Squid Game is basically Cube X The Hunger Games. It’s really well done, but for all its twists & turns, I was actually surprised by how much it colored inside the lines.
It’s kind of nice though to watch something that follows familiar narrative tropes…
I mean, that’s why I like Christmas movies. They’re dumb, but it’s restful knowing exactly what will happen in the big picture, and only being surprised by the details.
And yes, I did just compare Squid Game to Christmas movies as a genre. I stand by it.
So many of the things I watch are in the active process of trying to rewrite, reinvent, and break out of familiar patterns.
When I watch Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Tuca & Bertie, The Good Fight, or even just Grey’s Anatomy, they’re so actively trying to break off the rails…
A lot of tropes -need- reinventing, due to being problematic & the world constantly changing… but sometimes it’s nice to still be able to see the rails, instead of always flying a Delorean. (“Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.”)
To be clear and only mildly spoilery, the rails favor men. Men’s stories are the ones we’ve been elevating to the status of hit shows and movies and books for forever.
So, overall, I’m in favor of breaking off the rails and laying down new tracks.