Squid Games has taken the world by storm with its high-suspense action and its concept of giving up own life just to help someone you love or escape the gripping poverty . However, Squid Games offers a darker concept beyond the storyline which viewers get to enjoy.
IF you ever asked someone what’s the last Netflix series they watched in the past month, you probably got the answer ‘Squid Games.’
The massive hit Korean series has taken the whole world by a storm, breaking records of viewership from left to right.
The fictional survival show tackles the theme of poverty, battle of the classes, and most importantly the handsome sum of money in which players literally fight for to the death.
Squid Game follows multiple children’s games being played by adults but with sinister twists.
People from all walks of life, who are in dire need of money, receive a mysterious invitation to join the game.
But what makes the audience so drawn to this gruesome plot?
Actually, the plot of ‘Squid Games’ is not something we haven’t seen before.
This can be compared to the dystopian film ‘Hunger Games’ which also portrayed the characters as fighting to death for survival.
However, ‘Squid Games’ can be seen as a more relatable story as the characters are fighting for a sum of money which they aim to win for their survival in life.
The players were not chosen at random.
In the series, the organization behind the games carefully picked out the lost citizens who are in dire need of money because of different reasons.
May it be because of a mountain full of debt, gang-related problems, or money needed for family matters, they all have one goal, and that is to earn money quickly.
This storyline is too common in the Philippines.
‘Squid Games’ get-rich-quick theme is everyone’s life dream thus, coming with various ways to juice money from other people has become prevalent in the country ,which leads to a bigger umbrella of problems such as poverty and crime.
Greed and power is an overshadowing theme of the game.
While it is true that the players are playing at their own discretion, it is the power play coming from the recruiters and basically the whole organization behind the games that prevails.
As human nature, having the knowledge of getting out of your problems is as easy as playing children’s games, this will be seen as a free ticket to a better life.
Though it is rarely as easy as it sounds.
The brutal adaptation of children’s games at the centre of Squid Game also provides a startlingly evocative metaphor for socio-economic inequality and capitalism.
This can circle back to parents teaching their kids moral lessons at an early age, only to despise these lessons after the reality and brutality of life hits them.
Perhaps with all the complexity woven beneath the storylines of the show, it is simply the relatability of these characters that drew massive attention to ‘Squid Games’.
Everyone can relate to one character or another, whether it may be the father doing everything he can for a better life for his daughter, a sister who will do everything she can to keep her promise to her sibling, or just someone who gambled too much in life and lost everything in return.
Tags: #SquidGames, #Netflix, #entertainment