* Lee Taylor (circled) with fellow players of the Squid Game.
As llanblogger recently revealed, Father Lee Taylor of St Collen's Church, has been competing as contestant #123 on the new reality TV series: Squid Game: The Challenge which is now showing premiere on Netflix.
The 10-episode competition, dubbed ‘The biggest Netflix show ever’ on the trailer, has had the largest number of players ever to compete in the history of reality television. Here, Father Lee gives an insider view on what it was like to be involved in the show ...
"Last year I was contacted by an independent television
production company who asked if I would consider being one of 456 players from
around the world to enter a reality television competition show in pursuit of a
record-setting cash prize of $4.56 million.
I began watching the original series when it came out
on Netflix in 2021 but didn’t get very far into the first episode. It was too
gory! However, the casting production team urged me to watch the whole of the
original series and I was relieved to be given the reassurance that all
contestants for Squid Game: The Challenge
would leave ‘unscathed.’
So, I ensconced myself on the sofa in front of the
television and settled down to a Squid Game spree. Having overcome the
spine-chilling scenes of the elimination process of the games, I was surprised
and drawn in by the subliminal themes and motifs that began to emerge. There
are many messages that call for attention! The story is not simply about a
large number of people competing in a series of games, testing their agility
and endurance for a life-changing cash prize. Something dark lies beneath the
innocent exterior of childhood games and colourful playgrounds.
The overshadowing theme is capitalism. The Squid Games
conveys a political, moral and social message of how the ruling, global elite
are keeping the rest of us locked in a state of fear. Living in constant
survival mode from one day to the next in a competitive, anxious, debt-laden
and fear-driven society is making people sick. The Squid Game draws attention
to fear: the emotion that drives people to take risks and betray each other.
So, what could I expect if I was to agree to go on the
reality show? Surely there would be a chasm of difference between the hopeful
contestants of Squid Game: The Challenge
and the characters in the original series who were facing some harrowing
dilemmas. Fear of deportation and crippling debt, the cycle of gambling
addictions and the atrocities of gang violence had brought these players to the
very edge of despair.
Trapped in a cycle of fear and as a last resort, they
entered the deadly Squid Games in the hope of a way out of their pain and
suffering. John Hay, an executive producer of Squid Game: The Challenge, recently responded to criticism about
the new reality show missing the political point of Squid Game by saying, ‘Our
version is driven by opportunity, rather than being driven by need.’
Finding the philosophy of the original show
interesting, I decided I would take up the challenge. My only concern was how
contestants would be eliminated in the games. Was I selected as a priest to
read the Last Rites?
All contestants were accommodated at The Tower Hotel,
just by the iconic Tower Bridge in London. We all arrived four days before
filming. We were allocated a room, issued with our player number and advised
that we were to stay in our rooms, not speak to any other players or leave the
hotel unless it was an emergency. With a stunning view out of my window of all
the London landmarks lit up at night it was so tempting to nip out for a few
riverside cocktails! No chance! The hotel was monitored by security 24/7 with
guards on each floor!
Meal times at the hotel followed a phased schedule to
avoid all the players meeting up at once. Food was served into take-away boxes
to be consumed back in our rooms. I did wonder whether the greatest test of
endurance of the whole experience might be being cooped up in a hotel room. But
apart from larking about with other contestants through our bedroom windows
like something straight out of Commedia
dell'arte - the pretend walking downstairs mime was one form of silent
entertainment - some time was taken up for a number of pre-filming activities:
briefing videos for us to watch via our iphones, a schedule of fitting times
for our Squid Game tracksuits (as well as thermals) and photoshoots for
graphic purposes.
All our personal items, mobile phones and luggage were
collected from our hotel rooms by a member of the production team the night
before filming. A combination lock, unknown to the players, sealed our luggage
and we wouldn’t see this again until after filming. The only items we were left
with were our Squid Game clothes, a complimentary hairbrush, toothbrush and
toothpaste with our contestant numbers branded on them and a small zip-lock bag
for any essential, approved items like medication and contact lenses.
We set off at 4am the next day for our unknown
destination and it was freezing cold. Now the thermals made sense. Several
coaches took the 456 players on a two- hour journey. We arrived at what
appeared to be an old RAF hangar which I later discovered was Cardington
Studios. It was even colder in that haunting, cavernous building. It was so
cold my nipples could have cut through diamonds!
There was a lot of waiting around outside of the main
set for more briefings and microphone fittings, but hot drinks, snacks and hand
warmers were provided. When the time came to play the first game ‘Red Light,
Green Light’ there was a lot of excitement as we all congregated outside the
set to wait for the doors to open.
The set for the first game, ‘Red
Light, Green Light’, was very similar to the original series, very colourful
but eerie. It was a huge cathedral-like space with a painted scene of a
cornfield that spanned all surrounding walls. The temperature was unpleasantly
and painfully cold. There was a personal trainer from a local gym who led us
all in ‘warm up’ exercises before the game began: jumping jacks, jogging on the
spot, squats and burpees etc. I guess this was to prepare us mentally,
physically as well as to increase body temperature.
In the far distance, across the finishing line, was
the iconic doll whose tune we had to run to. The aim of this game was to get to
the doll's side of the field within a set time limit, but we could only move
when the doll was singing and had its back to us. The doll sang the chilling
song we recognised from the original series, ‘Mugunghwa Kkoci Pieot Seumnida’
which translates as ‘The hibiscus flower has bloomed’. Hibiscus is the national
flower of South Korea.
When the doll stopped and turned
around we had to freeze (and we did in more ways than one) on the spot,
maintaining the same position for ten, fifteen and even up to twenty-five
minutes while drones flew overhead to detect the slightest movement from
players. I knew the longest time was around twenty-five minutes because I sang
(in my head) the popular Christmas carol, ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’, five times
and I know it takes about five minutes to sing this carol once through. Very
appropriate for these post-Christmas, ‘hard as iron’ conditions. This was the
most challenging part of the experience. The game took around 7 hours to film.
About a quarter of the way through, pain, tingling and numbness set in all over
my hands. My nose was dripping like a leaky tap.
Several people collapsed and
concerned players nearby yelled out ‘medic!’ In my stationary position and from
the corner of my eye, I noticed that a couple of people were being taken out on
stretchers. At these points throughout the game it was announced that we would
take time out to relax a little while the medics intervened. Although we could
relax a little, we were told not to move from our spot. During these pauses
many of the players around me were advising each other to keep hands in
pockets.
I felt so sorry for Jordan (Player
385) who was stuck in a squat position for almost 15 minutes. I stood behind
her (almost 1 o’clock position when viewing the scene on TV) and watched her. With the shivering and numbness
caused by the penetrating cold, and the rapid onslaught of eliminations, it’s
fair to say that I became a bit fearful.
But let us make no mistake: fear is the key note of
the Squid Game. The tone of fear even makes its way into the theme music of
Squid Game. Having an interest in sacred music, I became fascinated at how
Gregorian Chant is adroitly utilised in the Squid Games soundtrack. The
haunting Pink Soldiers melody signals
when trouble and danger is brewing around the games. The first four notes are
taken from the opening of an ancient plainsong melody Dies Irae, from the Latin text meaning, ‘Day of Wrath’.
This chant was sung regularly during Requiem Masses in
churches over 800 years ago. It is a very foreboding melody that matches the
solemnity of the funereal text which goes on to remind those grieving the dead
of the day of impending doom and judgement when everything will turn to ash. This four-note Dies Irae musical
idiom has been picked up by many film composers as an effective way of sending
a cue to the viewer of imminent peril and danger. It is meant to be fearful!
For example, this musical motif can be heard at appropriate points in films
such as, ‘The Shining’, ‘Friday the Thirteenth’, ‘Star Wars: A New Hope’ to
name just a few.
Fear is the undercurrent of the
philosophy of Squid Game. Fear is generated by money: who deserves to have
enough of it and who is willing to compete for it. I guess this is capitalism
and the underlying message of the Squid Game."
* Father Lee's hotel room overlooking the bright lights of London.
* Father Lee (left) with some of the other contestants.
* The toothbrush and comb handed out to players.
* Contestant number 123. Picture: Andrei Daniel.
