Squid Game is the Capitalist Societal Game We Play in Real Life
At the bottom of the societal hierarchy lie the poor and the indebted. A broken government unable — and unwilling — to help a failed capitalist economy that has led to the downfall of many. An economic system based upon the failure of many in order for others to succeed. Although in a slightly more violent manner, the Korean hit Netflix show Squid Game depicts this failed system through brutally violent reimagined childhood games played by indebted Korean citizens attempting to win a prize jackpot. While some may argue that[LB1] Squid Game was “too Korean” to translate well across borders, I believe that it translated well because it was a juxtaposition of the physically violent games to the death with our capitalist society, depicting how capitalism is built upon the failure of others in order for others to be able to succeed.
Squid Game is a brutally violent sort of reenactment of how the way society functions, more specifically Korean society where the poor suffer and the rich chaebols, “corporate conglomerates owned by a handful of wealthy and powerful families” maintain an iron grip in the economy. The show depicts the wealth inequality in Korea much how the Oscar-winning Korean movie Parasite did as well. Although, in comparison, the director of Squid Game decided to take it to a slightly more creative level by juxtapositioning the playing of the violent childhood games with the struggles of everyday life in the midst of a capitalist society. In her article, Squid Game owes its popularity to anxieties of modern life, Zoe Williams claims, “paradoxically, this hyper-real, totally unrealistic drama has lit on the anxiety that really is driving day-to-day, all-too-real mental illness.” This refers to the stresses brought on by the struggles of an unfair capitalist society, a sentiment shared by the players in the game and people in real life suffering from debt, low wages, and the overall pressures of capitalism. While the show is heavily focused on Korean society, the theme carried over across the globe and was well accepted in other capitalist countries such as the United States. However, my argument is limited to countries that share similar issues of wealthy disparity and increasing anti-capitalist sentiment such as the U.S.
This is prevalent in both Korean and American society accounting for the large wealth disparity in both countries. In the show, a group of VIPs watch the brutally violent games take place from a comfortable spot far away from all the gore and blood; as Caitlyn Clark states in her article Squid Game is an Allegory of Capitalist Hell, “a creative illustration of how society under capitalism operates by two sets of rules, one for the rich and another for the poor.” The indebted citizens are powerless to help themselves out of such a wicked game while the mighty and powerful not only fail to provide them with aid, but also take pleasure in their suffering.
Much like in South Korea, the United States is currently facing a growing wave of anti-capitalist sentiment, especially following the near economic depression during the height of the pandemic. As the lower class went on to lose their jobs, rich CEOs and elites continued to bask in their riches while others suffered. The basis of Squid Game is that indebted citizens are given[LB2] an opportunity to win a fortune to restart their lives by playing games, however as it is revealed right from the beginning, these games are reliant on the death of other players. This is an allegory to our capitalist society where our successes are often based upon the failure of others. The first few games are primarily based on each players own merits, but as the show progresses the games become increasingly reliant on the players competing with one another where the victory of one leads to the death and defeat of the other, mirroring the capitalist nature of society itself. The way Roxana Hadadi described in her article, A Game of Marbles Turns Squid Game’s Anti-Capitalist Critique Inside Out, “the demands and disappointments of capitalism inspire and enforce the selfishness that the economic system requires for living within it.” Hahadi is specifically referring to the marble game where the main character Gi-hun uses the old man’s disadvantage of amnesia in order to cheat his way into winning. We cannot only succeed based on our own merits, others must fall to pave the way for our success. It is a cruel and rigged system perfectly depicted by the twisted versions of the childhood games.
While the anti-capitalist sentiment carries over from Korea to America, there are a few things about Squid Game that don’t quite make it to its global audience. There is a small technicality between the American perception and the Korean perception of the overall feeling of the show. Americans, based on core values that have been instilled in us, are determined to win, while Koreans are determined to succeed. You would assume that they are the same thing, but the two words carry two different meanings for each culture. American viewers while watching the show were rooting for their favorite characters to pass each round and make it to the finish line, while in contrast, the Korean audience was more focused on each character succeeding in accomplishing their goals. This stems from Korean cultural values of striving to always succeed, or at least appear successful. Outer appearance is of great importance within Korean culture, if one appears financially stable, physically appealing, sociable, they are deemed successful. Meanwhile, in American culture we focus on personal accomplishments, on winning, with less regard on how people perceive us. There is a stronger sense of competition within American society unlike Korean people who are more concerned with simply succeeding rather than being the best overall.
