Seven Nation Carmy
"Yes Chef!”
The Bear (2022-Current)
You’ve read the blogs, seen the presentations, and met me at a networking event…. So you know that I’m gonna talk about food. And you have probably already heard me tell you to watch FX’s The Bear. Because there really are a lot of overlaps and similarities between AEC marketing and the restaurant world. We’re all here to develop, create, combine, coordinate, qualify, and deliver. And it will induce panic, fear, resentment, and anxiety. With the help of our friends, the people we meet, and the support we receive, we’ll make it through because we have to. People are depending on us.
If I had to sum up the Bear, besides being a masterclass in storytelling, human interest, cinematography, editing, and acting, it’s the overarching theme of progress towards perfection. On a deeper level, we begin to wonder if perfection is possible, or even necessary. Every character in the show, be it main characters, supporting characters, or special guests, is trying to overcome some kind of struggle. The show even starts with Carmy at his lowest point - his brother is gone, his family is splintered, he’s fallen from grace in his profession, he’s starting over from his brother’s restaurant back in his hometown. We’ve all been there in that situation at some point in our lives and that’s where the show begins.
The Review
Season one begins with Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto coming home to The Beef - his brother’s family restaurant in Chicago. His brother, having just passed, has left his family torn and confused, and Carmy’s arrival is a portent of the healing needed and the coming-together that will help them move on. He’s not the same person as when he left, having trained as a chef in New York and earned Food & Wine's best new chefs award at 21 and a James Beard award, he’s coming from a different culture and perspective and sees his family as almost foreign. He secures funding from his family friend Uncle Cicero to renovate the restaurant into a new eatery where he can continue to experiment with new dishes much to the disagreement of the current employees of The Beef, especially his adopted “cousin” Richie. Carmy also hires a new sous chef to help him realize his vision, Sydney, who is still green in the business and coming fresh off her own failed ventures. The first season is all about learning to adapt and embrace the chaos amidst change to try and become something more.
By season two The Beef is now The Bear, and the timeline of the show is all about renovating the building, passing the health inspections, developing the menu, training the staff, and all of the multitude of tasks involved in opening a restaurant. Chaos is fully embraced by all characters involved while Carmy tries to tackle his own past, inner demons, anxiety and depression, and come to terms with his own destructive patterns. Sydney also has a past to reckon with, dealing with her mom’s death and the failure of her catering business gone south. Her struggle comes from finding a place in the “family” while cultivating the confidence to lead the crew. The staff of The Bear digs deep to maintain the tradition and habits they have been comfortable with for years, having no ambition to improve and evolve, staying complacent in their ways and resistant to change. The season comes to a head as the countdown clock ticks towards opening night.
At season three, the Bear is functioning but the focus of Carmy’s journey is now his quest for a Michelin star. The first episode, nearly void of dialogue, plays over a Nine Inch Nails instrumental (aptly titled “Together”, another reason to love this show in my opinion), setting up Carmy’s foundation and drive for the star as a montage of his past experiences. A few episodes highlight the individual journey of some of the staff as they move along a path of creative discovery, redemption and new beginnings, and personal strife. The convergence of the characters is solidified by this season and culminates with a measure of success and even a vibe of contentment and resolution. Yet there are still lingering doubts on the future for some characters, the meaning of it all for others, and the dreaded results of a fate-changing restaurant review.
The Take
Where can I even begin with such a dense, complex, and realistic pastiche of themes, characters, performances, and creative minds of all ilks that produce a sensation of mixed emotion not unlike a perfect dish at a fine dining establishment? How does such an experience even begin to translate into the marketing world? I’ll start with the obvious - the show is good because it keeps it real. I’ve had many conversations about several episodes of the show with a few friends and each time we meet at the same conclusion - I loved that episode because it happened to me too. A few standout episodes come to mind of course - Forks (s2e7), Napkins (s3e6), Braciole (s1e8), and of course, sadly even, Fishes (s2e6). How can so many viewers and reviewers be wrong when many agree on the same thing, that the story is real and the show brilliantly captures the silent scream that we all live with? And then in a professional capacity, in any industry, we have to suppress that feeling to move onward and upward, living the lives with the faces we’re expected to show the rest of the world. Carmy is our antihero because he struggles with the things we all face while endeavoring towards the pinnacle of achievement in his industry, the world-famed Michelin star. The cozy cast of the Bear are our champions, lauded and applauded with multiple prime-time Emmy awards, Critics’ Choice Television awards, over 100 accolades in all (personal shout-out to Liza Colon Zayas, the first Latina to win a Primetime Emmy as a supporting actress in her category, you inspire us mamita, adelante!). Having so many angles with which to express the love and adoration for this show, for understanding and making me feel SEEN, I’ve settled on a few themes that stand out to be above all.
Grace Under Pressure
Yes, we’ve all heard the term and seen it on countless job descriptions but what does “grace under pressure” even mean? As shown by The Bear, such a thing doesn’t exist. Many, if not all of the characters, show us their truth, their ugly sides, their struggles, and their own personal chaos. What we also get to see is the beauty in their world, their growth and change, what is possible. Both can be true at the same time and many montages throughout the series juxtapose those themes in a single episode. The same is true for the marketing world. Each task is a rollercoaster of stress, emotion, damage, and dealing with the past but when it all goes well, all comes together, the result is a wondrous catharsis of success and a touch of healing. There is only pressure, what is put on us and what we put on ourselves, and only when things go right do we achieve a sense of grace. “Courage under fire” may be a more apt phrase to apply to the deadline-driven world. Bravery is another term seldom used in the marketing world but the most successful professionals I know understand the pressures put upon them, and those put upon themselves, and still clock in to tackle the challenge anyway.
Time and Temperature
Speaking of cooking, the rules applied to a successful dish also apply to a successful proposal, campaign, and team. Every project is subject to time and temperature, even if that temperature is emotional. Getting the balance right takes time. Time management is an inherent element of a successful outcome. Temperatures, as they relate to the people you work with, are an unspoken factor of success. Some days you are greeted with a warm reception at the office and some dates you get the cold shoulder. Curating the balance between the two when you work in a team dynamic is difficult, it takes perception and practice to make it work. Not unlike the hierarchy and dynamic of a kitchen staff, teams in our world each have a place and a purpose. But it’s the figurative “temperature” of everyone involved that can make a project fall flat or your people to burn out. There’s a reason that we have assigned the nomenclature of “temperature checks” to quick situational meetings for progress updates.
Family Dynamics
Of all the terms used in the professional world, calling a business environment a “family” is the term I’ve seen most called-out for discontinuation. So many of my peers have cited that a business that terms itself a “family” is waving a red-flag for toxicity and favoritism. HR managers love using this term for some reason, and although it’s a dying practice, it still rears its head on LinkedIn from time to time. This show, more than any other in recent memory, shows the true nature of some families, and it’s far from the Norman Rockwell paintings hanging in your average Main Street diner. Families are agents of chaos in of themselves for some people, causing their own PTSD and resulting in years of therapy for others. As shown by the comparison between Carmy’s family and the kitchen staff, especially when the two overlap, the result of a “family-run business” can be straight up chaos. Compartmentalizing the two entities is often the only way to maintain basic functionality. Operating a team more like a well-oiled kitchen may result in better success than the blurred lines of a “family” work environment.
Every Second Counts
One of the best and most critically acclaimed episodes, the previously mentioned “Forks” episode, centers around Cousin Ritchie learning the meaning behind this mantra. On a greater scale, what the phrase leans into is the deeper meaning that every second really does count. There are 144,000 seconds in an average work week (give or take a few for lunch or breaks). Those seconds belong to work and related tasks. Conversely, there are 403,200 seconds in the rest of the work week that by definition have nothing to do with work. In our industry, much like in the restaurant industry, burnout is a very real problem. Even in The Bear, a couple of thematic scenes show Carmy so affected by burnout that he almost sets his apartment on fire. And when an accidental flareup happens at the restaurant, he silently considers for a moment to let it burn and take his anxiety and pressures with it. I think many of us have been there while being too afraid to admit it. Yet how many of us have thought deeply to ourselves “if the building burns down, at least I won’t have to go to work tomorrow…”? Yes, those seconds do count when you’re making the most with what you can at work, crawling and grasping towards success. But the other seconds in the day are yours, and they should count, for you. It goes beyond self-care, already an overused and burned out term of its own. It’s more about fulfillment and replenishment to avoid getting to the point where you accidentally burn your house down from overwork and stress.
Progress Not Perfection
In each season we don’t get perfection, that would be too easy. Even the small wins are whiplashed with consequence and the setup of the next challenge, for each character. Rebuilding relationships, seeking to understand, making the heavy decisions, bouncing back from failure, finding purpose in life, are all heavy themes that thread through The Bear like a perfectly-plaited bread dough. The characters are far from perfect, they are nothing to strive towards, and yet they are captivating because of this. That is why the show is so real to many viewers and critics alike. We will fail, make mistakes, get bad reviews, our loved ones will die for reasons not known to us. But waking up to an alarm, silently taking those car or bus rides to work, and turning the lights on to create, produce, and deliver gives us a sense of purpose. Some of the most beautiful and heartfelt scenes in The Bear, that I deeply resonate with, are people in the midst of their craft. Creating, combining elements, troubleshooting, course-correcting, and delivering, all while progressing, is where they find their peace, where they become who they truly are. People often ask why I work so much, why I’m still at the computer when I should be relaxing, and The Bear has shown me why. The pursuit of progress is more rewarding than the promise of perfection, something I’ll never be anyway. And I need it to survive the daily chaos of my world, like Carmy, like Sydney, and like Ritchie, and the gang.
As I look at a new year, like the rest of you, I’m not going to flood your time with buzzwords and slogans. I’m not going to tell you that this show has changed my life because what it does so well is reflect to myself the life I have already been living. We’re all here dealing with time and temperature, progressing not perfecting, and trying to make every second count. We’re all on the quest for our own Michelin Star.
To my marketing world and the family of colleagues I’ve shared with along the way, here’s to 2025 being your year. Let it rip.
If you’re a visual nerd like me, here is a great explanation of a near perfect episode broken down to inspire you.
