Squid Game has become the most watched show on Netflix, with views from over 142 million households in its first four weeks. The dystopian series – which tells the story of a group of individuals as they compete to win millions by taking part in a deadly competition – quickly became a viral sensation.
Writer-director Hwang Dong-hyuk’s inventive plot features 456 desperate individuals attempting to survive six violent interpretations of children’s games in the hope of scoring a life-changing 45.6 billion won (around £28 million). The catch is that anyone who fails a challenge is immediately killed. Contrasting the innocence of childhood games against sadistic violence creates what the psychologists who are sure to already be dissecting this show would call “cognitive dissonance.”
On the surface the series speaks to a long-standing fascination with the idea of gamifying survival. Dystopian movies such as The Hunger Games and Maze Runner pit kids against each other in deadly arenas. Horror films like Ready or Not, Saw, and Battle Royale follow protagonists who get caught up in some terrifying game or other.
There is no question that the drama in Squid Game is compelling. But the intensity of the interest, specifically among the young, is remarkable. And it begs an uncomfortable question: why are we so obsessed with a show about human suffering?
People have been so captivated by this show that non-murderous, real-life versions of the game have cropped up all over the place, including in East London’s high-tech bingo hall Hijingo, which will be celebrating Halloween in Squid Game style by letting you take part in a game of Red Light, Green Light facilitated by staff dressed up like the workers in the show (luckily no sniper’s bullets). Another version of the game has also been set up in Abu Dhabi.
The Hollywood Reporter has also reported that Netflix Asia executive Minyoung Kim is considering a Squid Game videogame complete, of course, with merchandise.
But what if the actual gruesome game were to happen in real life? Would you put your life at stake to win a life-changing sum of money or would you pass? We asked some people the following question: “If Squid Game was real, would you play?” Here are some of their answers.
Picture credit: Pixabay
