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Seoul (Korean Herald/AsiaNews)-I completed the "Squid Game" in one go. Overeating is out of necessity. Anxiously wondering why the Korean series soared to number one on Netflix's global charts, and my overloaded schedule was ruthless. But then an 8-hour gap appeared.

To be honest, I was trapped and willingly. After the noisy horse racing betting opening scene, it is easy to keep an eye on all nine episodes.

Therefore, I joined the ranks of an estimated 142 million families worldwide who watched "Game of Squid" within the first four weeks of its release on September 17, contributing to its US$900 million (S$1.2 billion) valuation .

This is a wonderful experience for me. When I was a teenager, I was obsessed with American movies and pop songs. Now, I am broadcasting a large number of Korean TV dramas on the global platform on the TV in the living room. This is a combination of technology and the dramatic rise of Korean film production.

As early as the 1960s, watching your favorite movie multiple times required virtual tours of several theaters within months or even years. Multiplexing has not yet appeared. Of course, Hollywood movies are all the rage. The struggling domestic film industry has little to offer.

In the next few decades, South Korea has grown into a cultural power. "Squid Game" follows a series of huge successes of Korean filmmakers and pop music groups on the global stage.

Most notably, it shares the theme with director Feng Junhao’s Oscar-winning satire "Parasite".

Both illustrate the huge class gap between the rich and the poor in South Korea and many other countries.

"Squid Game" is a dystopian horror fantasy work, with a series of Korean children's playground games as the background, and a brutal competition for the life-changing first prize.

These 456 players are marginalized individuals, debt-laden and desperate. They participated in the competition to have a chance to reverse the decline. This may be a prerequisite that is easy to associate with anyone, anywhere.

Surprisingly, only one participant will win any prize money. Everyone else will die in order to overcome the small probability of winning.

As the jackpot for each death increases, the poor must fight each other to complete each game, while the machine gun sweeps the laggards out.

Squid game is a dystopian horror fantasy that uses a series of Korean children's playground games as a brutal competition setting for life-changing jackpots. Photo: NETFLIX

Aside from the dazzling visual effects and disturbing humanity research, the wanton bleeding left me with a complicated feeling. Although I have been watching it, I don't want to say that I "like" this series.

I found a similar point in the Critics' Notebook of the October 11th edition of the New York Times.

TV critic Mike Hale wrote: “I’m sure that the eye-catching visual effects of "Game of Squid", the inherent appeal of the game, the appeal of science fiction and mystery elements, and the outdated storytelling formula are reassuring. The familiarity of all helps.'

"But what I dislike the most is probably the aspect of the series that dislikes it the most: it pretends to be relevant to contemporary society, and attaches a thin layer of relevance to prove that the merciless slaughter is the most fascinating of the show. Notable features."

This may not be a complete "camouflage", but a tilted balance, whether intentional or unintentional.

"This is a story about losers," Huang Dong Hyuk, the screenwriter, producer and director of the show, said in an interview with CNN.

"Those who struggle to overcome the challenges of daily life in the highly competitive society we live in and are left behind, and the winners escalate."

Nevertheless, I prefer a plot with no rules to create a cold-blooded slaughter hidden in the games of innocent children.

"Variety" magazine chief TV critic Daniel D'Addario (Daniel D'Addario) wrote in his October 8th issue, about "horrifically intimate and impersonal" violence, "violence is flat Portrayed, and embellishment comes from the cumbersome decorations surrounding death and blood. Murder is fascinated as a way to increase the stakes in a vague political conversation without offering a solution.

"While enjoying the horrific experience and cheering for a system that will produce such a terrible system, the audience is experiencing double pleasure, a feeling of enjoying the performance, and at the same time living on top of it. This is ultimately It's the most complicated thing about the "Squid Game"."

Australian author Monica Tan sounds more sympathetic in her article "The Squid Game: The sensational Korean horror film is perfect for our dystopian sentiment", which was published by The Guardian on September 30 Published on the day.

She said: "In fact, most of the contestants chose to stay in this hellish torture chamber (as one of the characters pointed out sharply,'outside is as bad as here') is an accusation against modern society, in the darkest and most interesting. The way.

The more serious the abuse, injustice, and cruelty our contestants are willing to endure (and impose on others), the more serious the abuse, injustice and cruelty in the "real world" will become the standard.

"Squid game reminds us that normal life is not sunshine and lollipops for all of us. So before we rush back there, what can we do to make the'outside' better?"

Hwang and Netflix will need to find a more universally appealing way to express the narrative in the second season of this popular series or any other work they might collaborate in the future.

I saw positive signs in the remarks made by Fortune, the vice president of Asian content, Jin Minying, published on October 21st.

She said: "Great Korean stories are nothing new. Storytelling is deeply rooted in Korean culture."

As we all know, Kim is responsible for bringing "Squid Game" to Netflix. "Korean dramas help the audience escape reality and capture reality at the same time," she said.

"They capture social issues with strong emotions, help you empathize with the character and integrate into the story."

Now, do I want to watch "Squid Game" again, as Lee Jung Jae, who plays the protagonist Sung Ki Hoon, recommended to the critics of the show? No, I'm not ready to endure the cruel blood baptism again-but.

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MCI (P) 031/10/2021, MCI (P) 032/10/2021. Published by SPH Media Limited, Co. Regn. The number is 202120748H. Copyright © 2021 SPH Media Limited. all rights reserved.

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