I hope you liked the video! Remember to check out campfire by clicking bit.ly/CloserLook21 if you want to organise all of your story & worldbuilding notes into one easy to reference workspace. See you guys in the next one.
A little weak on comparing motivations to maslows, maslow is a little outdated and when looking at complex things, boiling someones motivations to 4 things is limiting scope. At the end of the day what makes these characters interesting to watch, is the fact that they are flawed and we can all relate to people improving themselves.
I really enjoy your content and I find myself agreeing with your points of story structure and character analysis, I ask myself quite a few questions you asked in this and the other videos that you have made and even some I haven't thought about till you mentioned it. It just reminds me that as much as I may think of in fiction there's always another layer we can get to if we but consider the possibility. Keep up the great work I'm looking forward to your next videos my friend, Godspeed and God bless you and yours. Mr.Graves
i think it’s important to note that while all of gi-huns most unlikable traits are thrown in your face in the first episode, it’s also clear that there is still a good man beneath all that. after he wins big in gambling, the first thing he does isn’t to go and get high or hire a prostitute or anything like that you might see in a lot of shows, the first thing he does is call his daughter and tell her how much he’ll be able to treat her on her birthday. there’s also a good scene where after he bumps into someone when he’s running away from debt collectors, he stops to help her pick up her drink even in the dire situation. this was improvised, but they felt that it fit the character so well that they left it in
One flicker of good underneath a whole bunch of lying, stealing, gambling and messing up does not make a person good. He is a scumbag. Most of the contestants are. Plus, drugs and/or prostitution are not viable options in South Korea.
The first thing I noticed about him that gave me a clue about his good nature was when he won the money and the *actual* first thing he did was to give the cashier lady one of the bills to buy herself a coffee, and not even in a sleazy way. He seemed to take joy from giving. SPOILER below about later episode. Over the course of the show, he shows that yes, he is kind of dumb, but he is also wise. What he said to the gangster guy (I forget his name) about his gangster friends turning on him while he sleeps? That was such a brilliant power move.
@@Spartan0430 South Korea's corruption is on the outside for everyone to see. Super capitalism and the superficiality it causes result in South Koreans' insatiable demand for unnecessary luxury goods and services, which perpetuates classism.
And the best part is that the show is fully aware he’s a bad person but still allows us to sympathize with him. In episode 2, when he gets called out and shunned by everyone in his life, it’s brutally heartbreaking. You know all of them are justified in what they’re saying but you also feel Gi Hun’s pain at being so harshly treated by the people he loves. It’s just so sad.
just a small thing i wanted to point out: he didnt forget his mothers birthday during the atm scene. the dub mistranslated it and the pin was actually his daughter’s birthday. i just thought it was important since it shows even further that gihun’s mother cares more about his daughter than him :)
I'm so used to watching everything in their original language (+ subs if needed) that it didn't even register to me that there was a dub for the show. (and that people actually watch that version, haha)
i've been so used to watching viral netflix shows that people praise, only to be disappointed. almost forgot that netflix could produce a great show like squid game every now and then.
@@rehreh92 Squid Game is mediocre at best, and is proof that Netflix ruins potential. The later episodes begin to fall very flat very quickly, and the ending is an embarrassment that fails to show what Korean writers and directors are actually capable of (see Oldboy, Parasite, Memories of Murder for examples). It's just hallyu wave impacting people's ability to critically examine something again. 한류열풍에 미친 놈들이 많아질수록 한국 감독이나 탤런트들은 열심히 할 필요가 없어지죠. 오징어 게임은 엔딩에 가까워지면 질수록 노력이 부족했고, 2부를 만들 작정으로 마무리를 지은 쪽팔리는 representation of South Korean entertainment media입니다.
@@bryttonica6286 Because of all the RUclips leaches who basically suck the property dry. I’ve seen a ton of bad videos with squid game stuff in them. This video is great tho because he actually makes good content.
I don't think you're wrong, but I have another thing I want to mention here: As well as making him relatable, Squid Game does an awesome job making him likeable by showing his greatest strength, which is compassion. He's a selfish ass most of the time, but sprinkled within are the actions he does when he's not. When he won his money, his first actions were to give the cashier 10k for no reason and to call his daughter to tell her how awesome of a gift he's gonna bring. When he's fleeing and fearing for his life, he takes the time to help a random stranger up, who he ran over. When he's just had recieved a death threat, he immediately begs for money, so he can buy his daughter a present. It's these moments that not only make him relatable, but also very, very likeable, and they greatly set up his character in later episodes (oh god the marbles)
That's what drew me in as well. At first I really didn't like him (stealing, especially from your mom that is taking care of you is pretty awful behavior), but then he kept doing those little acts of kindness and I realized how much of a good person lurks behind his gambling addiction and the weight of his crippling debt. And I found myself rooting for him throughout the entire show. (Same with Ali, he was so precious and wholesome!) With Sang-woo I kept switching back and forth. He did some scummy things, but he also showed compassion - and while I personally can't relate to a lot of his choices they were made with his need for self-preservation which gave me conflicting feelings about the character. (And yes, the marble episode had me in tears! Oh the dread I felt when I realized what was happening right before they actually revealed the rules of the game...)
@@borealernadelwald Sang-woo is the best character in the whole series. He's the most ambivalent of all of them, and so damn realistic. I bet most actual humans would act like he did.
@@asmahasmalaria8596 Him being so realistic is probably the reason why I felt so conflicted about his character. I consider myself a kind person and ideally if I were to find myself in this situation I'd like to keep acting kind towards others, like Gi-hun. But I've never been in a life or death situation, especially not one where I'd have to hurt/kill others to survive.. so in my ideal world so to say some of Sang-woo's decision seemed very cruel, but on the other hand very understandable, since our survival instinct overshadows most other ideals we might have. Sang-woo is definitely a really well written character and I too think most people would act similar to him. Even if he did things I didn't agree with I never hated him ~
giving money to the cashier is not a sign of compassion. it is merely something that many compulsive gamblers do when they win money. if he was really compassionate he should have gave the money to the mother whom he stole from all the years
Once he fed that cat, I was okay with him. Also, his human connections, his friend sticking by his side, his daughter obviously worried about him, the woman giving him fish. It showed that the whole world didn't hate this guy and want to see him fail, that people out there saw some good in him somewhere.
I'm very happy that you found a use for maslow's pyramid, because it's heavily criticized in psychology itself. The way Maslow coined it is that people will need to satisfy the lower category before moving a category higher, etc. The problem with this is that while kind of true, it's not always applicable (and highly subjective). Someone who's very depressed, for example, can sometimes go without food for multiple days because they're lacking some of the higher needs. The way you use it, more as a reference to what kind of problems you could have as opposed to in what order you need to solve them, makes it far more useful than it ever was in the field of psychology.
This is false because psychology itself understands that those who have psychopathologies are in the minority. If we based all our systems and formulae on outliers we would have nothing. Maslow's pyramid is a very powerful tool to understand the human psyche as much as Freud's psychosexual theories. FAE fundamental attribution error is something we must contend with very strongly and you do not criticize a system based on outliers. Our statistics training as psychologists demands it. Honestly, no attempted understanding of a complex system like the human experience is perfect, but we accept the ones that apply generally to the most of us as possible. Psychology is a pseudoscience (I hate that they call my academia this) and it never has concrete evidence for things but it does have strong statistical corollaries which are the best we have to attempt to explain the human condition and Maslow's Pyramid is not one that is in contest with regard to its importance in understanding how humanity views its characters and itself.
@@the8u9 while you're correct in saying we shouldn't reject a model based on outliers and psychopathology isn't in itself a reason to reject it either, that was just an example i pulled real quick to illustrate my point and you shouldn't take my one youtube comment to be accurate criticism (i'm also just a third year bachelor's student so i might be in the dunning-kruger zone a bit on this subject). There are articles out there that provice well-structured criticism, such as how Maslow's study had a small sample size of rich, healthy, intellectual people. I won't say i'm completely in the right with my original comment, since you definitely come across as someone who's more experienced on this topic than me, but if you feel like reading some of that criticism (or if anyone else reading this comment feels like it) i'd recommend looking at McLeod's 2020 article on it on simplypsychology (dot) org. Thanks for your input and have a great day :)
@@mo6555 ooh a fellow academic! Nice! Yes I am aware of the broader criticisms and the problem with them are that they do their best to tear down a theory/concept without replacing it. When reading the criticisms it begs the question, so if Maslow's theory is wrong because it lacks empirical evidence (like almost all psychosocial theories) then what do we have? Is there another pyramid somewhere, or are we back to square one in understanding the human psyche in the department of needs? That's why I brought up Freud. His oedipal/electra complexes are so contentious that psychologists see it as almost embarrassing, but the significance of the psychosexual theories is purely that it exists. The same way if Maslow never had his theory, "need" would not exist as a concept, merely as a hunch. Also the criticism that it does not apply to eastern cultures is literal nonsense haha. That is mixing up culture and basic human nature. Eastern collectivism and deeply rooted confucianism does not override personal needs. There are tons of axioms and idioms that say there is no pride unless your stomach is full, that there is no fence you won't climb after starving 4 days XD
@@the8u9 im not a psychology major but "this is the best explanation we have" or "where would we be without this theory" doesn't seem like a great defense of any theory regardless of the area of study. idk if theres more criticism to it than that, I assume there is, but there are lots of theories out there in many subjects that have been super important to building literature and understanding, and that doesn't make them any more accurate, just important steps in getting to a more complete theory. ive only read a couple articles abt maslow's pyramid so i can't speak on it specifically at all, but your defense of it seems like more of a deflection than anything else
Squid Game in its pilot created the ultimate underdog protagonist, not just in terms of his realistic chances of winning the game, but winning the audience over with his character. At the beginning, we see him at his lowest; selfish with family, careless of his money, forgetful of his daughter and poor as shit. Hell, one of my friends whom I watched the show with hated Gi-Hun during the first few episodes, but we all turned around into loving him as we are shown his human values shine more and more as the morals of all the other characters from the doctor to Sang-Woo drastically deteriorate for the sake of the grand prize.
@@SparkVulpa Squid game was good, not as great as people make it to be, to be honest. The last few episodes felt rushed, and the character choice at the end didn't make sense. It felt force... I personally like Kaiji better. It's unique art style, interior dialogues... Character of Kaiji feels human. He loses more then he wins, and even when he wins he still suffers... I still enjoy Squid Game tho. I think I will start with the manga. I don't know if it's finished or is still on going. Have a nice day.
I think a very important aspect of relatable characters is vulnerability. I think to truly understand a character, or to know anyone in our lives, is to understand what makes us weak, and what it means to be human.
I loved death games for years: SAW, Doganronpa, battle royale (manga), hunger games, even the shitty ones like 9 dead, elevator, atm, circle. Squid game was just another one too me until I saw how good the writing was, everything had a purpose, everything shined, it might’ve not been original but it was also released in the perfect time during a pandemic, with little to no hype around death game series. It was like the perfect storm and it was the epicenter.
i love this genre too!! a lot of the time they're not particularly high quality, high budget (although that sort of adds to the charm sometimes) so seeing squid, which had a great writing and a big production was great
The construction of Gi-Hun's character is genius. His first appearance being this whiny, broke loser who takes advantage of his mother's labour and forgets his child's birthday is immediately challenged by his small acts of generosity and care - giving the receptionist some money for a coffee, calling his daughter to tell her that he was going to give her the best gift for her birthday, helping Sae-Byuk when he accidentally collides with her whilst running from thugs. And it continues down the line, right up to the Squid Games. He gives a stray kitty a fish, he regularly talks with San-Woo's mum despite him not seeing his friend in a long time, etc. Even in the games, before the death penalty was revealed, he asked Il Nam if he was alright, depsite him looking like a crazed old man talking to himself. Then there's his appearance. He has a soft look to him, from his slightly sweeping hair to his expressive eyes. At the lowest points, his appearance makes him look vulnerable, meek and pitiful, and at the highest, his joy is downright endearing. As a main protagonist, he works extremely well with the story, and as a character, it is hard not to like him just a little.
Also, in the first episode we see that money would solve his problems, because the first things he wants to do with money he won gambling are to spend on his daughter and bring food home to his mother, which makes him likable too, actually
Squid Game is a show that stuck with me for literal days afterwards. Like I still get chills thinking of that first episode. I've got back to rewatch it and the impact is the same. Fantastic television.
"Likability","relatability", "sympathetic", etc. Are all blanket terms. We obviously can relate with struggle, because we all have faced hardship one way or the other, but that's not enough to drive a story. You want your main characters to be intriguing, to be believable, and to be compelling... You want to know why they do things, you want to know how they approach problems, what they value, what they believe in. Not just their struggle, but _their relationship with it._ Not whether you agree with them because "coincidentally" you share the same world view with them or have the same experiences as them... I don't think many people, even in South Korea, have lived the same things as Gi-hun, maybe one or two things, and even if we do not "relate" to him because "oh, look! He's a broke ass loser, just like me!" We can understand his many struggles, and appreciate the way he faces them and learns from them, and that is universal.
man im glad someone finally talked about the lives the characters have and how they tie in with the shows pilot because everyones talking about "how dark the games really are" 50 thousand times so im glad for something different
Henry: This pyramid is very complex, let's break it down and give some concrete examples. *Me, who knows exactly what he's talking about but likes watching Henry explain things:* Mhm, go on.
i frequently say it's not likeability, but how interesting the character is that matters. i should sit up every time the come into the room, i should be wondering what they're going to do next, to the point where i go to the next scene. one of my villians gets half of all my comments, far more than my heroes.
I loved that the consept of the game (the dying part) did not come put until the very end of episode, and, unless you´ve watched similar shows before, it was quite a shock
I’m so glad to see this channel finally talking about Squid Game and its wonderful protagonist. Gi Hun is one of the most subversive takes on a protagonist I have seen in a long time. In any other show, Gi Hun would be a minor inconvenience villain to our protagonist. A character who would be painted as a bad person and only a bad person with no development or signs for redemption. But with Gi Hun, instead of falling into that common trope, here he is our protagonist. And what’s great about him is that the show is fully aware he’s not a great person while also showing us why he is the way he is and also showing us that underneath it all, he does have a good heart. It’s just been buried under so many bad decisions over his life. He feels like a real person, not just a stereotypical loser that’s played as such for character development for our protagonist. Gi Hun is actually my favorite character in the entire show because of how realistic he is as a character. How nothing ever goes right for him. How layered he is as a person and character and how his messiness makes him absolutely fascinating. How his luck in the real world is nothing short of atrocious in comparison to the games. How instead of taking away his humanity like Sang Woo, the games actually unlock the humanity that Gi Hun long lost over the years because of all of the horrible decisions he’s made. And how the games make him really see just how much his bad decisions have hurt the people he’s cared about from his ex wife, his mother, his daughter. In episode two when everyone in his life rightfully calls him out on his bullshit, it’s brutally heartbreaking. You can sympathize with how sad it is but you also know that everyone is absolutely correct with being done with him after all of his mistakes and careless behavior. And the journey he goes through in terms of his character development is honestly nothing short of brilliant. The way he changes over the games toward himself and those around him is equally as compelling as him. There’s so much to love about this character and how complex he really is. He’s honestly the perfect flawed and realistic protagonist and I absolutely love him. I would love to see a video by this channel further analyzing his character and why it’s so effective toward what makes Squid Game work so well.
I feel like Walter White, Bob, and Gi-hun are all extremely relatable because they all feel like they are wasting their potential. They all know they are capable of greater things but they feel they wasted the past years of their life. This is super relatable to everyone.
So much good stuff in here! I heard somewhere that a show's pilot needs to be a "mini" version of the show as a whole -- what's the hook, what's the theme, who are the characters, what are they battling?
Another thing I think is worth pointing out is the myth that “you should always see yourself in the protagonist”, when it could just as well be someone you know. As long as the character feels like a person that you have a connection to in some way, and you want them to succeed not for your good, but for them, you’ll have a character you will grow a connection too. Or at least that’s my take on it :]
I was determined to keep disliking Gihun because he's such a douche at the start. Although it's almost comical how the show keeps piling his loserdom onto him in the first episode. By the end, of course, I was 100% invested in Gihun.
Basically every great show's first episode has, uniqueness, the immersive world of the character, and the objective of the character usually tidbits of it being solved throughout the series, all thrown into the vibe of the show. Some shows go great in the middle of the season and some do the opposite i.e. great at first then flops.
Gi-Hun’s characterization is even better than you’re giving it credit for. His desperation for money gets in the way of his inherent generosity and selflessness (Giving the woman 10,000 won & wanting to buy a gift for his kid). This ties directly into the core thesis/theme/motif of the story: that our economic system makes good people desperate and desperation can make you do terrible things. He’s a good character on his own and he’s also perfect for the story he’s in.
Yeah. Harrowing and sobering circumstances can make initially abrasive characters seem appreciated if one agrees with their goals and will to survive over time. or the story shows them as exclusively capable of solving the storys problem when other likely candidates have a hard fall.
“I’m not gonna tell you what Omniman did because I’m not getting demonetised” *talks about a Korean Netflix show about a Death Game *talks about a show about a Meth Cook
Maybe thats better because Squid game is based around anime/manga series "Kaiji: Ultimete Gambler". I highly recomend it and its not like most animes and mangas in Japan + its has Italian inspired artstyle (no just look at it and see it).
This was such well crafted and presented analysis. I always struggle to find the deeper meanings and intentions in media, but you explained it and drew parallels in such an eye opening way. Amazing video!
I have this issue while watching new movies or series that I can't never seem to finish them or making me have a real interest, but I must say Squid Game got me on the edge of my sit.
Good break down. I found it interesting how you broke down the characters and the plot, filling those empty voids or glory days of their life. Or the security and want to be appreciated. Keep up the good work.
i actually had always been fascinated by that hierarchy of needs and especially the self actualization. back when i was in senior highschool, my teacher briefly discussed that pyramid alone. and that at the very top of the pyramid, even when all of those 4 had been accomplished. no one actually can achieve their self actualization throughout their whole lives and most of the time die without even knowing their self-actualization. and it stuck to me because thinking about how no one usually achieves that goal alone. it made me think that sometimes, you need to realize it yourself that you are worth more than what you have been all your life. (just my opinion) it pretty much made me think of my stories as somehow bland because of that pyramid and helped me a lot.
Yes! It is so amazing to hear The Incredible's writing go appreciated. This and The Iron Giant are my two favourite animated films (both just happen to be Brad Bird)
I've always thought protagonists don't need to be likable, or even relatable (I don't really relate to Jake La Motta in Raging Bull), but I feel the key is they are COMPELLING. I want to watch them to see what happens. Theres a load of ways to make a good protagonist, I agree with that sentiment.
HIERARCHY OF NEEDS! I KNOW THAT!! I help my mom type her paper on the research paper on substance abuse and alcohol addiction. She used Erickson’s Hierarchy of Needs too. I’m so surprised to see it here but it makes sense. Pretty much any psychology subject csn be used to write great characters.
I want a video about making a good build up to a powerful climax or about what Henry thinks on Stranger Things. I like that in Stranger Things there are different groups that make different contributions to the story and then they come together and somehow makes the show so satisfying. Love you Henry!
0:38 at this point, I don't think it's seen as that crazy to make a TV show protagonist unlikable, we've already had a big wave of unlikable protagonists. Also, a pilot would be equivalent to about the first 15 minutes of a movie, not a trailer. The TV equivalent of a trailer is... also a trailer.
I was about to comment that likability is a myth... until you said it. Although, there is the information right in the beginning that deep inside he loves his daughter and that makes him a bit likable. From the other hand, every person on the planet is a bit likeable at some areas of their lives and therefore an absolutely non-likable character can't be, well... related to no one.
this was a pretty good video, thinks makes me think about how some movies with sequels just don’t make me care for the characters no matter how “cool” they try to make him
hello there, Beginner screenwriter here. As you were explaining why likeability was a myth, I was thinking to myself of how I'm making my character relatable and whether it was a good thing or not, and then you hit me with the "it's the relatability" and I never hit the like button harder. idk why I just had to tell you lmao.
Jay Exci and The closer look both upload a squid game video talking about the 1st episode on the same day. I feel lucky, more squid game content for me
The reason why the MC of squid game is effective, is that he isn't evil. Just extremely flawed. Take for example, every single fkn main character in modern Hollywood is not allowed to have flaws. Take the new Hawkeye for example. She is betterer than the original Avenger Hawkeye AT EVERYTHING. or Rey from the force awakens telling han solo how to fix his own ship. There's no "journey" to get to where they are. They are just born great.
A lot of Hollywood flicks have those protagonist where they are in the high moral ground. With no flaws whatsoever. Heck even if there's a flaw. The story would not even consider it as a flaw.
The writers of squid game remembered that flaws make interesting characters which I’m happy to see because so many characters nowadays are unstoppable superhumans that are perfect in every way with no personality making them dull as hell.
I am currently writing on my first book and have four main characters. Everyone of them has a goal, a personality, a backstory and whatever. Except for one. She plays a major role in my story however she never felt completed or even human. And thankfully I understand what was missing. Thanks to your video
![SQUID GAME Every Ending Clue That [SPOILER] | Things You Missed And Hidden Details | 오징어게임](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/9OZczRT14DA/mqdefault.jpg)
I hope you liked the video! Remember to check out campfire by clicking bit.ly/CloserLook21 if you want to organise all of your story & worldbuilding notes into one easy to reference workspace.
See you guys in the next one.
You have helped me because a better story writter
A little weak on comparing motivations to maslows, maslow is a little outdated and when looking at complex things, boiling someones motivations to 4 things is limiting scope. At the end of the day what makes these characters interesting to watch, is the fact that they are flawed and we can all relate to people improving themselves.
@@malusisoko7030 become* a better story writer*
This is exactly what I need, tysm!
I really enjoy your content and I find myself agreeing with your points of story structure and character analysis, I ask myself quite a few questions you asked in this and the other videos that you have made and even some I haven't thought about till you mentioned it. It just reminds me that as much as I may think of in fiction there's always another layer we can get to if we but consider the possibility. Keep up the great work I'm looking forward to your next videos my friend, Godspeed and God bless you and yours.
Mr.Graves
i think it’s important to note that while all of gi-huns most unlikable traits are thrown in your face in the first episode, it’s also clear that there is still a good man beneath all that. after he wins big in gambling, the first thing he does isn’t to go and get high or hire a prostitute or anything like that you might see in a lot of shows, the first thing he does is call his daughter and tell her how much he’ll be able to treat her on her birthday. there’s also a good scene where after he bumps into someone when he’s running away from debt collectors, he stops to help her pick up her drink even in the dire situation. this was improvised, but they felt that it fit the character so well that they left it in
One flicker of good underneath a whole bunch of lying, stealing, gambling and messing up does not make a person good. He is a scumbag. Most of the contestants are.
Plus, drugs and/or prostitution are not viable options in South Korea.
@@SparkVulpa ah i see south korea has successfully eliminated the black market and all such demand for illicit goods and services, great job korea!
The first thing I noticed about him that gave me a clue about his good nature was when he won the money and the *actual* first thing he did was to give the cashier lady one of the bills to buy herself a coffee, and not even in a sleazy way. He seemed to take joy from giving.
SPOILER below about later episode.
Over the course of the show, he shows that yes, he is kind of dumb, but he is also wise. What he said to the gangster guy (I forget his name) about his gangster friends turning on him while he sleeps? That was such a brilliant power move.
@@Spartan0430 South Korea's corruption is on the outside for everyone to see. Super capitalism and the superficiality it causes result in South Koreans' insatiable demand for unnecessary luxury goods and services, which perpetuates classism.
And the best part is that the show is fully aware he’s a bad person but still allows us to sympathize with him.
In episode 2, when he gets called out and shunned by everyone in his life, it’s brutally heartbreaking. You know all of them are justified in what they’re saying but you also feel Gi Hun’s pain at being so harshly treated by the people he loves. It’s just so sad.
I've always wanted to hear someone talk about the writing in Squid Game, and the fact that The Closer Look is doing it makes me a very happy person.
:D
@@TheCloserLook Gosh, you actually replied!! You are an inspiration to me, man.
And when's that video coming out??
"Lazkow's heirachy of needs" =/= good writing
Same! :)
jay execi just made a vid about the first episode too it was really good u would like it if u liked this one
just a small thing i wanted to point out: he didnt forget his mothers birthday during the atm scene. the dub mistranslated it and the pin was actually his daughter’s birthday. i just thought it was important since it shows even further that gihun’s mother cares more about his daughter than him :)
That's what he gets for picking the dub, eh? Suckaaaar
@@tonichan89 haha yeah, sub supremacy ! 😎
I'm so used to watching everything in their original language (+ subs if needed) that it didn't even register to me that there was a dub for the show. (and that people actually watch that version, haha)
That doesn’t make sense though, wasn’t it his daughters birthday that day? So he would know it by just knowing the current date
@@SuperAlex6450 he knew his daughters birthday, but he thought his mom’s pin was his own. that’s whats happening
squid game is a great show and I feel like it’s been pushed so far into the spotlight that I forgot how great it actually is.
i've been so used to watching viral netflix shows that people praise, only to be disappointed. almost forgot that netflix could produce a great show like squid game every now and then.
It's so pop it can't be good - Chinese bots?
@@rehreh92 Squid Game is mediocre at best, and is proof that Netflix ruins potential. The later episodes begin to fall very flat very quickly, and the ending is an embarrassment that fails to show what Korean writers and directors are actually capable of (see Oldboy, Parasite, Memories of Murder for examples).
It's just hallyu wave impacting people's ability to critically examine something again. 한류열풍에 미친 놈들이 많아질수록 한국 감독이나 탤런트들은 열심히 할 필요가 없어지죠. 오징어 게임은 엔딩에 가까워지면 질수록 노력이 부족했고, 2부를 만들 작정으로 마무리를 지은 쪽팔리는 representation of South Korean entertainment media입니다.
Why would something being in the spotlight make you forget it’s quality? 😂
@@bryttonica6286 Because of all the RUclips leaches who basically suck the property dry. I’ve seen a ton of bad videos with squid game stuff in them. This video is great tho because he actually makes good content.
I don't think you're wrong, but I have another thing I want to mention here: As well as making him relatable, Squid Game does an awesome job making him likeable by showing his greatest strength, which is compassion. He's a selfish ass most of the time, but sprinkled within are the actions he does when he's not. When he won his money, his first actions were to give the cashier 10k for no reason and to call his daughter to tell her how awesome of a gift he's gonna bring. When he's fleeing and fearing for his life, he takes the time to help a random stranger up, who he ran over. When he's just had recieved a death threat, he immediately begs for money, so he can buy his daughter a present. It's these moments that not only make him relatable, but also very, very likeable, and they greatly set up his character in later episodes (oh god the marbles)
That's what drew me in as well. At first I really didn't like him (stealing, especially from your mom that is taking care of you is pretty awful behavior), but then he kept doing those little acts of kindness and I realized how much of a good person lurks behind his gambling addiction and the weight of his crippling debt.
And I found myself rooting for him throughout the entire show. (Same with Ali, he was so precious and wholesome!)
With Sang-woo I kept switching back and forth. He did some scummy things, but he also showed compassion - and while I personally can't relate to a lot of his choices they were made with his need for self-preservation which gave me conflicting feelings about the character.
(And yes, the marble episode had me in tears! Oh the dread I felt when I realized what was happening right before they actually revealed the rules of the game...)
@@borealernadelwald Sang-woo is the best character in the whole series. He's the most ambivalent of all of them, and so damn realistic. I bet most actual humans would act like he did.
@@asmahasmalaria8596 Him being so realistic is probably the reason why I felt so conflicted about his character.
I consider myself a kind person and ideally if I were to find myself in this situation I'd like to keep acting kind towards others, like Gi-hun. But I've never been in a life or death situation, especially not one where I'd have to hurt/kill others to survive.. so in my ideal world so to say some of Sang-woo's decision seemed very cruel, but on the other hand very understandable, since our survival instinct overshadows most other ideals we might have.
Sang-woo is definitely a really well written character and I too think most people would act similar to him.
Even if he did things I didn't agree with I never hated him ~
giving money to the cashier is not a sign of compassion. it is merely something that many compulsive gamblers do when they win money. if he was really compassionate he should have gave the money to the mother whom he stole from all the years
Once he fed that cat, I was okay with him. Also, his human connections, his friend sticking by his side, his daughter obviously worried about him, the woman giving him fish. It showed that the whole world didn't hate this guy and want to see him fail, that people out there saw some good in him somewhere.
I'm very happy that you found a use for maslow's pyramid, because it's heavily criticized in psychology itself. The way Maslow coined it is that people will need to satisfy the lower category before moving a category higher, etc.
The problem with this is that while kind of true, it's not always applicable (and highly subjective). Someone who's very depressed, for example, can sometimes go without food for multiple days because they're lacking some of the higher needs.
The way you use it, more as a reference to what kind of problems you could have as opposed to in what order you need to solve them, makes it far more useful than it ever was in the field of psychology.
Hmm, I did remember hearing the pyramid had been criticised, but yeah, glad to know you liked my inclusion of it.
This is false because psychology itself understands that those who have psychopathologies are in the minority. If we based all our systems and formulae on outliers we would have nothing. Maslow's pyramid is a very powerful tool to understand the human psyche as much as Freud's psychosexual theories. FAE fundamental attribution error is something we must contend with very strongly and you do not criticize a system based on outliers. Our statistics training as psychologists demands it.
Honestly, no attempted understanding of a complex system like the human experience is perfect, but we accept the ones that apply generally to the most of us as possible. Psychology is a pseudoscience (I hate that they call my academia this) and it never has concrete evidence for things but it does have strong statistical corollaries which are the best we have to attempt to explain the human condition and Maslow's Pyramid is not one that is in contest with regard to its importance in understanding how humanity views its characters and itself.
@@the8u9 while you're correct in saying we shouldn't reject a model based on outliers and psychopathology isn't in itself a reason to reject it either, that was just an example i pulled real quick to illustrate my point and you shouldn't take my one youtube comment to be accurate criticism (i'm also just a third year bachelor's student so i might be in the dunning-kruger zone a bit on this subject).
There are articles out there that provice well-structured criticism, such as how Maslow's study had a small sample size of rich, healthy, intellectual people. I won't say i'm completely in the right with my original comment, since you definitely come across as someone who's more experienced on this topic than me, but if you feel like reading some of that criticism (or if anyone else reading this comment feels like it) i'd recommend looking at McLeod's 2020 article on it on simplypsychology (dot) org.
Thanks for your input and have a great day :)
@@mo6555 ooh a fellow academic! Nice! Yes I am aware of the broader criticisms and the problem with them are that they do their best to tear down a theory/concept without replacing it. When reading the criticisms it begs the question, so if Maslow's theory is wrong because it lacks empirical evidence (like almost all psychosocial theories) then what do we have? Is there another pyramid somewhere, or are we back to square one in understanding the human psyche in the department of needs? That's why I brought up Freud. His oedipal/electra complexes are so contentious that psychologists see it as almost embarrassing, but the significance of the psychosexual theories is purely that it exists. The same way if Maslow never had his theory, "need" would not exist as a concept, merely as a hunch.
Also the criticism that it does not apply to eastern cultures is literal nonsense haha. That is mixing up culture and basic human nature. Eastern collectivism and deeply rooted confucianism does not override personal needs. There are tons of axioms and idioms that say there is no pride unless your stomach is full, that there is no fence you won't climb after starving 4 days XD
@@the8u9 im not a psychology major but "this is the best explanation we have" or "where would we be without this theory" doesn't seem like a great defense of any theory regardless of the area of study. idk if theres more criticism to it than that, I assume there is, but there are lots of theories out there in many subjects that have been super important to building literature and understanding, and that doesn't make them any more accurate, just important steps in getting to a more complete theory. ive only read a couple articles abt maslow's pyramid so i can't speak on it specifically at all, but your defense of it seems like more of a deflection than anything else
Squid Game in its pilot created the ultimate underdog protagonist, not just in terms of his realistic chances of winning the game, but winning the audience over with his character.
At the beginning, we see him at his lowest; selfish with family, careless of his money, forgetful of his daughter and poor as shit. Hell, one of my friends whom I watched the show with hated Gi-Hun during the first few episodes, but we all turned around into loving him as we are shown his human values shine more and more as the morals of all the other characters from the doctor to Sang-Woo drastically deteriorate for the sake of the grand prize.
NOT JUST ME THEN???
"Terrible way to debut a character" is what I heard...
Squid game is inspired by Kaiji.
@@eduardmanecuta5350 Kaiji had a better overall plot AND an ending.
@@SparkVulpa Squid game was good, not as great as people make it to be, to be honest. The last few episodes felt rushed, and the character choice at the end didn't make sense. It felt force... I personally like Kaiji better. It's unique art style, interior dialogues... Character of Kaiji feels human. He loses more then he wins, and even when he wins he still suffers... I still enjoy Squid Game tho. I think I will start with the manga. I don't know if it's finished or is still on going. Have a nice day.
Have any of you heard of Breaking Bad? That pilot is way better at creating an underdog protagonist
I think a very important aspect of relatable characters is vulnerability. I think to truly understand a character, or to know anyone in our lives, is to understand what makes us weak, and what it means to be human.
I loved death games for years: SAW, Doganronpa, battle royale (manga), hunger games, even the shitty ones like 9 dead, elevator, atm, circle.
Squid game was just another one too me until I saw how good the writing was, everything had a purpose, everything shined, it might’ve not been original but it was also released in the perfect time during a pandemic, with little to no hype around death game series. It was like the perfect storm and it was the epicenter.
i love this genre too!! a lot of the time they're not particularly high quality, high budget (although that sort of adds to the charm sometimes) so seeing squid, which had a great writing and a big production was great
Doganronpa. Lol.
It takes me back to Johnny Awesome’s days of doing DR and my favorite was “Welcome back to McDonaldRonpa.” Lol.
They wrote a Fortnite manga?
The closer look covering squid game is the best thing I've seen this week
Glad you like it, Anthony!
Looks like a good show! I should probably check it out
Bruh you milked everything out of squid game
@@dfsempire2712 and it worked lmao
You've made nothing but squid game videos for 2 months straight, no hate btw
how does nobody get the joke
@@chariot_16 everyone does.. tf you talking about
The construction of Gi-Hun's character is genius.
His first appearance being this whiny, broke loser who takes advantage of his mother's labour and forgets his child's birthday is immediately challenged by his small acts of generosity and care - giving the receptionist some money for a coffee, calling his daughter to tell her that he was going to give her the best gift for her birthday, helping Sae-Byuk when he accidentally collides with her whilst running from thugs.
And it continues down the line, right up to the Squid Games. He gives a stray kitty a fish, he regularly talks with San-Woo's mum despite him not seeing his friend in a long time, etc.
Even in the games, before the death penalty was revealed, he asked Il Nam if he was alright, depsite him looking like a crazed old man talking to himself.
Then there's his appearance. He has a soft look to him, from his slightly sweeping hair to his expressive eyes. At the lowest points, his appearance makes him look vulnerable, meek and pitiful, and at the highest, his joy is downright endearing.
As a main protagonist, he works extremely well with the story, and as a character, it is hard not to like him just a little.
i never saw him as a loser
Also, in the first episode we see that money would solve his problems, because the first things he wants to do with money he won gambling are to spend on his daughter and bring food home to his mother, which makes him likable too, actually
Exactly, I feel like this guys take is pretty surface level, he misses a lot of the subtlety
Squid Game is a show that stuck with me for literal days afterwards. Like I still get chills thinking of that first episode. I've got back to rewatch it and the impact is the same. Fantastic television.
brilliant video, couldn't agree more about having relatable characters and how that is one of if not the most important thing when building a story.
"Likability","relatability", "sympathetic", etc. Are all blanket terms.
We obviously can relate with struggle, because we all have faced hardship one way or the other, but that's not enough to drive a story.
You want your main characters to be intriguing, to be believable, and to be compelling... You want to know why they do things, you want to know how they approach problems, what they value, what they believe in. Not just their struggle, but _their relationship with it._ Not whether you agree with them because "coincidentally" you share the same world view with them or have the same experiences as them...
I don't think many people, even in South Korea, have lived the same things as Gi-hun, maybe one or two things, and even if we do not "relate" to him because "oh, look! He's a broke ass loser, just like me!" We can understand his many struggles, and appreciate the way he faces them and learns from them, and that is universal.
man im glad someone finally talked about the lives the characters have and how they tie in with the shows pilot because everyones talking about "how dark the games really are" 50 thousand times so im glad for something different
Finally, a trending show that is actually GOOD.
The key to this shows success is it's intelligent writing.
Henry: This pyramid is very complex, let's break it down and give some concrete examples.
*Me, who knows exactly what he's talking about but likes watching Henry explain things:* Mhm, go on.
Just wanted to say I love your stuff man, keep it up!
Thanks, nice to know you liked it!
i frequently say it's not likeability, but how interesting the character is that matters. i should sit up every time the come into the room, i should be wondering what they're going to do next, to the point where i go to the next scene. one of my villians gets half of all my comments, far more than my heroes.
I loved that the consept of the game (the dying part) did not come put until the very end of episode, and, unless you´ve watched similar shows before, it was quite a shock
I’m so glad to see this channel finally talking about Squid Game and its wonderful protagonist.
Gi Hun is one of the most subversive takes on a protagonist I have seen in a long time.
In any other show, Gi Hun would be a minor inconvenience villain to our protagonist. A character who would be painted as a bad person and only a bad person with no development or signs for redemption.
But with Gi Hun, instead of falling into that common trope, here he is our protagonist. And what’s great about him is that the show is fully aware he’s not a great person while also showing us why he is the way he is and also showing us that underneath it all, he does have a good heart. It’s just been buried under so many bad decisions over his life. He feels like a real person, not just a stereotypical loser that’s played as such for character development for our protagonist.
Gi Hun is actually my favorite character in the entire show because of how realistic he is as a character. How nothing ever goes right for him. How layered he is as a person and character and how his messiness makes him absolutely fascinating. How his luck in the real world is nothing short of atrocious in comparison to the games. How instead of taking away his humanity like Sang Woo, the games actually unlock the humanity that Gi Hun long lost over the years because of all of the horrible decisions he’s made. And how the games make him really see just how much his bad decisions have hurt the people he’s cared about from his ex wife, his mother, his daughter.
In episode two when everyone in his life rightfully calls him out on his bullshit, it’s brutally heartbreaking. You can sympathize with how sad it is but you also know that everyone is absolutely correct with being done with him after all of his mistakes and careless behavior.
And the journey he goes through in terms of his character development is honestly nothing short of brilliant. The way he changes over the games toward himself and those around him is equally as compelling as him.
There’s so much to love about this character and how complex he really is. He’s honestly the perfect flawed and realistic protagonist and I absolutely love him.
I would love to see a video by this channel further analyzing his character and why it’s so effective toward what makes Squid Game work so well.
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Love your videos! Keep up the good work.
Thanks, I will!
I feel like Walter White, Bob, and Gi-hun are all extremely relatable because they all feel like they are wasting their potential. They all know they are capable of greater things but they feel they wasted the past years of their life. This is super relatable to everyone.
This is a really good video. I've been missing excellent video essays like this on RUclips in general.
very in depth and interesting. Love your video
Thanks!
Im so glad I watched with subtitles, I had heard the subs were bad, but hadnt watched any clips of the dubbing.
The dubbing is horrendous and is so distracting! Lol...watching with subs is much better.
So much good stuff in here! I heard somewhere that a show's pilot needs to be a "mini" version of the show as a whole -- what's the hook, what's the theme, who are the characters, what are they battling?
Amazing work, as always! Also, I must say.... most seamless segue into an ad I've ever seen in a RUclips video!
Thanks, Scott! Glad you liked it.
Another thing I think is worth pointing out is the myth that “you should always see yourself in the protagonist”, when it could just as well be someone you know. As long as the character feels like a person that you have a connection to in some way, and you want them to succeed not for your good, but for them, you’ll have a character you will grow a connection too.
Or at least that’s my take on it :]
I was determined to keep disliking Gihun because he's such a douche at the start. Although it's almost comical how the show keeps piling his loserdom onto him in the first episode. By the end, of course, I was 100% invested in Gihun.
3:42 i'm surprised that this moment,event though i know that its a death game and how the rules is made me addicted and couldn't stop watching
I'm just starting out as a writer and your videos are unimaginably helpful. Thank you
No problem Trax. Good luck with the writing!
Basically every great show's first episode has, uniqueness, the immersive world of the character, and the objective of the character usually tidbits of it being solved throughout the series, all thrown into the vibe of the show.
Some shows go great in the middle of the season and some do the opposite i.e. great at first then flops.
I'm so happy that you are posting more frequently.
Keep up the fantastic work 💪
Thanks, Amir! I will.
Gi-Hun’s characterization is even better than you’re giving it credit for. His desperation for money gets in the way of his inherent generosity and selflessness (Giving the woman 10,000 won & wanting to buy a gift for his kid). This ties directly into the core thesis/theme/motif of the story: that our economic system makes good people desperate and desperation can make you do terrible things. He’s a good character on his own and he’s also perfect for the story he’s in.
Yeah. Harrowing and sobering circumstances can make initially abrasive characters seem appreciated if one agrees with their goals and will to survive over time.
or the story shows them as exclusively capable of solving the storys problem when other likely candidates have a hard fall.
“I’m not gonna tell you what Omniman did because I’m not getting demonetised”
*talks about a Korean Netflix show about a Death Game
*talks about a show about a Meth Cook
It would be interesting to see Closer Look cover anime, there is so much you can do using anime
There are already a bunch of RUclips channels talking about anime this channel is supposed to be about film specifically.....
Maybe thats better because Squid game is based around anime/manga series "Kaiji: Ultimete Gambler". I highly recomend it and its not like most animes and mangas in Japan + its has Italian inspired artstyle (no just look at it and see it).
no.
@@saudbintalib5701 the channel is about writing. He talked about movies, shows and games, so why not anime as well?
@@kaib6998 well Mother's Basement already does something like that.....
This was such well crafted and presented analysis. I always struggle to find the deeper meanings and intentions in media, but you explained it and drew parallels in such an eye opening way. Amazing video!
Finally, please make more video essays on TV series. I learn a lot from you.
I have this issue while watching new movies or series that I can't never seem to finish them or making me have a real interest, but I must say Squid Game got me on the edge of my sit.
This video makes me as happy as our protagonist in the thumbnail! Very good video!
I feel like I not only learned something about Squid Game - i learned something about myself
you can also hear the passion in his voice
great Video !
Watching this today, this is the exact reason why Everything, Everywhere, All at Once is so good
Good break down. I found it interesting how you broke down the characters and the plot, filling those empty voids or glory days of their life. Or the security and want to be appreciated.
Keep up the good work.
Thanks, Rhys. I will.
It's a small thing, but I love the background music you chose for this video! Really relaxed and contemplative
i actually had always been fascinated by that hierarchy of needs and especially the self actualization. back when i was in senior highschool, my teacher briefly discussed that pyramid alone. and that at the very top of the pyramid, even when all of those 4 had been accomplished. no one actually can achieve their self actualization throughout their whole lives and most of the time die without even knowing their self-actualization. and it stuck to me because thinking about how no one usually achieves that goal alone.
it made me think that sometimes, you need to realize it yourself that you are worth more than what you have been all your life. (just my opinion) it pretty much made me think of my stories as somehow bland because of that pyramid and helped me a lot.
Love this channel!
Thank you!
Yes! It is so amazing to hear The Incredible's writing go appreciated. This and The Iron Giant are my two favourite animated films (both just happen to be Brad Bird)
Always watch with subtitles
This is so interesting but I also think a lot of the credit goes to lee jung jae for making such a flawed character so damn likable
I've always thought protagonists don't need to be likable, or even relatable (I don't really relate to Jake La Motta in Raging Bull), but I feel the key is they are COMPELLING. I want to watch them to see what happens. Theres a load of ways to make a good protagonist, I agree with that sentiment.
Closer look: what if mrbeast had a challenge where he would kill anyone who fails
Avocado animations: hold my beer
HIERARCHY OF NEEDS! I KNOW THAT!! I help my mom type her paper on the research paper on substance abuse and alcohol addiction. She used Erickson’s Hierarchy of Needs too. I’m so surprised to see it here but it makes sense. Pretty much any psychology subject csn be used to write great characters.
Keep up the good work!! Loving the videos so far.
Glad you like them!
The tension they crreated and managed to maintain throughout is incredible
Slowly going through all your vids and it's definitely motivated me to actually start writing again
I want a video about making a good build up to a powerful climax or about what Henry thinks on Stranger Things. I like that in Stranger Things there are different groups that make different contributions to the story and then they come together and somehow makes the show so satisfying. Love you Henry!
Just when I thought my day couldn’t get any better! :D
Loved the editing in this video.
Thinking about the inciting incident, or some moment in the story, literally as marketing is a great articulation. Your take here is great, as always.
This one video taught me more about how to make a movie than any video ive ever watched
Awesome job, you made a very thoughtful video
Great vid dude. 100% agree with everything that you said.
Thanks!
0:38 at this point, I don't think it's seen as that crazy to make a TV show protagonist unlikable, we've already had a big wave of unlikable protagonists.
Also, a pilot would be equivalent to about the first 15 minutes of a movie, not a trailer. The TV equivalent of a trailer is... also a trailer.
Your videos are absolutely glorious mate thank you
I dont get how you can keep coming up with such great video ideas. much love
Glad you like them!
Incredible video today bro 🔥🔥
As someone who is starting to write myself, the maslow thing semms very helpfull, Thank you Mister Look
Nothing is more relatable than a 202 660 words pile of notes. How you tie the subject of the video with the sponsor is remarkable, well done sir 👏
The sudden dub at 9:37 startled and disturbed me ngl
It disturbed us all.
I just want to say this
I love your video essays 🧡
I was about to comment that likability is a myth... until you said it. Although, there is the information right in the beginning that deep inside he loves his daughter and that makes him a bit likable. From the other hand, every person on the planet is a bit likeable at some areas of their lives and therefore an absolutely non-likable character can't be, well... related to no one.
this was a pretty good video, thinks makes me think about how some movies with sequels just don’t make me care for the characters no matter how “cool” they try to make him
"The most popular show netflix ever had"
Arcane: Am I a joke to you?
A silent voice uses Maslows hierarchy of needs and it’s probably why I love the movie so much
The Campfire looks interesting. Will get it a try and see how much I can use it. Thanks.
I didn't think I'd be doing a level psychology revision when I clicked on this video
IM SO GLAD THAT YOU ARE THE PERSON DISSECTING THIS SHOW 'JDDJNSJSMDJ IVE BEEN WAITING FOR SOMEONE TO BREAK THIS DOWN FOR SO LONG
The first background music fills me with such joy.
hello there, Beginner screenwriter here.
As you were explaining why likeability was a myth, I was thinking to myself of how I'm making my character relatable and whether it was a good thing or not, and then you hit me with the "it's the relatability" and I never hit the like button harder. idk why I just had to tell you lmao.
7:27 The only thing I could think about
There aren't any assassins out there gunning for him
*YET*
He's got a wife and son who love him
*FOR NOW*
Maybe should adapt the Title a bit, since it's not only about How to do a Pilot but also how to create a good Protagonist. Fantastic Video as always!
Jay Exci and The closer look both upload a squid game video talking about the 1st episode on the same day. I feel lucky, more squid game content for me
Very Insightful! 🙏🏾
This was amazing! Thank you
Glad you enjoyed it!
I'm surprised you are talking about squid game.
Don't get me wrong I'm so glad :)
Thank you for this 🙏🏾❤️
Squid Game was one of the most pleasantly suprising shows of 2021.......
Hmm, for me I thought invincible was a bit more of a good show that came out of nowhere, but Squid Game is certainly great too.
@@TheCloserLook sure bro that show is pretty solid as well.....
@@TheCloserLook invincible, arcane, squidgame. This year was amazing
@@saudbintalib5701 lmao just reread your comment, you didn’t even make a definitive “was the best” comment but instead said “one of the most”
Ohoho this show should be a gold mine for you!
First time I've legitimately laughed from one of your videos. Nice balance of humor and seriousness this time around 😁
Thanks man, I'm always trying to be better.
Great video, keep going👍
Thanks, will do!
The reason why the MC of squid game is effective, is that he isn't evil. Just extremely flawed.
Take for example, every single fkn main character in modern Hollywood is not allowed to have flaws. Take the new Hawkeye for example. She is betterer than the original Avenger Hawkeye AT EVERYTHING. or Rey from the force awakens telling han solo how to fix his own ship. There's no "journey" to get to where they are. They are just born great.
A lot of Hollywood flicks have those protagonist where they are in the high moral ground. With no flaws whatsoever. Heck even if there's a flaw. The story would not even consider it as a flaw.
The writers of squid game remembered that flaws make interesting characters which I’m happy to see because so many characters nowadays are unstoppable superhumans that are perfect in every way with no personality making them dull as hell.
The insertion of the "Jesus Christ" line from Python made me spit out my coffee man. haha Absolutely brilliant!
I am currently writing on my first book and have four main characters. Everyone of them has a goal, a personality, a backstory and whatever. Except for one. She plays a major role in my story however she never felt completed or even human. And thankfully I understand what was missing. Thanks to your video
I hope you have the means to hire a very good editor.
@@calcramer oh I won’t public it. It is just a hobby I started recently