Americans are playing “Squid Games” to survive the real world
Squid Games is a South Korean TV series that was available for streaming on Netflix in 2021 that focuses on 456 players who are desperately indebted. This series took place in Seoul, South Korea where people who are economically deprived play survival games that consist of common children’s games to win 45.6 billion won. The series is written and produced by Hwang Dong-hyuk a Korean filmmaker but it was sold to Netflix for $21 million. Netflix, an American streaming service has earned slightly over $900 billion from the TV series. Squid Games, a survival game, has gained such popularity in America just like Hunger Games and Battle Royale. While many claim that Squid Games translated well to the U.S. because it consists of survival games, I claim that the representation of capitalism and income inequality through children’s games caused a connection between the real world and the survival drama series.
Korean dramas are trending so there’s no surprise that Squid Games hit the first №1 Korean series in the U.S. The filmmaker of Squid Games Hwang Dong-hyuk says, “I wanted to write a story that was an allegory or fable about modern capitalist society. Something that depicts an extreme competition, somewhat like the extreme competition of life”. He wanted to show how playing deadly children’s games can be like struggles people encounter daily in a capitalist society. In the series, “The astronomical winnings are “graciously” donated by the wealthy elite, who watch the debt-ridden competitors kill each other in a quest for financial stability and riches”(Lowe). Private organizations and the government use their privilege to control minority groups in Korea. The players believed they had a higher chance of surviving in the games than outside in the real world. Although the TV series took place in Korea many Americans have created an obsession with Squid Games because in the United States many individuals still fight for basic worker rights, Squid Games includes structural inequities and class dynamics.
Those in Korea who watched squid Games or those who watched Squid Games with the Korean voice overs say that the translation to English was not accurate and those who watched it with the English subtitles didn’t watch it. It has translated well across borders other than the obvious which is the options in languages but more because of the way that people can relate to the characters’ stories. In the real world “Americans are playing a game of opportunity and success”(Lowe). This means that although the United States has become more anti-capitalist many families still suffer from low wages, debt, and affording a roof over their heads. According to Airielle Lowe, “A 2021 study from the Journal of the American Medical Association found that Americans are burdened with at least $140 billion in outstanding medical debt”(Lowe). Squid games demonstrate the necessity for better health care by the characters and show how in today’s society many Americans’ main debt is by the healthcare system. Not only is healthcare an issue but so is worker exploitation. In squid games, one of the characters named Ali was portrayed as an exploited worker. He had a family to feed and support after his ex-boss refused to pay him for his work. Many migrants in Korea are discriminated against similarly to undocumented individuals in America that are exploited daily by the capitalists. (Not sure how to end this)
Although the squid games tv-series is successful in both Korea and the United States, the aspect of the characters not being bad people didn’t translate well in the U.S. Many of the characters didn’t tell their stories as to why they were so desperate for money. We do know that Seong Gi-hun was an addict to gambling which is why he was in debt but the reason why he accepted to continue playing Squid Games is because of the pressure he feels of becoming the perfect father figure to his daughter and after finding out about the illness of his mother. In a way, his decisions are what brought him to that point where he owes a lot of money but on the contrary, Ali is doing it for his family because he isn’t getting paid for his work. Some characters were villains that demonstrated that not everyone who fights for what they want will get it. These characters ended up dead because they were money hungry after not being able to obtain it with violence outside in the real world.
Overall, the way viewers interpret and understand the concept of Squid Games depends because of the way they think or their relations to the characters. Squid Games is the №1 Korean drama series because of the way it can portray the lives that individuals live in such a capitalistic society.
