If you’ve been paying attention to what’s popular in the media, you’ve heard of Squid Game. This Korean drama first began streaming on Netflix on September 17th of this year. According to The Washington Post, it became the number-one trending series in 90 countries in “just 10 days.” Rotten Tomatoes gives the show a 90% rating, but is Squid Game really worth the hype?
The show follows multiple debt-ridden characters as they’re invited by a mysterious figure to play childhood games for a large cash prize. But here’s the catch: if you lose, you die. We come across some pretty lovable characters (and some not so much), and every episode leaves you with a nagging question: What comes next? What really makes the show so compelling, however, is not its action nor its gore, but rather its commentary on the relationship between our modern society and money. It really highlights how we, as a society, value monetary gain over living life itself. Even as everyone around them dies, the players push on, preferring death over financial ruin. On the surface, a viewer will point out the absurdity that the players continue to participate even when their lives are at stake, but when you really think about it, the concept isn’t that outrageous. Take the Great Depression, for example, when Wall Street workers jumped from buildings after the stock market crashed. The interactions between characters shed light on humanity’s greed, how the promise of money transforms some into monstrous versions of themselves. In truth, Squid Game only depicts an exaggerated version of a world we all live in.
Of course, every great show has its pitfalls. For one, the season finale is pretty controversial. Don’t worry, no spoilers from me — you’ll just have to decide for yourself if the ending was good or not. Others criticized the central protagonist, Gi-Hun, for not being a great leading character. A few criticized the misaligned English dubbing, but hey, you can always put on subtitles instead. All in all, if you can handle mature themes and blood, I think Squid Game is definitely worth the watch.
Courtesy of NBC News: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/translators-experts-weigh-squid-game-subtitle-debate-rcna2568
Works Cited
Hassan, Jennifer, and Grace Moon. "Dear 'Squid Game' Fans, Please Stop Calling the Phone Number Shown in the Series." The Washington Post, 7 Oct. 2021. The Washington Post, www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/10/07/netflix-squid-game-phone-number/.