How the Ingredient of ‘Tenderness’ Helps to Subdue the Constant Stress of ‘The Bear’

Video essayist Evan Puschak of The Nerdwriter took a wonderfully analytical look at the sublime FX series The Bear, noting how different forms of stress drove the characters in circles. It was only after they learned to show tenderness that they were able to move forward with their goals.

They all wanted so desperately to be listened to. Instead they inflicted stress on one another in a vicious cycle until it became pathological. …the real antidote to the turmoil of Carmi’s family is not more stress or better stress but tenderness a mutual kindness and gentleness in interpersonal relationships.

He also explains how the series affected the audience watching.

“The Bear” is high anxiety entertainment taking us into the pressure cooker of commercial kitchens. The food service industry and the Barsato family. The show makes us feel the stress of those environments and in doing so thrills us in the way roller coasters do. By stimulating us physiologically in a controlled space where we’re not really in any danger.