SQUID GAME — A SERIES THAT TOOK THE WORLD BY STORM
Netflix’s most-watched series, the Squid Game has taken the world by storm. How is it different from countless amazing masterpieces? Know everything here.
INTRODUCTION
A series that reached the peak level in Netflix’s streaming history and continues to have a global impact owing to its integrated new technology and ideas. The most-watched Netflix show ever. A series, whose “Red Light, Green Light” song sends shivers down people’s spines. That’s none other than the popular Korean series “Squid Game” written and directed by a well-known filmmaker and screenwriter, Hwang Dong-hyuk. This series was a huge hit, with about 142 million Netflix members and subscribers watching it in the first four weeks. The budget for it was just $22 million.
THE PLOT
Seong Gi-hun, a single and indebted chauffeur, is invited to participate in a series of children’s games in exchange for a large cash award. Accepting the offer, he’s shuttled to an unknown place, where he finds himself among 456 other players, all of whom are badly in debt. The participants are made to wear inexperienced tracksuits and are unbroken beneath the watch at the least times by camouflaged guards in pink jumpsuits, with the games being controlled by the straw man, a United Nations agency who wears a black mask and black uniform.
The players quickly learn that losing the game means death, with each death adding $100 million to the total prize pool of $45.6 billion. To take on and survive the game’s physical and psychological twists, Gi-hun teams up with his alternate players, as well as his boyhood buddy Cho Sang-woo.
Let us see what is more interesting and learn more about things that have made Squid Game this popular worldwide in this article.
REAL-LIFE PARALLELS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED
Squid Game, despite its name, is not for the faint-hearted. The show hinges on the suspense factor viz-a-viz, who’s getting murdered next, which has been portrayed in a very graphic and gory manner.
Is that all it took for the show to become a massive hit, or as some claim, a cultural phenomenon? The answer is no.
The astounding success of the show is rooted in its brilliant portrayal of everyday capitalism, which everyone in the world can relate to. The show starts off by giving a peek into our protagonist, Seong Gi-Hun’s life. It is then immediately understood that the family is overcome with debt, which happens to be the reality of many South Koreans in real life.
While South Korea might be popular for the world-renowned BTS boy band, this show reflects on a much darker reality that is all too familiar for the people in South Korea. Here, the credit delinquents suffer an unforgiving life-long ordeal, much like the characters who play the game, risking it all for the chance of winning a great amount of money.
Banks in South Korea blur the line that differentiates personal and business loans, putting enormous pressure on small businesses and entrepreneurs to succeed at any cost. Consequently, those who fail to do so, end up in a vicious cycle of debt, as it becomes next to impossible to repay the loan, due to the long list of restrictions on employment. This further worsens the situation for failed entrepreneurs, as they are already socially stigmatized, making it hard for them to start over.
As economic prospects dwindle, South Koreans resort to speculation as a route to wealth and fall more into debt than ever to buy stocks and other assets. South Korea ranks among the world’s highest population of self-employed, forming a quarter of the job market, which in turn makes it vulnerable to downturns.
Highlighting the dark flipside of personal borrowing and the rarity of getting free of debt, the show becomes all the more relatable for the cash-strapped in South Korea.
HOW DID IT BECOME SO POPULAR?
The Squid Game has managed to become the topmost choice of people in 94 countries despite no big promotions and ads. Let’s see how.
In general, the show appeals to and talks about the growing frustration of the division of society between the rich and the poor. It’s all about a secret game. The game contained a series of worldwide children’s games, something like The Hunger Games, with the difference of picturization and the appeal that the audience praised the most. Psychologically speaking, the show is an obvious critique of the competition-oriented capitalist society. A poor person competing in a game of death for survival. And all this is just for entertainment. At this time when people are already worried about social injustice, this kind of show appeals and sells.
There has been a huge upsurge in the demands and liking for Korean shows in the US leading to Netflix investing close to $700 million in Korean shows. This is another reason why this show has grown leaps and bounds. Despite the show being curated for people in Korea, the way of presentation and direction including the twists that came in the middle made it close to the lives of commoners. The intriguing premise, striking visuals with the best performances all contribute to its success.
CHEKHOV’S GUN (foreshadowing)
Chekhov’s gun is a concept in storytelling developed by Antov Chekhov which basically means that stories only include details that are crucial for the plot. He advises that “if in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise don’t put it there”.
The first season ended with a big cliffhanger as one of the protagonists vows to take the game down and its organizers which hints us as to where the second season might be headed towards. But the minute detail/Chekhov’s gun moment which a few fans have noticed might suggest that the second season could be “Explosive”.
During a scene where the undercover police and a guard are climbing down a ladder in a secret passage, they locate a bomb which the other guard asks him not to touch. He also points out that the bomb will be used to seal off the exit once the VIP guests use the passage to escape in case of an emergency. This bomb is not seen anywhere again in the first season in which case it is safe to assume that it might be used in the second season.
This can be seen as a way of foreshadowing what the next season has in store for the fans.
Another interesting detail about Chekhov’s gun is that many people tend to think of it as an easter egg but they are not the same as easter eggs as they do not impact the plot and they exist for entertainment.
FINAL VERDICT
Most of the situations that take place in the Squid Game are completely imaginary and will never happen in real life. As mentioned in the above statement, many highly insane scenes take place in this series.
Shortly after the show unharnessed, users of social media tailored a number of the games featured in Squid Game as web challenges — the most popular being the second honeycomb cookie game. Users of video games supporting user-created content, like Roblox, Fortnite artistic, and stealing automotive vehicles online, created varied games among these systems that supported one or additional of the Squid Game challenges. Some teams additionally worked to arrange safe, mock Squid Game events for fans of the show.
The Squid Game is definitely worth watching, and there’s something for everybody to learn from the series. The way the creators have directed it making it aesthetically pleasing to our eyes, despite it being violent and gory, is worth applauding. A great job, well done.
With that being said, concerns have been raised regarding children’s exposure to Squid Game from either looking at it or through its infectious agent quality because it is taken into account to possess a high level of violence for that cohort. A variety of colleges around the UK ascertained that despite the show being aimed toward mature audiences, youngsters were emulating a number of the games from Squid Game throughout faculty recess, and warned folks regarding these activities. Series like the Squid Game is part of entertainment and when we try to perform those in real life, It hurts us and our surroundings.
UNTIL NEXT TIME!
So that, dear readers, brings us to the end of yet another interesting write-up from Daksh, the official techno-management fest of SASTRA Deemed to be University. Are you mind blown yet? To be further mind blown regarding interesting topics, head on over to our blog! Lastly, don’t forget to share this piece with your friends and family, one tap for you means a ton to us. Ciao until next time!
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