Netflix’s hit show has more to it than just big budget violence
Eric Bruce (He/Him) // Contributor
Valeriya Kim // Illustrator
So you recently heard about a new South Korean Netflix show called Squid Game. Your friends are begging you to watch it, you’ve seen about 75 TikTok videos referencing it, and your algorithm is dominated by Squid Game memes that you don’t quite understand. But you’re a busy person; between work, school, and re-watching The Office, do you really have time to binge another streaming show? Is Squid Game actually worth the hype? Why is it so popular?
Squid Game follows the story of Seong Gi-hun, a down and out man who can’t seem to get his act together. He’s broke, owes some pretty hefty gambling debts, and is struggling to maintain a relationship with his daughter. But that all changes when Gi-hun meets a stranger who offers him an opportunity to make some fast cash. Play in a series of children’s games, against a group of other money hungry competitors, with the grand prize being billions of dollars. Gi-hun quickly realizes there is a catch however: the losers of the game get brutally murdered.
So why has this show captured the culture zeitgeist with such veracity? One of the main reasons that the show is so popular is because of the timing of its release, and its relevance to current politics.
What some may have not garnered from my description of the plotline, is that Squid Game is actually a giant metaphor for economic disparity. We see in Squid Game, an assortment of characters who have been discarded by a society that has no use for people who don’t fit into its capitalistic structure. These people are then thrust into the middle of a murderous game for cash where your best chance at survival is to step on your fellow contestants to get to the top. Meanwhile a group of masked ultra rich people who are running the game, laugh at the contestants, and take great pleasure and amusement from their completely unnecessary pain and strife.
Does this strike a chord with you? It should. We are living in a time where we are beginning to awaken to the fact that most of the world’s wealth is controlled by the elite 1% of the population. Most people are greatly underpaid and mistreated in their workplaces, and not everyone gets a fair shake at the capitalistic game we play. Squid Game holds a mirror up to the brutal reality we are currently living in. This is one of the key factors as to why the show has gained a massive following, whether its viewers realize it on a conscious level or not.
Aside from the show’s important metaphor, it also has the benefit of featuring some of the best actors from South Korea; a nation that is now producing some of the world’s best works of film. Actor Lee Jung-jae does a masterful job of playing our protagonist Gi-hun, and we also get to witness stand out performances from every other cast member.
We are also treated to masterful pacing and cinematography in a form that we don’t often see in North American television. Yes, obviously we get to witness some very unique and bloody scenes of murder and mayhem in this show, executed in big budget glory. But I paid particular note to simple transitional scenes. Skip ahead to 42:10ish in Episode 2. In this scene we take a beat to just hear the rain fall in a narrow Korean street, as our protagonist sits outside and drinks a glass of soju. The shot is gorgeous, and establishes tone, and we get to learn more about our character’s life through this simple moment. Sure, we are all tuning into this show to see what horrific games our characters are going to have to face, but it’s the amazing nuance that director Hwang Dong-hyuk brings to this show that has made it so popular.
This isn’t just some B-level horror movie. Squid Game has heart and soul, and its viewers can connect to it on a deep level. Rather than just re-watching The Office on loop while eating overpriced meals brought to you by underpaid Uber Eats drivers, you can watch Gi-hun trying to navigate a world that rewards cutthroat behavior, and punishes acts of love and kindness. A world that we can, unfortunately, kind of relate to.
Is Squid Game worth the hype? Definitely.