What are the rules in hell?
Squid Game demolished world records in 2021 when it became the most-watched show in Netflix history. It reached an astounding 142 million households and accumulated 1.65 billion hours of viewing, less than a month after its release. It was throned on Netflix’s Top 10 non-English chart for 20 consecutive weeks and racked up 14 Emmy nominations, winning six..
Characters crushed under crippling debt claw at survival in modern-day South Korea. Tracked down by a mysterious organization, they are offered the opportunity to enter a survival contest based on children’s games. The final victor will win a fortune literally dangled in a piggy bank above their heads, gradually filled as each player dies.
The first glimpses of Season 2 surfaced a week ago, reigniting the buzz surrounding the show. Though a date hasn’t yet been set, it is projected to be released later this year.
Let’s examine the growing importance of the show’s upcoming second installment. Is it simply serving the capitalistic, perverse objectives it so vehemently denounced?
Inspired by the crippling financial crises in the late 1990s and 2000s, this chilling saga struck close to home for many South Koreans.
Despite being heeded as an economic miracle and a global powerhouse in science, technology, and soft power, South Korea harbors a rigid and hierarchical society. Once you tumble into paralyzing debt, it’s a Herculean task to escape, especially as society’s judgemental eye weighs upon you.
Beneath Squid Game’s thin veneer of vibrant, nauseating colors lies an appalling reality: humans are ready to commit monstrous acts of murder and betrayal to secure their survival.
I believe that the show’s creator, Hwang Dong-hyuk, was provoking a reflection on our behaviours and the society we live in. The show blatantly criticizes the systematic, unequal distribution of wealth and power prevalent in South Korea, but also present in other parts of the world.
The upcoming second season is absolutely necessary. Not only because of the criminal cliffhanger at the end of Season 1, but also because the disregard for human life and suffering portrayed in the show are falling short of the intended deterring effect.
Indeed, Netflix pounced on the show’s unprecedented success to create a spin-off reality TV show based on Squid Game. Youtubers like “MrBeast” have also created videos with their own vulgar versions of the game, which have garnered over half a billion views.
Even more troubling, “MrBeast” has become a household name in recent years, with a fanbase composed largely of elementary school-age children. They are re-enacting the deadly games on the playground.
Making light of the gory show and ignoring its clear warning could have devastating consequences in the future.
While the show was certainly a trailblazer for Korean cinema in the Western world, drawing attention to South Korea and its breadth of “K” products (K-dramas, K-pop, K-beauty, etc.), its significance appears to have been lost on many.
This in itself is ironic, since the wealthy are the ones reaping the booming success of South Korea’s cultural exports.
As the world holds its breath for the next chapter of Squid Game, I hope it will remind those taking it lightly to be afraid. The show is a projection of a reality we are already living. It is an effective whistleblower we must heed.
