The choice between good and evil
Thinking from "Squid Game"
Game selection
Life is like a game, a series of choices.
I remember when I was young, I lived in an alley. Whenever the neighbor kids shouted, "Let's play with 123 Wooden Man!" it was strange. It was like magic. No matter what I was doing in the house, my feet would not obey me and I would choose to walk out of the house. 123 There is no such thing as winning or losing with wooden figures. You never get tired of playing. It can be said to be a beautiful memory of childhood.
However, how did a fun childhood game turn into a terrifying battle of life and death?
In September 2021, the Netflix Korean drama "Squid Game" aroused enthusiastic response and quickly topped the global viewing rankings in a short period of time. The plot describes a group of desperate people who receive a mysterious invitation. As long as they play six games in six days, the winner will win a huge prize of 45.6 billion won.
456 players come from different walks of life. In order to turn their lives around, they decided to make a desperate move and participate in the game. But will this be redemption? Or fall into the abyss?
When my daughter was watching, I stopped for a while and was immediately attracted by the huge, colorful and cute little girl dolls. I saw her turn around and shout "The infinite flowers are blooming!" (Korean version of "123 Wooden Man"), which felt familiar, as if she had returned to the happy days of the past.
Unexpectedly, when the doll turned its head again, its innocent big eyes turned into machine guns that killed people without batting an eyelid. It shot at the panicked players who escaped from all directions. Suddenly, the ground was covered with blood and screams continued. My adrenaline spiked and I screamed.
My daughter was watching intently. When she saw this, she glared at me displeasedly and said loudly: "Mom, calm down, this is just a TV show, not real." Frankly speaking, I don't like thrillers and violent movies. No wonder many comments said that the show triggered polarized reactions: people either loved it or hated it. Avid fans want to wear Squidward-style tracksuits, learn how to make candy from the film, and even learn Korean. Critics complained that the show contained egregious violence and was riddled with plot holes.
I asked my daughter if she liked it? She replied briefly: "The plot is compact and visually entertaining, a bit like the American TV series "The Hunger Games."" When asked what she felt in particular, she replied impatiently: "The 123 Wooden Man game in the show is just like the game in childhood. The director played Red Light, Green Light, and Tug of War, which are all very familiar games to us.”
A few days ago, my daughter suddenly came to me and whispered: "Mom, I attended my friend's Halloween party last weekend, and we were playing a candy licking game!" After saying that, she showed me the photos.
In the picture, everyone is stretching out their tongues to lick various kinds of sugar candies with different patterns (it is said that the hostess made them after reading online recipes), and the sense of satisfaction from personal experience is beyond words. It was only then that I was shocked to realize that "Squid Game" had quietly invaded American culture in a lightning-fast way.
▲What was originally a childhood game full of childlike fun has turned into a battle of life and death in "Squid Game". The various decisions made by the characters in the play reflect the choices between good and evil.
Selected results
Different choices in life will bring different results. It’s a beautiful thing to choose to experience tasting 植豆 in person and experience different cultures. However, the No. 1 grandfather in the film thinks that he can do whatever he wants at the top of the pyramid. He absurdly believes that "the one thing that penniless people have in common with people with great wealth is that there is no fun in life." Build your own happiness on the pain of others.
In the top 16 semi-finals of the fifth stage of the glass brick suspension bridge, the organizers invited many international VIPs to watch the competition. Wearing golden masks of animals, symbolizing the top of the food chain, they arrogantly put their feet up on the human cushions where young men and women were lying naked, drank champagne, and watched the players fighting each other like beasts in the arena.
"You are the horses on the racetrack." These powerful people directly use human life as a bet, which is a negligible bargaining chip. Their precious lives have become a pastime for the rich and powerful.
This strong irony of the rich and the poor is exactly what director Huang Donghyuk wants to express: "I want to write a story that metaphors or alludes to modern capitalist society, using an extreme competition as a metaphor for today's society of the jungle and the strong."
One sister had a different observation: "If this drama is to highlight how rich people can play games with their lives, that's too superficial. It's not just rich people under capitalism who do this; anyone with power, e.g. Nazis and dictators don’t regard human life as human life!”
If you think about it carefully, the situation of these players is not necessarily caused by capitalism. Just like the male protagonist Ki-hoon who has accumulated huge gambling debts, Sang-woo misappropriated customers' funds to invest and failed, both of which resulted in a hellish life due to his wrong choices.
▲It is just a game, but due to the competition for survival, it has become a challenge to human nature. The evil in human nature pulls us toward wrong choices when faced with temptation.
how to choose
In fact, players have the opportunity to choose to escape intact. After the first level of the death game, everyone voted whether to continue the game. Grandpa No. 1 cast a critical veto, giving everyone the opportunity to rethink and make choices.
However, the vast majority of people return to the game with a lucky mentality of "I will win." The huge piggy bank hanging high in the air radiates endless light. Every time a life is lost, 100 million won will be lost, as if life can be measured in money. For survivors, the desire for money has long outweighed the fear of death, stimulating their determination to "win" the battle.
In the game, some people do whatever it takes to win and choose to destroy humanity; some people choose to sacrifice themselves to help others. There is a strong contrast between selfish greed and selfless sacrifice. As the director said, "This is a survival game that tests human nature."
For example, the glass master can distinguish tempered glass by its luster and sound and save everyone's lives, but he chooses to remain silent in order to eliminate those who are unfavorable to him. It's like Sangyou had already guessed the game to be played, but didn't say a word and let his teammates fend for themselves. In order to protect themselves, they will not hesitate to use deception, trickery, indirect killing, and even push contestants who have no use value into the fire pit. This means that "the human heart is deceitful above all things and extremely evil. Who can understand it?" How can people save themselves?
The Christian in the game thinks that if he encounters difficulties, he only needs to pray, and God will be on his side to help him. But I never thought about whether I would “choose” to stand on God’s side? Does this also remind us what different decisions faith can bring when facing challenges and struggles?
In the pinball game, Jiying, the originally cold and distant pastor's daughter, opens her heart to the North Korean defector Jiang Xiao. After sharing her secrets, she thinks that people who have more reason to live should be allowed to leave. This part makes me worried.
In fact, Jiying said "We can go out together..." several times, revealing her hope for life and the future. However, she finally chose to fulfill the other party. It reminds me of what Jesus said, "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." And Jesus' sacrifice was not a helpless choice when his life was threatened, but an active sacrifice of his life to save those who were mortal.
Grandpa No. 1 also made a choice, handing over the last marble and sacrificing himself to fulfill Qixun's "Gangbu" (good brother). Seeing this, I also burst into tears. His act of great love reflects the good side of human nature.
In the play, Qixun and his friend Sangyou grew up together, but they seem to be on opposite ends of the world. One is a gambler and the other is a winning team in life. Ironically, the two met unexpectedly in the game, and the last level of the "Squid Game" turned into a life-and-death battle between 30-year-old friends.
Disappointed and angry at Shang You, Qi Xun will attack to protect himself, or will he choose friendship and give up the huge bonus? And deep down in Shangyou's heart, is there still a little bit of kindness that could become the key to the choice between life and death?
Is human nature good or evil? The first ancestor, Adam, chose to act according to his own will, fell into the power of sin and death, and fell from generation to generation. How could there be any good? But humans are originally created in the image of God, and don’t they also long for goodness deep in their hearts?
The evil in human nature pulls us toward wrong choices when faced with temptation. Because Christ paid the price of death on behalf of man, people can be redeemed from sin and evil and have new life. Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we are able to make right and good choices when facing various challenges. Because this new life has the righteousness and holiness of truth.
in hope, loves reading, line dancing, traveling with the whole family, and looking at the world. Now lives in Southern California. Co-worker of Genesis Culture Bookstore.