Hacker Cinema
The Platform
El hoyo
2019 · Film · 95 min
Directed by Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia
A slab of food descends down a vertical facility. The residents above eat heartily, leaving those below starving and desperate. A rebellion is imminent.
2 positive4 neutralfrom 6 commenters
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6 comments on Hacker News
This is basically the premise of the oddly compelling 2019 Spanish sci-fi/horror film, The Platform. Prisoners alternately experience privilege and deprivation, and it either makes them animals or socialists. Lots of food for thought, as it were.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Platform_(film)
I'm not into politics but does anyone else immediately think of the movie "The Platform"[0] (on Netflix) whenever they think about human nature combined with the idea of "trickle-down"?
[0]: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8228288/
I think many people don't reflect on the show's messaging beyond the surface level "catchy costumes and violence in a game show" aspect (which honestly wasn't even new when Arnold Schwarzenegger portrayed it in Running Man).
The social critique of Squid Game isn't the squid game. It's the world outside the game. It's why so many of the participants not only volunteer but also volunteer to come back after having already experienced it. The world outside the game show is portrayed as so bleak that hundreds of people would rather compete in a life-or-death "game" that promises fairness and a life-changing cash reward.
And the critical message of the show is that this world outside the game is not significantly different from ours. The game is a grotesque exaggeration of a get rich quick scheme but there are plenty of examples for people hoping to beat the odds or being willing to scam others for promises of great fortunes (look no further than the way the GameStock pump and dump was framed as a proletarian revolution until it was revealed most of the stock movement was the result of established investors jumping in to cash out on the gullible masses still tweeting "diamond hands" memes as the tide was starting to turn).
The cheap gore horror sells the show, but the implications of the story it tells, what people are willing to do to themselves and others for the promise of a carefree life, and how characters from all walks of life can end up in the gutter and devoid of hope, is why people dig their claws into it for more than just a few viral marketing memes. It speaks to the zeitgeist, especially during a pandemic that has repeatedly demonstrated failures of government and society, and economical interests being placed above the individual's well-being.
Before 2020 many people likely believed that their country would come together in a crisis like this, that people with power would forego their own interests for once an help out or that the wealthy wouldn't do less than even the bare minimum to contribute to the society that made them rich. In 2021 I don't think there are many people left having any such illusions about the systems they exist within.
So yeah, detached rich people betting on the dying and desperate like horses in a race strikes a chord with people right now. A show casually presenting a social reality in which poor people are willing to participate in such a "game" even more so. Note that this show's success on Netflix followed both The Platform and Snowpiercer (or the serialization thereof) as well as Parasite and Knives Out. There's a common thread between the themes of these films and Squid Game managed to strike the nerve.
Some of the films recommended in this thread..
- The Nice Guys
- I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore
- Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
- Don't Worry
- He Won't Get Far on Foot
- The Favourite (2018)
- Druk (2020)
- Amélie
- The Lobster
- Turist (2014)
- Parasite
- El Hoyo (The Platform)
- Quo Vadis
- Aida?
- 200 Meters
- Luzzu
- El robo del siglo (The Heist of the Century)
- Knives Out
- Us
- Get Out
- "Tokyo Story" (1953, Yasujirō Ozu)
- Aleksei German's Hard to be A God
- Edward Yang's A Better Summer's Day
- Maren Ade's Toni Erdman
- Luca Guadagnino's I Am Love
- Wings of Desire
- Do the Right Thing
- Drugstore Cowboy
- Gates of Heaven
- Beauty and the Beast
- Life Is Sweet
I've seen some really fun or thought provoking movies recently: Parasite, El Hoyo (The Platform), Quo Vadis, Aida?, 200 Meters, Luzzu, El robo del siglo (The Heist of the Century). Just don't watch the mind-numbing crap that hollywood churns out every year. Truth be told, I've enjoyed some excellent american movies as well, like "Knives Out", "Us" or "Get Out".
I don't watch movies often and do not really keep track of what I watch, but the latest one I saw is Frontier(s) for whatever it's worth. Its rating is NC-17 and it's included with Amazon Prime. As for a movie I wanna see soon, it is "The Platform". Looks really interesting. Also excited for new Saw, Candyman & Purge. All coming soon. I am not sure what kind of genres you're into, but I watch the following youtube channels to catch up on what's hot from time to time:
-- spookyastronauts:
https://www.youtube.com/user/spookyastronauts
-- Flick Connection:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT09qC2vwlbJvofZRIdLalg
-- Top 5 Scary Videos:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChE2XVkaaQBR-ly3LaDjheA
-- WhatCulture:
https://www.youtube.com/user/whatculturevids
For hilarious reviews, I like:
-- Decker Shado
https://www.youtube.com/user/DeckerShado
The last youtube rec'd video I liked is
-- 50 movies to distract you from the corona
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4joWeYHjogg