By Stuart Ly
September 17, 2021, was the debut of Squid Game, a new Korean drama series, and it has been rapidly growing in popularity. But when you ask someone their thoughts on the trend, what do they truly think about it?
Squid Game tells the story of Seong Gi-Hun, a man in financial despair. He is a gambling addict who lives with his mother in a small apartment and has a daughter, who lives with his ex-wife. He is desperate for money and deeply in debt. One day, he gets invited to a perplexing event that awards a life-changing 45.6 billion Won (47 million CAD) to the winner. Little does he and the contestants know that the game is lethal and only one can make it out alive.
Squid Game’s production cost was 21.4 million dollars, yet this is still considered pennies when compared to the 900 million dollars the show made on Netflix. Despite the show being ranked number one in roughly half of the countries where the show is available, many consider it to be overrated.
Mr. Probst, a long-time Drama teacher at Harbord, shared his opinion on Squid Game. In his words, "Squid Game is a powerful indictment of capitalism's merciless rapacity, both in South Korea and globally."
Charlie Glaspell-Elser, a Grade 9 student, is similar to Mr. Probst in enjoying the show: “I liked it. The characters have lots of depth and like many others, if I had the opportunity, I would watch an inexistent second season. Many consider it to be overrated, but I believe it deserves its attention. It was created in many languages, and appeals to many different demographics.”
On the other hand, Grade 9 student Jude Sinanan seems to have a slightly opposing viewpoint on Squid Game in comparison to the others. “I think it’s pretty good,” he said, “but I don’t think it deserves to be number one in the world because I’ve seen better shows that haven’t been as popular.”
Creator of Squid Game, Hwang Dong-hyuk, has introduced a new style of media to the world. The show changed the way we see things and taught us about the lengths one will go to solve financial problems. Although Squid Game brought stimulating, innovative ideas and styles to the media world, is it really worth the hype?