Why "Squid Game" Might Be A Brutal Eye Opener For Filipinos Who Love To Overspend And Desire Easy Money

I decided to check on Netflix and found out that Squid Game is currently number one among Filipino viewers. The whole plot of the brutal survival horror series is regarding people who are trapped in TONS OF DEBT. I find the characters to be very annoying such as the main character. There seems to be some satisfaction to see some of them eventually gunned down by the organizers of the bloody game. They're made to play children's games but they die if they LOSE. Eventually, it's not all fun and games as the first episode shows that more than half of the contestants die. The blood and the gore might be a real eye-opener. All the contestants are trapped in mountains of debt. 

Christmas is already near and I was thinking about the whole problem of debt traps. It's a common problem among Filipinos to be caught in the dangerous world of overspending. It's a very common scenario that not budgeting for the Christmas and the New Year is a very common problem among Filipinos. I'm NOT saying all Filipinos but a lot of them do get into that problem. Some Filipinos have managed to learn to budget. Sadly, most don't and it seems that they think that overspending is part of their Filipino identity when it SHOULDN'T BE. The dangers of overspending leak into the Christmas season not just with LAST-MINUTE CHRISTMAS SHOPPING but also with borrowing tons of money for the holidays. A lot of them are going to be unable to pay them back most of the time. Seeing the show in broadcast during the -ber months makes me think a lot of Filipinos might get trapped in a Squid Game.

The first episode of Squid Game can get very annoying. The "hero" Seong Gi Hun is one incredibly annoying character. Gi Hun is already poor and he wastes his money. Gi Hun has a diabetic mother, he's a divorcee whose wife is remarried to a rich man. I don't blame Gi Hun's wife for hating him TBH. Gi Hun's actions can be seen to be rather irritating. Seeing Gi Hun bet on horse-racing and doing this and that t earn an easy buck is very irritating. I don't blame Gi Hun's poor mother for getting mad at him. I mean, Gi Hun has all the job opportunities in free market capitalist South Korea but he squanders it. Gi Hun's desire for easy money is what placed him in the Squid Game in the first place. Gi Hun gets some easy money after playing menko. It's because of that trap that he got into the Squid Game to start with.

There are other characters who get into the Squid Game too. Cho Sang Woo is a scammer who steals money from his clients. Kang Sae Byok is a defector from North Korea who wormks as a pickpocket. Jae Deok Su is a gangster who has many debts. Adbul Ali is a Pakistani (and I heard the role was allegedly for Carlo Aquino) who has an unfair employer. Han Mi Nyo is a greedy woman who claims to be a poor single mother. Hwang Jun Woo is a guard who seeks to find his missing brother. 

I was thinking the problem that prevails in the Philippines. Some people want to overspend and desire easy money with all fun and games - that's why they enter the dangerous world of gambling. Squid Game shows the fatal consequences of wanting easy money through all fun and games. It's because the Squid Game is not all fun and games. The first episode already features people playing the child's game of "Red Light, Green Light". However, unlike a friendly game, the one who makes the wrong move isn't just eliminated from the game but FROM EXISTENCE ITSELF. It was somewhat fun to see the pasaways getting shot in their desire for easy money. Some choose to play the game since they feel they have nothing to lose. The organizers of the game uses the money to keep people playing the game. The game progressively gets deadlier until only ONE will escape with the grand prize. Yet, many still choose to enter the game out of their desire for easy money and the thrill the Squid Game gives them.

In real life, it's a common problem among Filipinos (even among some Tsinoys too) to get into the dangerous world of gambling. Easy money is too good to be true. Gambling rings are usually run by syndicates who pay the government for illegal protection. I was thinking about how the late Jesse Robredo was an opponent of jueteng. I also find it hypocritical for some pasaways to get mad at the POGOs run by the Chinese while they're also gambling addicts. I think one reason why POGOs tend to progress in the Philippines or hard to get rid of is because of Filipinos who are gambling addicts. Gambling lords tend to get brutal against players who owe them plenty of money. Goons often are called to beat up someone who refuses to pay gambling debts. These incidents happen daily yet many Filipinos tend to still love the dangerous world of easy money through fun and games. I guess there's such a "thrill" in it like the players of the Squid Game. They even get into more trouble when they borrow money from loan sharks because the banks refuse to loan them. Talk about trying to solve your debt problem with MORE debt.

Besides, the debt problem may also be another reason why some OFW problems remain poor. The glorious "hero" or "heroine" goes out there "conquer another country". Meanwhile, fiends and relathieves are usually wasting the OFW remittances. It doesn't matter if the money is huge - they are still bound to WASTE IT. It's because the lack of job opportunities (thanks to excessive restrictions) that has allowed the problem. A lot of OFW remittances can be used from fueling the infidelity of the lazy husband to the relatives and friends to using it for nonsense expenses. One of these nonsense expenses they use at the expense of the OFW provider (who's definitely NOT conquering another country) is GAMBLING. When it's not enough - they end up doing something illegal.

Maybe, I need to mention another Squid Game some Filipinos enter into is the world of drug trafficking. Do you remember the three drug mules that were executed in China 10 years ago? There's easy money in the drug trade. Just imagine that the Chinese drug dealers are like the organizers of the Squid Game. I don't believe that the drug mules "didn't know that they were bringing drugs". The Chinese drug dealers tend to look for easy disposables to get their drugs smuggled in China. After all, China has a very strict anti-drug policy. The Chinese drug dealers know that staying in China may land them on death row. So, what they do is establish the Philippines as their new base of operations because they know that they can pay off for their protection even before 2010 and 2016 came. There's the thrill of delivering those drugs. It's all fun and games UNTIL you are caught, tried, and EXECUTED!

I may not intend to recommend Squid Game no matter how popular it is for the faint of heart. The show is far more brutal than Korean crime drama like Kill It and Justice. However, it might be the eye opener a lot of Filipinos need especially with their poor spending habits and desire for easy money.