Sejin Oh '23 reflects on the popular TV series Squid Game's reception
“Squid Game,” the South Korean drama on Netflix, has recently taken the world by storm. Released in mid-September and ranking 1st place worldwide by early October, Netflix tweeted, "Squid Game has officially reached 111 million fans - making it our biggest series launch ever!” We hear people—from classmates to school teachers—talking about “Squid Game.” Indeed, children in the red jumpsuit and green tracksuit were seen everywhere in Halloween last week.
The dystopian drama depicts the death-match of 456 people at the very bottom of the Korean society—including a debt-ridden father, migrant factory owner, North Korean defector— competing to win a 45.6 billion Korean Won ($38 million in USD) prize by playing six different Korean traditional playground games. Many—even Koreans themselves—wonder why the drama has been such a success. Experts and audiences point to two main reasons: the integration of the simple Korean childhood games into the survival genre, and its reflection of the inequalities within the Korean society.
For Koreans, the games such as “Red light, green light,” “Squid Game,” and “Marble Game “ remind them of their nostalgic childhood. “The emotions are viscerally familiar, tapping into playground politics at every turn.” The dark twist of the familiar games into games of win or die is the primary reason why the drama gained so much attention in South Korea. Furthermore, the interesting plot has proved to be a success even in countries where people were unaware of such games.
Meanwhile, the depiction of the social and economic inequality through the stories of unique characters, especially minorities and stragglers of society, has been another major reason for the popularity of the drama. This message is manifest in the plot where losing contestants are killed as the rich watch the games for entertainment. Furthermore, the pathetic story of Gi-hun(a gambling addict and a father) and Sang-woo(a debt-ridden man who was a successful businessman), and the the poor treatment of Ali (a foreign worker from Pakistan) and Sae-byeok (a North Korean defector) each reflects a problematic part in the Korean society.
Despite its worldwide popularity, “Squid Game” has received criticism from both domestic and international audiences. The first one—obviously— is the violence. In the drama, characters are systematically killed for the entertainment of the game masters, and sexual and physical violence are explicit. Additionally, the drama is disturbing due to its realistic depiction how selfish and cruel people desperate for money can be. Although the age rating for "Squid Game" on Netflix is TV-MA, meaning for mature audiences only, children are easily exposed to the drama via the internet, such as YouTube and other social media platforms.
In addition to the brutal violence, many have criticized “Squid Game” for its inappropriate representation of women and misogyny. They point out how there is much less screen time for women than male characters, how women and old men are always the last to be picked for games, and how all female characters die in the drama.
Furthermore, the drama has also been accused of sexualizing and materializing women. For example, Han Mi-nyeo, one of the three main female characters, is portrayed as a sexual woman: in the drama, she sleeps with a gangster Jang Deok-su to join his group, but is soon discarded by Deok-su. When asked about this example in an interview, the director Hwang Dong-hyuk replied, "It was to show the actions of someone that can do anything (to survive) in an extreme situation.” When the interviewer mentioned about the VIPs seen sitting with naked, painted women lying around, he said, ”I thought that it was a show of those with power and just how far they would belittle other humans. Not all the painted figures were female.”
Nevertheless, it is undeniable that the new Korean Netflix drama has achieved unprecedented success, adding to the ongoing ‘Hallyu,’ the wave of Korean culture. Some argue that the controversy of “Squid Game” reflects its popularity and great attention from the international community. In the end, it does seem like fame and controversy indeed have some correlation.
Comments