The Squid Game Netflix series has shot to international fame building on a simple yet captivating premise. The show runs around a dystopian future in which hundreds of individuals are attracted by an anonymous organization that puts them in a series of games about life and death.
The games themselves are popular games played by children all over the world, which makes the death outcome of each game conflicting. While on the face of it, the idea sounds preposterous, a closer look at Squid Game allows us to see how the show dissects socio-economic issues.
All of the participants in the Squid Game, which is what the games in the namesake show are called, are in debt, and seeking a way out, not unlike the show’s creator who went through a heavy personal financial crisis himself over a decade ago.
They are kidnapped by an anonymous organization that will now give them a chance to pass numerous trials for the amusement of anonymous viewers as the participants try to overcome simple games such as “Red Light, Green Light,” Tug of War” and “Honeycombs” to name a few beloved children’s games which turn out to have a highly deadly ending.
However, this costly price has a great reward in itself. The participants are promised to win 38 million dollars if they survive the series of contests. While the dystopian scenario unfolds on people’s screens, there are complicated intercharacter developments to follow, as well.
Squid Game: Realism to Betting and Gambling
The show, which is already renewed for Season 2 is poised to break all sorts of awards is a fresh look at dystopias on TV. While it looks and feels terrifying on occasions, it has a sort of lightsome character to it, not least because of the way most South Korean producers spruce up their productions with graphic effects.
Hwang Dong-hyuk, the creator of the show, drew inspiration from his personal situation back in 2009 when he was heavily in debt and receive numerous offers to make money quickly if he would only agree to certain things. While the propositions were nothing as deadly as the scenario behind Squid Game, it was a gamble Hwang never took. However, the encounters with various loan sharks did make an impression on him and the idea behind Squid Game germinated over the years. Gambling is a huge part of Squid Game’s plot. The contestants need to follow the rules of each game while making sure that they try and apprise themselves for the upcoming games.
Squid Game has managed to penetrate all international barriers and smash viewer records in virtually every region around the world. There are many interpretations of the underlying meaning of the game. In the Middle East, where sports betting and gambling in general are on the rise, the Squid Game has been used by one of Arabic-Casinos game experts to illustrate the destructive aspects of sports betting by analyzing the relationship between Squid Game and gambling. Other interpretations of the film focus on the participants in the deadly Squid Games, who must try and figure out what the next challenge will be, which can be interpreted as a metaphor for life. They need to rely not so much on physical force, as much as mental force, putting their smarts to the test. A tug-of-war doesn’t necessarily rely on who is stronger, but just who knows how to channel their efforts together at the same time. And so, Squid Game becomes a big gamble on life itself, which is one of the unexpected twists of the show.
Why is Squid Game So Successful?
As the success of the show is pretty much unchallenged, this begs the question – why? What makes Squid Game so successful despite its controversial premise? First of all, it’s a very high-quality production, and whenever this happens, people tend to follow out of interest and appreciation. However, the show doesn’t look for cheap sensational thrills. The glim and glamor are soon replaced by an emotional connection that viewers can hardly help but feel for the main character and some of the ancillary ones.
As the events unfold and many of them prove to be quite unpalatable, the viewers feel even more compelled to root for the main character and see him through. Naturally, there is a sort of vindictiveness building up against the main antagonists of the show, namely, Player 001, who issues death penalties and generally seems to be bringing down all of the terrible things that befall the participants.
In conclusion, the show is addictive and has millions of viewers around the world waiting anxiously for season 2. Expected release date is end of 2023 or beginning of 2024 so you will have plenty of time to watch the Squid Game 1 again.