THE Sensation
SQUID GAME
IT ARRIVED IN September, with little fanfare. Four weeks later, Squid Game was a global phenomenon: beamed into 142 million households, it was the first South Korean show to top Netflix’s streaming charts in more than 90 countries.
The show’s premise is as captivating as it is crazy. A group of debt-ridden individuals are invited to play a bunch of children’s games like ‘Red Light, Green Light’. Win, and you’re guaranteed a cash prize of millions. Lose, and you’re ‘eliminated’, which in Squid Game-world means instantly killed.
What’s made creator Hwang Dong-hyuk’s show so popular? Firstly, many of the characters’ predicaments are relatable: viewers saw parallels with the financial crash of 2008, and with societal inequalities that were made starker by the pandemic. Also, it cleverly combines our obsessions with high-stakes films like The Hunger Games and Battle Royale with our love of escapist gameshows: we never feel too removed from the decisions characters are forced to make.
There’s been as much Squid Game drama off-screen as on, too. Reports of panicked parents urging children not to take part in dangerous squid games was front-page news, as was the story that a life-size replica of the show’s giant, machine-gun-firing doll had popped up in Sydney Harbour. Another in Seoul’s Olympic Park followed. The show got the Saturday Night Live treatment in a skit with Pete Davidson and Rami Malek, and clothing factories in South Korea buckled under demand for Squid Game Halloween costumes. Netflix was sued by an internet provider which nearly collapsed under the weight of streaming requests, and further front-page news arrived when thieves behind a new Squid-inspired cryptocurrency made off with millions — a story that has ‘spin-off show’ written all over it.
Think the phenomenon is over? Think again. It’s Netflix’s most-viewed show ever, and with Hwang already working on a sequel, Squid Game’s seismic rumble looks set to continue for some time yet.
Top to bottom:
The creepy, machine-gun-firing ‘Red Light, Green Light’ doll; The Games’ Front Man, played by Korean superstar Lee Byung-hun; Guards wear pink suits, contestants wear green; The all-important card that lets you know you’ve been chosen...