Squid Game’s Dark Fun Sweeps Campus

Senior+Jasmine+Tostado+with+English+teachers+Nohely+Perez+and+Amy+Reilly+dressed+up+as+Squid+Game+characters+during+Spirit+Week+on+Oct.+30.+%28Photo+courtesy+of+Linda+Filo.%29

Senior Jasmine Tostado with English teachers Nohely Perez and Amy Reilly dressed up as Squid Game characters during Spirit Week on Oct. 30. (Photo courtesy of Linda Filo.)

Walking around campus during breaks these days, you might overhear someone asking, “Would you put your life on the line to get some money?”

What?!

The macabre question is part of the worldwide craze for the most recent Netflix Original Korean show,

“Squid Game”, which has reached all the way to Eastside.

Freshman Devin Herrera found that question most intriguing when he started watching the show, which he did because “everybody else was watching it.”

The show jumped to #1 on Netflix after its release on Sept. 17. Students started playing games from the show during breaks and in the dorms, such as the Ddajki game where the objective is to flip an origami square by throwing another origami square on top of it.

The show follows the stories of several characters who are in severe debt and can win cash prizes by competing in games based on Korean children’s games However, the games put them at risk of death if you fail them.

Senior Lizette Hernandez attempts to play the “Dalgona Game” from Squid Game. (Photo by Stephanie Xiloj)

Freshman Joshuah Garcia said he enjoys watching the show because it is gory and intense, and he would

recommend it to people who don’t mind gore.

The show also does a good job of building a connection between the characters and the audience. The

viewers root for their favorite characters to win, and feel disappointed if they lose.

“It was interesting how they made you attach to characters and just killed them at the end,” said senior Corey Walker.

The show includes heartbreaking scenes and also touches on deep questions about greed and capitalism. Junior Arliet Bac said the show reminds her of another action-packed movie series she loves, “Hunger Games” because both focus on death games for the pleasure of the wealthy.

The show’s amazing set design, gripping plot, and deeper meanings will have you questioning whether or not you would put your life on the line to get out of massive debt.