The King of the Desert (2022)

"But there must be a reason behind it all"

"Do you want me to teach you how to be good at work? Don't ask yourself: Why?''. I think this whole show was a commentary on how we stay in the well known patterns, even if they are not productive, simply because things have always been this way or they bring us monetary gratification. But why do we even care so much about money? Because this is what society tells us is important. A vicious circle of bullshit.

Trying to suggest change is scary, and since everyone accepts the current state, it means it's working so why would anyone even try to challenge it? Everyone cannot be wrong, it's more likely I don't understand why it's like that. Stuff like the Milgram experiment or Asch Conformity Experiment explain it well. Both good examples how awful people are at going against:
1. Authority
2. Groups of people.

And if you add actual reward (money) for the conformity, people will do a great type of mental gymnastics to justify the current state.

Like drawing the circles, then erasing them and doing the same with x, just because the boss said you have to do it. I'm sure many of us did things we knew were pointless, but they were orders we just had to do. You can think you are not part of the problem, but you most likely are. Not to the same extent as the characters in the show, since everything was over exaggerated, but as long as we participate in the society, we do stupid things for the sake of some kind of benefit - money, popularity, recognition from strangers. But why do we care?

Each episode presents us with different takes on what one can sacrifice for money: pride, self-esteem, time, family, morality. It also shows what we truly want - connection, love, freedom, a feeling of belonging, self-worth.

The show opens with the best episode, so keep that in mind. On one hand it sets up the story well, but it also makes the remaining episode have less impact. Each short story is connected to each other, even though they changed the main character. Personally, my favorite episodes were “Dancing on the sand” and “Family Vacation”. Both had strong messages that resonated with me and my experience.

The production and the acting were phenomenal. Truly would not change a detail. The short duration of the episodes (most were a bit over 20 minutes) made the show more digestible and left some room for interpretation and reflection for the viewers. I feel like depending on your own life experience, perspective and expectations, you will see something else in each and every story.

Overall, great watch, but not for everyone. It’s weird and symbolic. While on the surface the overall message is easy to understand, there is far more than “what people will do for money” if you start digging deeper. It’s also an impactful watch if you are willing to reflect on how the messages fit into how you are handling your life.

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Corporation lab rats

The synopsis is too simple, the drama isn't complicated or nitty gritty as I initially thought. After watching squid game and alice in borederland, the fight for money seems like a fantasy death match

But in reality we all live in a twisted trap, work.
This drama used their metaphors and connected 5 different people in a really well thought out web of connections.
Character A has an intersection with Character B, Character C has an intersection with Character B, but he also meets A, D and E..
It seems complex but it was so smooth. Also it's so short yet so full of content, honestly one of the best scripts of 2022

The metaphor does revolve around money. People need it, people get inslaved by it, people hate it but people need it



As an interior designer actually it's literally like 1ep, we draw, delete, draw, calculate, delete, given weird tasks like break tiles, glue fabric, and 90% of the time it's the mood of the team leader

I wanted to be a designer cuz I love creating, I love art and I didn't want to be stuck in a cubicle. But in the end we're all lab rats of corporation.

The 2nd ep uses the metaphor of games, does life give you a 2nd chance?


I also adored the little fashion queens♡ ep5 didn't feel connected until you get to ep6 and it becomes the bow that wrapped the story together perfectly
The revelations of the last ep were my favorite, it was shocking, it made sense, it was sad and it was really well acted

Tbh I wished for more, most of the stories felt uncompeleted and eventhough the stories were like a spark of the real meaning I became attached to the characters

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Money, Money, Money....

...How funny, in a rich man's world!

Often compared with Black Mirror, this short series is pointing to the absurdities of contemporary society, focused on money. What would you do, how far would you go, how much does it take?

The main character of this drama is just such a person, a super rich man, bored and conducting a social experiment in order to answer those questions. The series tells stories of six people, on surface not connected but whose lives cross paths in crucial moments.

A women finally gets an office job but the work is absurd, mind wrecking and pointless. So she resigns. Her coworker decides to spend an afternoon with his daughter(who found out he was not her father) but while on the phone his car with her inside gets stolen. By a pyramid scheme salesman looking for money. While on a crossroad, the women from the beginning jumps into the car. Down the road they are stopped by a fake policeman who is trying to win money on an internet game led by a righteous justice warrior the salesman's mother was part of. After letting the car go, he hears a police call for a possible murder taking place in an abandoned office. The man there offers him a choice: a meaningless well paid job or the righteous justice.

Each story, with the exception of the last one is left without ending: do their action have repercussions? Probably, logically but we never find out! The stories are well written: succinct and to the point. The acting is excellent: particularly the little girl. The music, jazzy with 70's overtones, is perfect for these dark stories.

We might take umbrage or disapprove their choices but how would you behave in similar situations? I think that the answer depends on your age: the young people would probably revolt, stir the masses on the internet and move on to another crusade of the week. More mature adults would probably weigh the pros and the cons reasonably!

Whether we like it or not, we are all controlled by money. The question is how much?

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