SQUID GAME; The Perfect Formula for Delivering Story
Why did this show explode be the biggest ever series at launch?
*warning! Contain spoilers!
You have probably watched this show or seen it somewhere since it is a global sensation. The viral phenomenon that thrust all audiences over the world to delve into this flow. It always works, even if the content or the show is a piece of trash.
However, Squid Game is at another level. Yes, indeed, it became prominent because of the same type of phenomenon. I mean, it was everywhere. People created YouTube videos about it and hundreds of skits on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, TVs, and articles. Moreover, it was aired on Netflix — almost everyone has a Netflix account nowadays.
Well, I will not write this if the content is not feasible to discuss because I love this show. But whether you realize it or not, this show was viral because of its precise formula! There are several things that that I assumed made this show well accepted and popular. Check them below:
It emerged at the right time
If you don’t know it yet, Squid Game was written by its author/ director Hwang Dong-hyuk back in 2009. He had a belief that the show would be great, but unfortunately, many production companies rejected his script. “too grotesque and too unrealistic.” They said.
Dong-hyuk was not giving up, and indeed, hard work will never betray you. In 2019, Netflix was the one who finally took an interest in Squid Game script, and they changed the concept that was initially meant for the movie to become a series.
The series was released worldwide on September 17 this year. People crave entertainment after all big projects were postponed during the pandemic, and this show gave fresh excitement. Regarding the nature of the show, September was the correct timing since Halloween was coming in the following month. Guess what do you think people will wear at their Halloween party this year?
The game theme
I bet you like watching a game show on the television. Our mind is designed to love a fun challenge. When watching a game show on TV, we gradually root for the players. If they win, we share the same joy. The more unique and challenging the game, the more we feel excited watching the player’s journey.
When we watched Squid Game, we immediately liked the theme since the first game — it was very intriguing to see, and we were always curious about the next challenge. Considering the show is about childhood playground games, giving the audience a nostalgic and familiar feeling, even if you were not from South Korea.
A global-related issue
Money. Yes, a bunch of money. Everybody loves that, but not everyone has the privilege to own it. Squid Game showed lower class lives that struggle with their financial status.
Every country in the world is dealing with a poverty problem within their society, which makes people relate to the characters’ striving to live day by day in the show.
You probably notice that the participants of the death game, although living in a difficult situation, still have something to fight for. All of them are about to lose everything— the other word for that is desperate people. This is not a new issue because many people are willing to sell their souls since no one wants to sink to the bottom class of society.
Complex characters
Every success story always has progressive characters. That makes them more humane and not stagnant. Squid Game takes the time to describe each character in detail — for example, the main protagonist, Seong Gi-hun. In the beginning, we can see that he is not a lovable character; he lives like a parasite to his mother and has a gambling addiction.
However, in some scenes, he showed his conscience and strong principles, like when he gave a fish to a stray cat, or when he risked his life by deciding to team up with Oh Il-nam, as well as when he was willing to let go of all the prize money at the end to save Cho Sang-Woo. But in every episode, he did not just immediately transform into a great character, and he still had flaws and anger until the end. That made him as a character more realistic.
That is not only applied to the main character but all the characters. We could sympathize with them and also be irritated at the same time. That is because of how complex they are written. They are the depiction of ordinary humans. After all, they just want to survive.
The show was fantastic at executing the story because we had to analyze their reason and act in each scene to understand each character well. It was never narrating the characters’ personality or their reason for every decision they take, but they showed it through memorable scenes.
The correct decision of casts
If you are familiar with the South Korean entertainment industry, you must notice how perfect their faces are. Most of them even went under the operation table to achieve standard Korean beauty.
Squid Game is on another way. I believe that this is also the reason why this show is made it become a global sensation. Most of the casts on the show are not just young beautiful actors and actresses. They were also not wearing flawless make-up, and some actors and actresses were not even famous before this series.
In some interviews, Hwang Dong-hyuk revealed that he wanted someone new when he was looking for the cast. Not just famous actors and actresses, but he also looked for a suitable representation for characters he created in the story.
If the director went with famous actors and actresses with solid fanbase already, audiences would not only focus on the story. By casting new faces, audiences will learn to love the presentable characters based on the plot, not just by their appearance and known popularity.
Color choices and design
Color choices are essential in terms of visual design. In order to gain audiences’ attention, an artist should think of the best color to give a strong representation of their brand.
The Squid Game’s success is also inseparable from the design of the game stages, costumes, bunk beds, coffin, and color choices — thanks to hard work and collaboration between Hwang Dong-hyuk and Chae Kyung-sun as the Art Director of Squid Game.
They choose soft and pastel colors for the stages and costumes. Everything is intended to seem cheerful and safe since the director wanted to depict that the game creator doesn’t want participants to feel tense every time. Also, it makes the sets contrast from the real world because the participants live in a bad situation.
The most memorable set from the game is from episode 6 when the story gets darker and sad. They created the game stage as the South Korean neighborhood, and they went very much detail into the design, from the walls and props.
The prominent but a bit underappreciated by audiences is the lighting they use. The orange sunset of color is absolutely changing the nuance of the stage so much. It elevated the story to a higher level of sentiment since the setup intended to depict the childhood moment when we have to separate from our friends and end the day because it is already dark.
It was fitting undoubtedly with the farewell moment in the story.
The fairy tale ending is stale
In episode 4, when participants were told to team up and create a group to play tug-of-war, we saw how strong they build their bond. At this moment, we have a big hope that all of the main protagonist characters will make it to the end. However, that slight expectation was destroyed in episode 6.
The story’s ending was not a happy ending for everyone, including for the main protagonist. It was dreadful and probably traumatizing for some audiences.
The use of tragic end here makes the story more memorable and provokes discussion for audiences. It will raise the “probability” argument and “what if” questions. This is also one of the aspects of virality. People argued and discussed the story all the time or how it was supposed to end. The more people talk about it, the more highlight this show gets.
A tragic ending does not always work because some audiences would probably be disappointed and not satisfied. Like playing with fire, if you don’t want to get burnt, you have to use the correct tools and senses in order to avoid it.
Then what makes this show successful with the ending? The answer is simple — best plot. Indeed all those lovable characters were dead and didn’t make it but can you imagine if all casts survived?
The story would not be going to be hit that hard. Especially, all the tragic deaths that we watched would not affect us, give us emotion, and we are not going to love them as much as now.
Which of these death scenes hit your heart the hardest?