Believe it or not, beer can tell you a lot about character and story.
It’s easy to overlook being that it’s a fairly common prop, but often, beer is used
rather significantly.
Like Freud allegedly said, “sometimes a cigar is just a cigar,” sometimes a beer
is just a beer.
What I’m interested in is when the beer is used to tell us something.
Beer can be used in a variety of ways.
For example, in high school or coming of age films, beer is often used as a right of passage.
An underage character trying to buy beer is an enormous and almost sacred task.
If they pull it off, it’s a segue into adulthood ('Superbad,' 'Dazed & Confused,' 'Teen Wolf,' etc.)
Beer can also be used as a crucial piece for characters forming bonds.
It can bring people together and establish friendships.
Even if that friendship is with yourself.
Beer can represent freedom and establish trust.
In 'The Shawshank Redemption,' Andy bargains with the guards to get his friends a bucket
of cold beers.
This not only gives the men a much needed taste of the outside world and establishes Andy as
an ally.
And despite completely different context, this scene from 'Django Unchained' does the
exact same thing.
A taste of freedom and an alliance is formed.
Beer can even be used to move the plot forward.
Sticking with Tarantino, this scene from I'nglourious Basterds' uses beer very significantly.
The fact that the real Nazi drinks beer instead of Scotch leads to the fake Nazis blowing their
cover and takes the film in an entirely new direction.
But maybe the best use of beer is to establish character.
Beer can be used to validate a character but is frequently used to present a character
as a no-frills, everyday, normal person. Even if that person is a God.
Going back to 'Django Unchained,' have a look at this moment when two different characters
place a drink order.
Dr. Schultz simply orders a beer.
Calvin Candie orders this—“I’ll have a Polynesian Pearl and do not spare on the rum!”
With an array of free booze at his finger tips, Dr. Schultz simply asks for a beer.
This demonstrates that he is neither greedy nor gluttonous and also reflects his simplistic
outlook on life.
Calvin Candie orders a wildly complex drink—
Yes, this drink has an ounce of butter in it.
This shows us that Calvin is greedy and gluttonous and over-the top, but it also works to show
the facade he is putting on, using all of this sweetness to mask his evilness.
Beer can also show progress.
In 'The Wolf of Wall Street,' there is a scene where Jordan is playing beer pong…with glasses…on
a pool table.
This is the ultimate portrayal of excess and carelessness.
Later in the film, after Jordan is arrested, he is seen drinking non-alcoholic beer.
This obviously signifies that he has given up the wild lifestyle that got him in trouble,
but he hasn’t given it up completely.
The beer doesn’t contain alcohol, but it is still beer.
Jordan has calmed down, but the presence of beer foreshadows that he is not yet out of
the woods.
So the next time you see a character enjoying a cold one, take some time to think about
what it means.