0040 – Canada Squid Game
“Canada is a dream country—for those who haven’t faced its reality yet. Here, every day feels like a survival game, where the stakes are high, and the rules are never in your favor. Skyrocketing housing prices, endless job competition, credit traps, and bureaucratic dead ends turn everyday life into a battle where the losers end up on the streets, and the winners are few”.
“Living is expensive. Losing is even worse.”
“Survival is not a right, but a privilege.”
References #1
The Concept
This project is a visual manifesto, using the Squid Game aesthetic to expose the real social, economic, financial, and bureaucratic struggles of living in Canada.
Canada is presented to the world as a country with a high standard of living, but behind the polished image lies a harsh reality: housing is unattainable, job opportunities feel like a lottery, social isolation is growing, bureaucracy replaces human connection, and financial traps keep people drowning in debt.
The project is designed as a social awareness campaign, using striking visual storytelling to highlight these issues and make people stop and think.
How We Portray These Problems
Housing Crisis – The Price of Survival
📍 Scene: A man in a green “player” jumpsuit stands in front of a real estate agency window, staring in shock at home prices in the millions. On either side, real estate agents in pink guard uniforms symbolize the system that controls access to homeownership.
📌 Message: Housing is not a right—it’s a lottery with almost zero chance of winning
Job Market Struggle – The Odds Are Against You
📍 Scene: A massive line of people in green jumpsuits stretches in front of a Job Fair building. (I can photoshop the signs on any building) Above the entrance, a glowing red screen reads:
🟥 “1 position available. 300+ applicants.”
( I can just clone 1 gamer on photoshop, so no need to have many people)
At the front, a single person holds their resume, like a contestant about to face an impossible challenge.
📌 Message: Jobs exist, but getting one is less likely than winning a casino jackpot.
Social Isolation – A City That Doesn’t Answer
📍 Scene: People in green jumpsuits stand in front of closed office doors with signs reading “NO WALK-INS.”
Another shot: a phone booth with a neon sign that says “Press 1 to wait forever.”
📌 Message: People have become inaccessible. No one answers calls, everything is automated, and personal connection is fading into bureaucracy.
Financial Traps – A Game You Can’t Win
Scene: A player stands in front of a spinning “Wheel of Credit Fate”, where every outcome is a losing one:
• Higher interest rates
• Credit score drops
• Debt repayment failure
• No way out
📌 Message: Credit isn’t financial freedom—it’s a game designed for you to lose.
Online Scams & Fraud – Losing Without Playing
📍 Scene: People in green jumpsuits check their phones while masked figures lurk in the shadows, representing scammers.
Alternative scene: a bank ATM screen displaying “Your balance: $0. You’ve been scammed.”
📌 Message: You can lose money without even playing.
Homelessness – The Final Game Over
📍 Scene: A man in a green jumpsuit sits on a city sidewalk, holding a cardboard sign that reads “Lost the game. Now this is my home.”
In the background, luxury skyscrapers stand as a reminder of those who won.
📌 Message: When you lose in this system, there’s no second chance.
- There are many other problems and we can do many other (games) concepts.
Why Does This Project Matter?
🔹 For society – Forces people to confront issues they often ignore.
🔹 For the audience – Uses visual storytelling as a social awareness campaign, making complex problems instantly recognizable.
🔹 For participants – A chance to be part of a conversation about life in Canada, turning invisible struggles into powerful imagery.
What’s Next?
This project can be scaled and expanded:
• A photography exhibition with real images and captions.
• A social media campaign to raise awareness and spark discussions.
• Collaborations with media outlets and organizations addressing social issues.
How to Make This Happen?
This project requires minimal resources:
• Purchasing one or two green player jumpsuits and a few pink guard uniforms with masks ($150-$200 total)
• Many of the concepts can be executed on a low budget, with additional post-production enhancements..
• With support from organizations or sponsors (providing people, funding, or locations), the project could be taken to a much larger and more professional scale.
