Squid Game Parallels

SQUID GAME

PARALLELS

The startling similarities between Cupertino High School, Silicon Valley and Squid Game

curriculars and standardized testing, therefore endangering their mental health.

Red light! Green light! Player 54 eliminated. As yet another gunshot rings out, a quick glance around reveals piles of bodies littering the children’s playground surrounding you. Squid Game, a fictional drama television series created and directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk, portrays a survival contest where 456 players play a myriad of deadly traditional Korean children’s games in hopes of winning a grand prize. Failure to finish any of the games results in an immediate death penalty, and the simplicity in the games tied to their cold, instant consequences demonstrate Squid Game’s abstract concept of moral dilemma. What is most shocking, however, is how director Dong-hyuk’s carefully crafted characterization and plot have numerous parallels with the lives of ambitious students at Cupertino High.

The “hustle culture” mindset — where people place work, money and reputation above everything else in their life — paints a parallel between Cupertino and

Squid Game. Almost all Squid Game contestants lived a trying life before receiving the game invitation card, with financial strains serving as the most compelling factor to join. Consequently, players are likely to sacrifice their companions simply to take a step closer towards the prize money. Such willingness to betray and sacrifice things resonates with the social climate in

Silicon Valley — a honeypot for tech enthusiasts and ambitious innovators. Delving deeper into this resemblance, Cupertino students are inclined to overwork with rigorous schoolwork, extraWith the pressure of winning and the high stakes, some contestants in Squid Game made morally gray choices to secure their victory for each game. For example, contestant

Cho Sang-Woo, one of the main characters in the show, pulls an immoral ruse on his companion Ali to escape losing the marble game. With Ali in the lead, Sang-woo becomes desperate, pleading with Ali that he would do anything for him. With no possible choices left, Sang-woo takes advantage of the trust that Ali has towards him, manipulating Ali to change the game by proposing a plan that would get both of them through the round.

Trashing the friendship, Sang-woo SIMILAR TO THE SUGAR HONEYCOMB SCENE, [...] PEOPLE USE “ UNORTHODOX METHODS TO RECEIVE ACCEPTABLE GRADES. “ fills up Ali’s marble bag with rocks, fills his own with the full twenty marbles, and leaves Ali behind the scene — waiting for the gunshot. At Tino, the growing academic and social pressure of excelling at school blinds students, subconsciously validating cunning methods as possibilities. Students may ask questions about the assessment, copy off of someone’s work, or even bribe for answers. Similar to the sugar honeycomb scene, burning the needle to trace the shape outlines seamlessly, people use unorthodox methods to easily achieve victory, or receive acceptable grades. In the same way, Squid Game’s contenders risk their lives, believing that beating the game is the only viable option to live decent lives.

Another interesting parallel from Squid Game is the group of VIPs, mysterious rich patrons who each wear a luxurious mask and enjoy the show. While the contestants are desperate to determine the correct glass tile on a real bridge, the VIPs simply sip on champagne while betting money as to who will be the final surviving “horse”. In fact, the sadistic men don’t seem to deem the contestants humans — they are more objects used for entertainment and gambling. As such, Squid Game evokes the cyclical relationship between CEOs, multinational companies and lower wage workers, business startups. While the influential, prominent beings gain continual profit and recognition, there may be often many overlooked workgroups that have contributed to such big accomplishments. Squid Game has portrayed a series of interesting scenes while maintaining the overall theme of simplicity. From the first death at the first game to the unpredictable plot turnouts, the show has intrigued the viewers with each character’s original, creative backstories. In fact, there are many other parallels that can be discovered from the minute details that director Hwang Donghyuk has intended to employ