Aahana Swrup
‘Beef’ season 2 centers around a brand new duo, two in fact, whose lives revolve around an elitist Californian country club, Monte Vista Point. The establishment is awaiting a change in management, which has the general manager, Josh Martín, on edge. The growing uncertainty about his future, paired with the general dysfunctionality of his marriage, leads to an explosive argument between him and his wife, Lindsay. Unfortunately for the two, this fight is witnessed and captured on video by two other employees on the lower end of the chain of command, Ashley and Austin, an engaged Gen-Z couple. As a result, the two couples’ lives become entangled in a chaotic jumble of coercion, manipulation, and rampant discord. Despite their differences, at their core, all four individuals are after the same thing: the dogged social climb among the elites at Monte Vista Point.
Monte Vista Point is a Fictional Country Club That Underlines the Reality of Socio-Economic Power Hierarchies
The Monte Vista Point forms the foundation of the narrative in season 2 of ‘Beef.’ However, much like the characters and the storylines themselves, the location itself also remains a work of fiction. In real life, there are many businesses that exist under similar names, including one Monte Vista Golf Club in Colorado. Nonetheless, these off-screen establishments have no direct connection to the on-screen country club. On the other hand, the Spanish Hills Club in Camarillo, California, is believed to be the real-life location used during the filming of the Netflix series. Therefore, the real-life club, located at 999 Crestview Avenue, remains the closest possible counterpart to the show’s depiction of the Californian country club.
As such, for the most part, Monte Vista Point remains a fictitious establishment, created in service of the storylines surrounding the characters in season 2 of ‘Beef.’ In the story, the country club becomes the narrative’s most efficient tool for evaluating and examining the socio-economic dynamics at play between the characters. In the club, Austin and Ashley, a part-time trainer and a beverage cart attendant, find themselves in the lower rings of the concentrated social biome. Josh, who is the general manager and subsequently their boss, is higher than them, but still only an employee in a capitalistic machine. The multi-millionaire customers, like Troy, are directly in positions of power above Josh, and Chairwoman Park, the billionaire owner, is at the top of the food chain.
Thus, Monte Vista Point becomes an intriguing foundation for the narrative’s depiction of power structures and the divide between the elite and the working class in late-stage capitalism. Over the course of the story, we see the central couple, who are different sides of the same coin, attempt to assimilate into the elite society of the country club. Their motivations are also similar: money, power, and social status. Nonetheless, in the end, the separation between employee, customer, and owner remains rigid. This showcases the brutal reality of the class divide, highlighting how tricking the system or beating it can only get one so far. At the end of the day, one can only play into the system, much like the characters settling into their roles at Monte Vista Point.
Read More: Where Was Beef Season 2 Filmed?
