Squid Game: Reflections of a Modern Society

Squid Game is an extravagant version of a modern dystopian society. Definitely on the fringes of a mainstream audience.

The Korean blood-spitting series is on top of the list for streaming as it evokes a plethora of emotions. Although Squid Game is not characterized by its melodramatic scenes, there are moments where poignant scenes will have you in tears. A powerful and gripping plot that finds me utterly flummoxed as to why Hwang Dong-hyuk’s Promethean masterpiece was being rejected for nearly 10 years. Certainly, Squid Game being an over-imaginative scenario does not provide a concrete argument. The final result says it all.

Decoding the language of Squid Game is an intellectual process as the production is not superficial at all. It’s not only about economic downfall and the rich using money as a sinister medium to exploit the poor. There is something about the exaggeration that makes Squid Game a horrible dystopian nightmare resulting from consecutive wrong choices and circumstances. And by coming face to face with these choices, that’s when Squid Game becomes truly gory especially when qualities are taken for granted. It’s the idea of having to fix your own mistakes in unorthodox ways. For instance, Geong (Lee Jung-jae) is on thin ice as wagering on horse racing further impedes his fate. On the contrary, Jang Deok-su (Heo Sung-taeon), a gangster, is part of the brutal game as a result of his corrupted life.

Squid Game is also about taking advantage of one’s economic downfall to turn them into ruthless predators by pointing the finger on the innocent such as the protagonist Geong-Gi-hun. However, debt does not make one a criminal. And yet, at the drop of the hat, this innocence is used in manipulative manners by cruel inequality. There are many players, each with a different past and for a different reason, but circumstances within the game make money the vision board that puts everyone on the same boat and also serves as a motivational factor to get their hands dirty. And that’s the aftermath of when you miss the boat.

Squid Game is a cinematic masterpiece. From the very first seconds, music underlines a seemingly neutral sense, quite oozing and unsettling. Not to mention the exceptional and fervently performed characters. Undoubtedly, Squid Game is the most exceptional production I have seen in years. Every aspect of it is so meticulously written. Every plot twist keeps the audience hooked. Squid Game is something that we have never seen before and the result of Dong-hyuk’s passion to convey what producers wouldn’t let him for 10 years.