Psychiatrists and horror writers analyze why Netflix's "Squidward" is so popular

The original Korean drama "Squid Game" released by Netflix has become a global hit and set a record for Netflix's hottest drama. Recently, Japanese media invited well-known psychiatrists and horror writers to analyze the reasons for the popularity. Let's take a look together.

• "Squid Game" tells the story of a mysterious organization inviting 456 failed and downtrodden people in real life to form a gaming group to compete for a huge cash prize. Players need to challenge the game with simple rules and strive for the final victory. However, the price of failure is only once, which is their own life.

• The following opinions come from the famous Japanese psychiatrist Shion Kashiawa and horror novelist Shimako Iwai:

•Although it is very popular, "Squid Game" is not a particularly outstanding work, it is more entertaining and exciting.

•The bloody and violent scenes in the film are definite factors that will affect the ratings. This film is not recommended for children to watch.

• How to attract viewers to continue watching? The biggest success of "Squidward Fever" may be attributed to the last 5 minutes of each episode being particularly interesting, which makes the audience unable to stop watching the show.

•The protagonists of the game are all failure-type street characters that are difficult to blame. Such characters are not limited by nationality and are less likely to make the audience feel bored with the protagonist’s halo.

•According to the author’s experience, Korean male chauvinism is too prevalent, and this drama caters to this trend. It does not have the Japanese style of the invincible cockroach who keeps fighting after repeated failures. Failure means death, and all beings are equal.

•South Korean society has an extremely fierce tradition of competition from the entertainment industry to the political world. There are many examples of failure leading to irreparable consequences. Compared with South Korea, Japan is more of a "relaxed" country.

•Although "Squid Game" was accused by critics of plagiarizing many Japanese plots, such as "Gambling Apocalypse", "Battle Royale", "Listen to God", etc., the main reason why "Squid Game" is far more popular than those predecessors may be that the audience can empathize with the 456 contestants.