Squid Game Review: A Netflix and Social Media Phenomenon

Squid Game became one of Netflix most-watched tv shows in less than a week.

Indeed, since its release in 2021, Squid Game keeps trending on a lot of social media platforms. Instagram, Twitter but most importantly TikTok remains the main social network in which the South Korean drama increased its popularity. 

This series created by Hwang Dong-Hyuk has only 1 season and 9 episodes. In a nutshell, it is telling the story of bankrupt people having to play childhood games to win the money prize of 45.6 billion South Korean won. The protagonist is Seong Gi-Hun (player 456), and the adventure begins with a total of 456 players. Similar to children’s games, people can be removed from the playground, but this concludes in the actual death of players. It is why the show is not for the faint of heart, as most of the 456 players are murdered in a dreadful and gruesome way. Nevertheless, most of the people killed are predictable as the show is considered as being a survival game. 

The trends engendered recently are mostly focused on two child games played in the shows. They can be observed in the first episode in which they are playing Red Light, Green Light, as the weird looking doll and her singing has made quite an impression on TikTok. The second trending game can be noticed in the third episode, in which they have to carve a stamped shape in a dalgona, a Korean candy. This recipe can be found on YouTube for the one who wants to challenge themselves to see if they could have survived the game. This is where the popularity lies – people are eager to experience the extremities of the game. 

The main theme covered in this show is the Korean debt crisis. The society depicted in the series, where a few rich people bored with their money, are making indebted individuals risk their life for a prize they require, is a big one. Instead of just giving them a chance for an easy solution by giving them the amount they want, they force them to play for their own entertainment.Yet, one of the criticisms Squid Game received was that some words may be lost in translation. However, inaccurate translations are always a risk when watching foreign films/series. Squid Game is nonetheless an interesting TV show to watch if thrillers, survival games, and the action genre is what you like. It is also fascinating to realise how other countries produce series and films and to notice how another culture in a piece of art differs from the western versions.

(Image Credit: Netflix and the Guardian)