In the Netflix Series “Squid Game” Contestants are put in a life-or-death game in which they are meant to compete against each other. With the second game of this challenge being a game called honeycomb in which the players are to cut a shape out of honeycomb within 15 minutes, failure to do so results in the elimination and death of the characters. I will be doing my Mise-en Scène on the “Honeycomb Game” scene from the show.
The Setting and Props
The setting of this scene is meant to be a childhood playground, with many of the colours in the scene being bright vibrant colours on the background, with painted blue walls and colourful playground equipment. This all would feel very safe aside from the guns being carried around by the game’s hosts and the overall reality of this game being life or death.
The Costumes
The costumes of this scene are made to be all the players in a green almost indigo colour, ready to play the game. The hosts of the game that always hold weapons wear masks and bright red or pink clothes, almost as if a warning that an animal gives off. The hosts also always wear masks, adding to a level of dehumanization or mystique in that you never know who they are and always seem automated or cold.
The Facial Expressions and Body Language
In terms of the facial expressions throughout the scene, all characters go through varying stages, with some being happy about getting easier shapes, some in distress, and many being brought back to the reality of the situation after the first player is eliminated, going to hopelessness or even fear, their body language usually being tense, cowered over in fear. This contrasts heavily with the masked game hosts showing no emotion having very calm body language and walking around without even reacting to the death around them, adding to the player’s fears and tension of the scene.
The Lighting and Colour
The lighting and colour of the scene is meant to be very colourful in the prop designs, but in terms of actual grading, a lot of the colours are toned to have very blue and green colours purposefully, attempting to blend even the more colorful tones to more drab and darker tones to enforce the overall tension in this scene. This is also exemplified with many shots having a vignette, especially on wider shots to make it feel more claustrophobic or tense.
This contrasts heavily with a lot of the grading within scenes out of the game, with an in-between showing a character being taken out of the game immediately going back to lighter tones.
The positioning of Characters and Camerawork
The positioning of characters and camerawork of this scene both exemplifies the game being played and the overall entire game throughout the series. There are many shots in which the hosts of the game are framed either standing above the contestants or being above them. This Is being used to exemplify that the players truly have no power and are at the whims of the game and their own skills in order to survive. Even with top-down views, the players are still shown all on the floor with even some on their knees, with the hosts standing above them with weapons.