On paper, Beef is a tale of how road rage escalates to frightening heights. But beneath the surface is a simmering stew of repressed rage, second-generation Asian American angst, and yes, generational trauma. It’s an astonishingly honest and unglamorous portrayal of the Asian American experience and one unconcerned with buzzwords like “diversity” or “representation.” This is life, as is — albeit a heightened snapshot of life, as derailed by a common traffic occurrence. And to stars Steven Yeun and Ali Wong, who play the central characters of the Netflix/A24 series created by Lee Sung Jin, that was the intention.
