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La Casa De Papel, also known as Money Heist, is a Spanish crime, drama, and thriller television series by Alex Pina which first aired in 2017. This series is based on a mastermind nicknamed Professor who instigates two “money heists” on the Royal Mint of Spain and the Bank of Spain. The Professor gathers a group of skilled criminals and assigns nicknames of different cities (Tokyo, Berlin, Moscow, Rio, Denver, Nairobi, Helsinki, Oslo) and trains them to commit a perfect crime.
Money Heist has been gaining immense popularity after being distributed by Netflix; however, this series has gone through many struggles. Following the release of the second season, there has been a decrease in total viewers. If it was not for Netflix to purchase the series, Money Heist would have discontinued in 2018. Within four months, Money Heist became one of the most watched non-English series in 2019. Although Netflix revived the series, the main reason why this series sparked a wave of global enthusiasm is mainly due to its unique plot and characters. The plot of this series is full of surprises and the characters each have unique characteristics and stories that make the audience pity and favor them.
The Professor’s all-encompassing master plan and innate ability to improvise are definitely notable features to why people are so intrigued by this series. However, his astonishing ideas has inspired real-life robberies. In 2018, five Turkish thieves broke into multiple stores and stole 132,000 US dollars worth of electronics within the span of two months. The suspects claimed that their inspiration came from Money Heist. Additionally, in March 2020, two robbers wearing Dali masks along with a “Professor” behind the scenes, made an attempt to steal 2 million dollars worth of jewelry in Southern India.
Although Money Heist encouraged multiple real-life crimes, there are cases in which this series had a positive impact in real life as well. Throughout the seasons, one major global issue Money Heist stresses is on the corruption of the government where state officials exploit their authority, making unethical decisions that are unknown to the public. The group of criminals call themselves “the resistance,” gaining the public’s support for their heists. In the real world, people have dressed up in the infamous red overalls and Dali masks in the civil right protests in Iraq, Lebon, France and Chile. Moreover, the original soundtrack ‘Bella Ciao’ has become an anthem during protests. Alvaro Morte, who played the Professor, commented that the song is a celebration of freedom.
Sophomore Paoping Y. commented that “although that there are obvious cliches in the series, these cliches are overturned by unexpected series of events.” Another reason why Paoping Y. enjoys this series so much is because of how the tv show “slowly reveals ideas of the plan throughout the heist, moving back and forth from the present and past.” Moreover, “there are times where the series is able to manipulate the audience to think a certain way, almost like we are in the position of the police.”
Additionally, sophomore Sofia V. added that “the show is unique in its plot and the way that the heist is planned and executed, especially how the Professor is able to predict how the police will react or quickly adjust when part of the plan goes wrong.” However, “what makes it really special is the fact they aren’t viewed as the villains trying to heist the bank but they are the representation of resistance against the unjust government.”
I highly recommend this series for you to watch during your free time and sound off below on what you think!
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