The South Korean drama series Squid Game has taken the world by storm and become a popular topic on social media. This series can be predicted to be the best-selling show on the Netflix streaming platform, beating the sensational drama The Crown.
Released globally on September 17, 2021, Squid Game is a series about the story of 456 people who are mysteriously invited to play in the game. The game is a very high risk, but whoever wins will get 45.6 billion in cash.
Arriving at the secret location, participants from all walks of life are forced to participate in a traditional Korean children’s game. But the punishment for the loser is not simple, but lives are at stake.
Many netizens are wondering why this series can become popular amid many other series that are also released at the same time. It turns out that several aspects drive the popularity of this series, ranging from the influence of social media to the message raised.
Here are the main reasons why Squid Game is so popular and could be the best-selling Netflix series.
A lot of twists and adrenaline-pumping scenes
When talking about traditional childhood games, the audience’s mind is immediately brought to a warm memory of the past. Unfortunately, in Squid Game, the memory becomes an endless nightmare.
The audience’s expectations about each game seemed to be crushed because of a lot of unexpected twists. Even simple challenges can become daunting as lives are at stake, and there’s an adrenaline rush to every scene in the series.
Diverse and eye-catching characters
The characters in Squid Game managed to attract the audience’s attention and become representatives of all levels of society. First, there is Lee Jung-Jae’s charming performance as the protagonist, who is clumsy but ultimately kind.
Gi-hun, through whose eyes we can see the suspicious movements of the other participants. Another standout performance came from Park Hae-soo as Gi-hun’s ambiguous childhood friend.
Former model Jung Ho-Yeon also drew attention to his role as a North Korean immigrant. She hopes to take his brother out of the orphanage.
Deep social and economic messages
It’s the story aspect that makes Squid Game an international sensation and the socio-political message held within. The series has an implicit critique of capitalism and ventures to explore the theme of social class anxiety.
Unlike other suspense series, here everyone arrives on the island with their own goals and becomes a representative of the community’s unrest.
We are awakened to a desperate contestant, haunted by a bleak future with insurmountable debt.
A warm side with a slight touch of comedy
Social media and public humor have also become essential aspects that drive the popularity of this series.
The series has had little traction on social media, with many scenes being used as memes. Even when the story put audiences on the edge of their seat, Squid Game also inputs small parts that may take us away from all the disturbing happenings. The Dalgona scene, especially, is where all memes were born.
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A tale that’s close to reality
One of the great values of the series is the strength of the story, which is very close to the reality of life today.
Squid Game takes us on the journey of hundreds of people who experience economic hardship finding their fortune in a last-man-standing competition.
These poor people are commonly having a lot of debts and have no other way to pay them.
The economic difficulties kindly remind us of how the current situation is happening. People are losing their jobs due to the pandemic, and working chance becomes slimmer as the economic growth weakens. Building a relation that’s realistic to the audience is the charm of Squid Game.
The same is valid for movies or other famous that have been shown before. Impressions that relate to the audience will make them feel like they are drawn into the universe of the film or series itself.
They will feel they are part of the storyline. Of course, the many similarities between the story and the real world are not the only things that make a film or series popular. There is a formula that is more important in a movie or series to attract the audience’s hearts.