Only game in town
Why everyone’s obsessed with violent ‘Squid Game’
A violent and deranged Korean series is hardly what anyone expected to be the next “Game of Thrones,” but Netflix’s “Squid Game” has its tentacles around audiences.
The hit thriller follows desperate, cash-strapped characters as they compete in a brutal series of games, hoping to win money while fighting to survive.
“Squid Game,” which debuted on the streamer Sept. 17, is a splashy critique of how society treats underdogs — not unlike another recent Korean hit, Oscar winner “Parasite,” or even the controversial “Joker.” Since its premiere on Netflix, it’s risen to be No. 1 in over 90 countries (including the US and the UK). The hashtag #SquidGame has over 22 billion views on TikTok to date, and it’s trended on Twitter and Instagram.
While Netflix is opaque about its viewership numbers, CEO Ted Sarandos said in September that there’s “a very good chance it’s going to be our biggest show ever.”
Yet its popularity is surprising, since it’s not pleasant stuff. The show’s grotesque scenes would seemingly make it tough to stomach for socially conscious New Yorkers — or would it?
“‘Squid Game’ definitely doesn’t like billionaires, and that sentiment sells,” Brooklyn clinical psychology academic Benjamin Katz, 32, told The Post.
“The show is definitely making a statement about the experience of living under extreme resource inequality, and how desperate people can get for their big break.”
Writer Stephanie Guerilus, whose novel “Control” follows a teen activist, tweeted, “#SquidGame is so f - - ked up. But yet I’m enjoying it entirely too much.”
Guerilus, who lives in Brooklyn, told The Post she doesn’t see “Squid Game” as having a liberal or conservative stance. “I just enjoyed the show and didn’t really filter it through a political lens,” she said. “Even though we live in a polarized society, I think the show hits a sweet spot for all parties. Many are driven by free will, capitalism and by any means necessary.”
Most of all, she saw an underlying theme of Darwinism in the show’s “survival of the fittest” angle, she said.
Brooklyn comedian Rajat Suresh, 26, tweeted a viral remark about the show with over 87,000 likes to date: “wow squid game reveals how bad working class people have it in korea. thank god I live in america where working class people have it awesome and are very happy.”
“I think it’s definitely trying to shed light on class issues. It’s not really a subtle message,” Suresh told The Post. “The show sort of beats you over the head with the idea that working-class people are desperate, which is good in a way because working-class people are beat over the head with this stuff every day.”
He’s unbothered by the blood, he said. “If it wasn’t as violent, I don’t think we as an audience would have really cared as much for the contestants in the game,” Suresh said. “And I think obviously the excessive violence is supposed to show what working-class people would rather put up with than the capitalist system they have to deal with outside the game.”
Guerilus said she didn’t have a problem with the show’s gorier aspects because they fit its harsh outlook. “I covered my eyes during one of the initial scenes because it was so gruesome, but then I found myself not being able to look away.”
Katz was more squeamish, but he felt it was worth pushing through the parts he found distasteful, he said. “The violence is pretty jarring for me . . . [But] As violent as it can get, I think ‘Squid Game’ really nails the feeling of fighting for access in an all-or-nothing world. Life is hyper-competitive right now.”
“Squid Game” does not have an announced Season 2, though Netflix’s global TV head Bela Bajaria told Vulture, “We’re trying to figure out the right structure” for a follow-up season.
Until then, Guerilus said she’ll keep spreading the gospel of “Squid Game.”
“I’ve already started to convert my friends, but I caution that it’s not for those who have a weak stomach.”