Find out which films and series share common points with “Squid Game”, the Korean series currently in the first position of the most viewed programs on the platform!
A week after its release, hard not to have heard of Squid Game, which has become the first Korean series to dominate the ranking of the most viewed programs on Netflix. Leader in more than 76 countries, the program fascinates as much for its breathtaking concept as for the personality of its main characters.
While the creator of the series Hwang Dong-hyeok admitted in an interview to have been inspired by several Japanese manga, here are the three films and series that remind us of the new Netflix phenomenon!
Battle Royale, for the cruelty of its concept
Toho / Netflix
Squid Game was directly inspired by Battle Royale, it is also an influence fully assumed by its creator Hwang Dong-hyeok. In an interview with Variety, the latter admitted to having imagined the series – originally conceived as a film – by reading several manga, including Battle royale.
At first glance, the connection between the Korean series and the film by Kinji Fukasaku (taken from the novel by Kōshun Takami) seems obvious. However, the concept of the two plots differs on several points; in Battle Royale, students are chosen to fight to the death until the last survivor is declared the winner. There is nothing to be gained, and winners of previous editions are sometimes brought to participate in other royal battles, as “volunteers”.
In Squid Game, the events offer both individual and collective events, while the players participate on a voluntary basis (they also have the possibility of interrupting the game at any time, provided that the decision is voted by the majority players).
Parasite, for his political speech
The Jokers / Netflix
Their nationality is obviously not the only common point linking the film Parasite to the Squid Game series. In either case, South Korean society has come under the scrutiny of satire against the background of inequality of wealth. In Bong Joon-ho’s feature film, a penniless family comes to the service of the Parks; little by little gaining their confidence, they find themselves dreaming of being able to lead a privileged life themselves.
In Squid Game, the precariousness of the protagonists is also the element serving as a basis for the plot. Riddled with unpayable debts, the characters in the series actually have no choice but to participate in these killings disguised as games. At the same time, extremely wealthy spectators do not hesitate to bet on their favorite candidates, the sums involved having in their eyes more importance than the lives of the participants.
Does money empower the most privileged over the poor? This is indeed the common theme of the two works, a universal subject which probably explains their respective success with the general public.
Alice in Borderland, for phenomenal success on Netflix
Netflix
One success can hide another on Netflix… A few months before the Squid Game phenomenon, another Asian series aroused enthusiasm on the platform. At the end of 2020, the broadcast of the adaptation of the manga Alice in Borderland was indeed a great success, causing the manga to be out of stock.
Squid Game is not an adaptation of a manga, nor of a webtoon (a very popular comic book format in South Korea). But its phenomenal success on Netflix does indeed seem to follow the already triumphant reception ofAlice in Borderland Note also that the two series offer relatively similar concepts, with protagonists involved without knowing it in extremely dangerous games.
Unlike the Japanese series, Squid Game has yet to be renewed for a second season, with creator Hwang Dong-hyeok having recently said he hasn’t yet thought about how to continue his story.
Series Squid Game can be found now in full and exclusively on Netflix!
