Yay, another review of Squid Game, aren't I original?!
 

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Squid Game has become a phenomenon in the world, watched worldwide, reviewed to death, everyone has an opinion, everyone has an interpretation. The economics behind it, the world it creates, the too-on-the-nose criticism of western capitalism, Squid Game became a talking point for many.

I can't get to the point I have of the accidental genius that made it such a successful franchise before addressing the elephant in the tool, even though that elephant may have been pointed at repeatedly until today.

Enslaving Capitalism

If you're an avid follower of Korean cinema and TV Shows you'd have definitely noticed a rise of anti-capitalism works, Parasite, and the indifference of rich people as they enjoy the juxtapositioning rain flooding the house of their workers is an example that comes to mind.

The roots of this issue go deeper in South Korea than you might think. Now, it may not be capitalism-exclusive reasoning but it is one where capitalism owns a few of its roots. In a 2013 report published by Reuters we come closer to understanding the roots of this issue. Death of Confucian traditions that saw parents revered once upon a time, South Korea is now a country with more than 20% of the elders' population living and dying alone.

This is a deep rabbit hole to go through, one that demands its own series of posts to fully comprehend, but it is one that also includes a staggering number of suicides. According to a Vice more than a thousand people in South Korea commit suicide every month. That is 43 suicide every day, or one suicide every 34 minutes.

The reason behind these devastating stats can be tied to capitalism-related reasons. The dehumanization of oneself by being valued only by work abilities or physical attributes, the latter is portrayed in a genius manner by the prize money being obtained through human organs.

Add to that the sexual gratification existing on the tip of your finger with a simple online search for porn, the rise of pharmaceutical use, and the finding means of happiness through only monetary values. All of which are factors discussed one way or another in the show. Adding all of that and you get an environment that is largely cynical in nature and depression-prone.

The anti-capitalism view can be related worldwide, especially during a time of a pandemic in a world that was already bleeding jobs to automation and where jobs with high skill requirements are available the most, a big portion of the world population are left behind such as the main character portrayed by Lee Jung-jae.

While all of those intentionally-written factors are good enough for a T.V show, along with the on-the-nose white rich people representation of the exploitive nature of western capitalism, at least as the show creators and runners perceive it, the genius of the show for me lies elsewhere.

Squid Game: The Peak of Reality Shows

While the political, social, and economical factors can be seen scattered throughout the show. War game theories can be seen throughout the show, focused on mainly during the marbles game. That is not what most of the show spends showing. What it spends showing the most is what most online pranks, reality TV shows, and money-based contests want to do: The ultimate punishment for losing.

From a 20-years-old meeting his death in an attempt to stage a prank, with his last words reportedly being "It's just a prank, bro", to a Japanese young wrestler being bullied online into suicide caused after she followed the guides of the reality TV show producers instruction as to how she should behave. And shows like Hell's Kitchen where we tune in weekly to watch the rug of someone's dream job that they chased desperately pulled from under them, attributing to their darkest moments, and Rachel Brown's case suicide not one year after she left the show.

I wouldn't play the role of an expert and attribute anyone's death to a show, be it on T.V or Youtube. But, we clearly have a large audience dedicated to watching a really dark moment in a human's life, why else would millions watch a man pranking his girlfriend by faking a kidnapping, enrollment into the army, or straight-up death. It is a dark contract agreed upon where the creators do it for the views and we watch for the tragedy. And what's a better tragedy than the death of someone desperately trying to improve their life through monetary means in a game that you may not be forced by law to play, but heavily incentivized by a dark reality.