the day.
Another part of the character portrayal a depressed person will relate to is negative self-beliefs. Both Danny and Amy have low self-esteem. Danny subconsciously believes he isn’t worthy unless he has a profitable job and can provide for his family. At the same time, Amy thinks she doesn’t deserve unconditional love. This is partly due to their upbringing. The show is a reminder that when dealing with depression, it’s helpful to look at core beliefs that form during childhood and examine how early life experiences could have influenced them. For example, a child who is emotionally neglected by their parents will likely suffer from low self-confidence in the future.
The message behind the show
The most important part of the show is the message we can take away from it. Danny and Amy try to keep it together despite the turmoil in their inner world but fail and eventually have a mental breakdown. Amy goes to work with a fake smile plastered, and Danny doesn’t stand up to his parents. This is a reminder that repressing your emotions doesn’t help. On the contrary, it can worsen things in the end.
Danny and Amy are different sides of the same coin. They both feel empty despite leading very different lives. In fact, Amy has what Danny wants: a career, a picture-perfect family and social status, but she’s still unhappy. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter how successful you are when you’re depressed because depression deprives you of joy. Additionally, what others perceive as success won’t necessarily make you happy. The key is to use goals that will help you feel fulfilled.
Everyone should give Netflix Beef a go, not just because it’s good to watch something relatable but also because it can help you make sense of some of your behaviours and experiences. Plus, it’s well-written, and the actors did a great job, so you won’t regret it – 98% on Rotten Tomatoes should count for something.
