TW - this may include MINOR spoilers for ‘Squid Game’ proceed with caution
So we’ve all seen this new series around ‘Squid Game’; whether that may be through Netflix’s recommendations, newspapers, reviews and it is safe to say that this show has received one of the highest recognitions internationally. It’s 100% rating on rotten tomatoes simply reflects how amazing this show is. But trust us, it is one of the most interesting and complex series we have watched in a long time placed into a pastel nightmare.
so what is ‘squid game’ you may be wondering?
Well ‘Squid Game’ is an 8 episode korean drama series which follows four-hundred and fifty six ‘contestants’ who have all struggled with paying off their debts and they’re invited to participate in a mysterious game hidden from the outside world.
It follows the main protagonist ‘Seong Gi-hun’ a gambling addict who lives with his mother and works as a chauffeur; however, it's unlike any other protagonist based series we’ve seen. Where it has strayed from the unpopular yet overused concept of ‘main characters we actually hate’ seen in ‘Sex Education’ and ‘Never Have I Ever’ and many other tv series (where side characters are the only redeemable feature of a show).
What makes Squid Game so great is that although we follow Seong Gi-hun’s story, it follows the backstories by illuminating & weaving in a few other side characters' experiences into the main plot.
The main goal for everyone in this series is unraveled after episode 2 when the prize money is revealed to be 45.6 billion korean won (which is 56 million AUD in case you’re wondering). Unlike any other survival-of-the-fittest plot, what makes Squid Game so compelling is the depth and complexity behind each of its side characters and their vulnerabilities. It’s a show that has you on the edge of your seat rooting for almost every single character (including unexpected ones too).
The popularity spike of this show on platforms such as instagram and tiktok is insane! It has created such an influential community that popular songs such as ‘MONEY’ by Lisa & ‘I love you so’ by The Walters have been completely associated with the show.
so what are the ‘games’?
The games are what separates the contestants from proceeding onto the next round. And by spoilers from tik-tok (everywhere) you probably already know that the people who don’t proceed are killed on the spot. But for the most part, the games are based on Korean childhood games which the 1st season features 6 games in total. Each game proceeds after another meaning; if a contestant passes a game, they proceed to the next game and so forth.
| The 6 games include: Red Light Green Light, Dalgona, Tug of War, Marbles, Glass Steps, and Squid Game (which is explained in the first 10 minutes of the show).
But I truly believe that the beauty of this series is that it inextricably unravels human experiences of a typical societal ‘class struggle’. Especially over the past decade, we have seen many more dystopian movies/series elaboration on this theme (e.g. Parasite, the 100, Hunger Games) but the root of ‘Squid Games’ is the incorporation of key world-building aspects including survival instinct, trust, family and experiences. Not only this aspect of just the ‘class struggle’ but also is based off of real and horrific events
But what hit it off the charts was the fact that this kdrama series is not only one of the first ones to hit international spike, but is also close to dethroning the infamous ‘Bridgeton’ (82m account streamings) in the list of the series which has had a high streaming rate since its release. Although many people argue Squid Games as an ‘overrated’ or ‘overhyped’ series, it notably is one of the most complex and visually capturing shows we have seen in quite a while.
★★★★★
"The hellish horrorshow taking the whole world by storm"
simple outline:
The reason why this show had greatly stood out to me was the way the director conveyed his message; the social commentary on late stage capitalism. One of the best things about this show is that unlike other dystopian films such as Hunger Games, Squid Game is set in the present day. Essentially, this show is conveying that we don’t need to wait for a dystopian future because we are already in one, and that the problems depicted in the show are not inaccessible or unfathomable. The problems each character faces are very real issues that stem from complex social paradigms such as class and wealth. The creator of the show, Hwang Dong-hyuk, stated in an interview with Variety that “[he] wanted to write a story that was an allegory or fable about modern capitalist society, something that depicts an extreme competition, somewhat like the extreme competition of life. But I wanted it to use the kind of characters we’ve all met in real life.”
An interesting aspect I found while scrolling through tiktok is the discussions surrounding some of the mistranslations in the show. For example when Mi-Nyeo is trying to convince the other characters to partner up with her for the marble game, she says to Gi-hun “I am very smart, I just never got a chance to study” but is mistranslated to “I’m not a genius but I can work it out” in the english dub or another variation is “I never bothered to study but I’m unbelievably smart” in the other english subtitles. As you can tell, there is a massive difference between the three lines and it’s a small aspect that makes all the difference when conveying the message of the story, and further enriches the audience’s understanding of the show. I think that Mi-Nyeo’s original line is another very important facet of the show’s commentary. It shows that under a capitalist paradigm, people are not all born with equal opportunities and others are limited in scope by the positions they are born into. This commentary is later echoed by the Squid Game ethos of everyone having equal chances and equal opportunities. This, in a way, attest to this discussion of capitalist exploitation. Much like the world we live in that preaches equal opportunity and other principles that resemble the idealistic “American Dream,” and pulling yourself by the bootstraps, almost all the characters that participate in the Games are from lower - middle class backgrounds. Just by seeing the life they live and the circumstances they’re in - immigrant, refugee, addiction, poverty - we already see that the positions they were born into or later developed are, in fact, not equal to that of a person born and raised in a wealthier family and different class background.
Moreover, in Episode 2 the players choose whether they want to continue the game or go home but when they are confronted with their bleak financial circumstances, almost all the previous players return to the game. This represents the illusion of ‘choice’ in a capitalist society. Almost all the characters we see can either be crushed by a mountain of debt or die trying to win the prize money, acting as a depiction of how predatory capitalism works. Just as the characters are coerced to play the game by their material conditions, they are coerced into being exploited for their labour, paralleling the free market system.
The conceptualism of darwinism captured in Squid Game intrigues it’s audience, making it such a bingeable show. This is shown through the behaviours of the players who scramble to win; paralleling darwinism in everyday interaction and our need to outdo others and increase our status. One of the most memorable scenes of the show is the ‘Lights Out’ purely due to the dark nature behind it. Unlike the games where players strategise and play to win, ‘Lights Out’ has no structure or rules. What captured me in this scene is how it delves into the psychological horrors of the human brain in terms of desperation. Money is seen as the ultimate goal in life, and this show cleverly reveals what conditions people would live through to obtain it. Survival of the fittest is blantally shown as the weakest players are immediately targeted and brutally murdered by other players. Further symbolism prevalent in the show is when the players die. Carried off into black coffins and pink bows, this ultimately parallels how disposable the workers (proletariats) are as inconsequential and anonymous.
We definitely are looking forward to future seasons of this amazing show!! Check out our squid games playlist so you can immerse yourself. If you want to actually immerse yourself into the game itself… check out our article on how you can!!
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