Through The Cracks (2023)

It’s a cool looking Marvel character right off the page!  He’s got these glowing eyes and he just kicks ass everywhere he goes, seemingly impervious to pain.  

The “gay best friend”, an age-old trope, has been done in countless films and television series. Ranging from one-note (Sex and the City's Stanford and Mario) to nuanced (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt's Tituss), the gay best friend exists to support and advise the main protagonist, with their conflicts swept to the side.

It’s passionately protective of the women mentioned in the story or appearing on screen. Just like the article and the #MeToo movement, the film could help a trapped person find the courage to fight back.

"A Drowning Man" (2017) explores the unseen aspects of the Refugee Crisis. In, 15 far-too-short minutes, viewers are given a detailed snapshot of what it's like for a refugee to drown in the waters of poverty and otherness while trying to navigate a land whose promise has worn off, and only 'strange' remains.

"13 Going on 30" tracks the tricky transition from adolescence to adulthood.

Twisting what seems to be obvious setups and frameworks is what sets the story structure of Squid Game apart. I appreciate that this narrative is complex but not complicated; an easy enough plot to wrap your head around while still treating the audience like an equal participant in this social commentary