Squid GameNetflix has filmed a Korean TV series called “piggy bank” that features players fighting for cash. biggest series launchTed Sarandos, co-CEO ” It’s “very likely” that it will be the biggest ever.
The show is criticised for being a devastating criticism of modern capitalism.
In Jacobin Revision Headline, “Squid GameThe writer claims that Capitalist Hell is an allegory of capitalist hell.Korea is characterized by extreme inequality Squid Game“It’s the central theme.” New York Times reporter Jin Yu Young SubmittedThis “it has…tapped a sense familiar to people in The United States…that prosperity in nominally rich countries has become increasingly difficult to achieve, as Widening wealth inequalitiesThe home price of a house is rising beyond what’s affordable.”
Creator of the show Hwang Dong-hyuk Telled Variety He“I was looking for a tale that dealt with modern capitalism and depicted extreme competition. A bit like extreme life competition.”
“IIs there any theme that is more universal in pop culture global than “Capitalism is Bad?” Questions Vulture writer Roxana Hadadi in her recap of one episode before continuing, “It helps that the statement is true, of course…”
But Squid Game It is a richer, more powerful and more compelling takeaway than the “capitalism Is Bad” statement.
(Warning! This article and the video may contain spoilers.)
It hints at an alternative message. Front Man, the Darth Vader–esque manager of the dangerous and lucrative series of competitions, chastises an employee who violated the rules. He says, “You have destroyed the most important element of this place: equality.”
Players are later invited to watch the executions of all those who have violated this “pure ideologie” in the insulated world. The anonymous pink-uniformed workers wear only the symbols that distinguish their rank in the group’s hierarchy, while the rest of the players are masked. While the rest of the spectators watch, elites remain hidden in plain sight, watching the action from above.
Does this all sound like a reference to capitalism or a different economic system—the one that’s actually haunted the Korean Peninsula?
Kang Saebyeok from North Korea, who was rescued by a smuggler and has now accepted her fate. She hopes to win money that will allow her to cross the border with her family.
Can organ brokers and border coyotes be considered examples of capital? They’re black marketsThese are the kinds that arise when there is voluntary trade prohibited. Every year, more than 1000 people risk their lives to escape the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Most successful escapees stay in the South. As perConnect North Korea charity
Pakistani Ali Abdul is another character who finds himself in serious straits due to exploitation by a boss that leverages his immigration status against. The consequences of the state-imposed border control triggering a grey labor market.
Seong Gihun, the main character. Unemployed, he’s a gambler addicted to loan sharks and is in danger of losing his job. Later, we learn his troubles started after his colleague was killed in a car factory strike. This caused Gi-Hun’s daughter to be born without him.
The 2009 real-life story of his life is the basis for his story. Ssangyong Motor StrikeThat ended with a Korean riot cop conducting a militarized attack.
While this may sound harsh, it is actually a criticism of modern capitalism. However, in reality, Ssangyong Motor had been involved in a strike. taken over by Shanghai Automotive InduStry Corporation three years earlier—a Chinese state-Ownedoperation responsible for the brutal crackdown on workers.
To blame was also free-market capitalism.
The key to understanding Squid Game‘s Its distinctive look, including the tracksuits made of green, gives the show a deeper meaning. Art director of the program said It New York TimesThis They are a reference the the green uniforms Saemaul UndongThe state-led program of industrialization led by the New Village Movement (also known as the ‘New Village Movement’). This was government industrial policy—i.e., centralized planning—and, like China’s Cultural Revolution under Mao’s communist regime, involved stripping communities of their local customs and identities through a program known as misin tapa undongOr, “movement to abolish the worship of Gods”.
You can find them here AreThere are obvious signs of excess capitalist in this show. For example, the wealthy, gold-masked Westerners, who sit at a luxurious box and place bets on desperate contestants, as though they were the racehorses on which our protagonist had lost his entire money. Oder the arrogant ex-financial advisor who is broke and believes everyone gets what they merit.
You’ll also find a huge piggy bank at the ceiling that is filled with large amounts of cash whenever someone gets eliminated.
South Korea’s unqualified capitalist success is a testament to its potential. “The miracle of the river Han”, unlike its communist neighbor, experienced huge economic growth beginning in 1960s. It was due to market reforms that led to a growth rate that raised the standards of living for all income levels, including the middle and the wealthy, at a much higher level than its neighbours. The country today boasts the following: 37th-highest The Fraser Institute ranks the 26th-ranked country in GDP per capita. Human Freedom Index.
South Korea’s approach to the economy was imperfect. The persistent intervention of the government in its affairs is partly responsible for many of the problems the country has. South Korea’s housing market has seen its prices soar. Regulating the land-use of a particular type of property has encouraged rampant real estate speculation. And its loose monetary policy fueled troublingly high levels of personal debt and price inflation—trends that have accelerated in the COVID era.
These are all serious issues facing South Korea and other advanced economies around the world. More money is being put into cryptocurrency like Bitcoin by its citizens. It New York Times characterizesIt is emblematic of South Korea’s “get rich quick” culture, but it could also reflect a lack of trust in central banking and the legacy financial systems represented by his top-ranking financial advisor friend.
Perhaps that is why they are so successful. Squid Game‘s global resonance isn’t its leftist critique of capitalism—a Hollywood cliché—but that it taps into something more fundamental and universal: a growing unease with systems of centralized surveillance and control. It is at its heart. This That is why the game exists.
One central horror in Squid Game Is that what participation is? Volunteer—to a degree. Participants sign away their rights and lives, which cannot be restored except by a majority vote. This idea also misses the essence of capitalism and contracts. A truly free society will always allow you to exit. The game’s structure reminds more of social contract theory. This is a common way to justify gross violations of rights by the government, provided that they are elected through a democratic process.
Squid Game It isn’t about voluntarism but about force, coercion, deceit, and deceit. This is not about freedom and choice. It’s about dehumanization, forced assimilation and collective responsibility.
Lee Jung-jae was the show’s main star. TelledIt New York Times “It’s all about people. We ask ourselves, “Have I forgotten anything? As a human being, should I not?”
In the end, however, the hero is able to regain his agency in the very last moment of time and make his own decision It is notTo play for any length of time, even with the victory certain. He departs battered but not traumatized. But he leaves with his soul intact.
Squid Game Properly understood, capitalism is not really about capitalism. This is about devising strategies to resist authoritarian control, and maintaining your humanity in a system that seeks to eliminate it all.
Zach Weissmueller, graphics by Calvin Tran
Photos credit: Dong-Min Jang/ZUMAPRESS/Newscom; Wang Yiliang / Xinhua News Agency/Newscom; Rod Lamkey- CNP/Sipa USA/Newscom