By James Chumsa, YCLer from Nanaimo
Last year, Squid Game became the first South Korean Netflix series to be rated #1 in the USA and among the top 10 in Canada. Never before has a “K-drama” become so popular in North America, especially one with an anti-capitalist message.
The plot of Squid Game involves a group of people in debt who have been brought together to complete a series of challenges based on Korean children’s games. The losers are each killed off while anyone who survives the last game is able to leave with a large sum of cash.
The violent yet surreal nature of these games can be compared to life under capitalism. Upon entering, the players are told that the games are designed to be fair to give everyone an equal opportunity. Whether this is true or not, players are forced to compete against each other to the death while a mysterious Front Man is able to view these violent games in a private room for his entertainment.
Players are told that they all made a choice to be there, when in truth their choices are limited by their financial difficulties. Many other reviews of the show point out the allegory for capitalism. We are all told everyone has a free choice when in reality low income people are forced to do degrading and dangerous work to survive. In the first episode, before the games are even introduced, we learn that terrible things may happen to those who do not pay off their debts on time.
Reviews with a more right-wing slant will claim that Squid Game is really about human nature. They want you to believe capitalism is not to blame and the real issue is personal greed and selfishness, arguing that all the players in Squid Game made bad financial decisions and were terrible people. While this may be true for some characters, others are shown as more sympathetic. Debt is also depicted as a systemic issue in Korea rather than just a personal failing.
A more outrageous claim is that Squid Game is really about communism. This is based on the myth that communists want to have complete control over people’s lives and force everyone to be equal, which is completely false. The main goal of communists is to create a democratic society where everyone’s basic needs are met, a society where cooperation and human life is valued. This is the complete opposite of what we see in Squid Game.
Writer and director Hwang Dong-hyuk is very explicit about his anti-capitalist message, saying in an interview that he “wanted to write a story that was an allegory or fable about modern capitalist society, something that depicts an extreme competition.”
Hwang began writing the script way back in 2008, the same year as the global recession when he himself was struggling financially. In 2009, he pitched the idea to several local studios which all rejected him, believing that audiences wouldn’t relate to the concept. Ten years later, in 2019, Netflix picked up Hwang’s idea and then began production, releasing the completed series on September 17, 2021.
Hwang doesn’t believe the message of Squid Game is profound in any way. “All of these points made the story very realistic for people compared to a decade ago,” he said. Hwang even told The Guardian: “I do believe that the overall global economic order is unequal and that around 90% of the people believe that it’s unfair. During the pandemic, poorer countries can’t get their people vaccinated. They’re contracting viruses on the streets and even dying. So I did try to convey a message about modern capitalism.”
Indeed, the pandemic response of Western countries confirms the message expressed in Squid Game – not only through vaccine imperialism, but also through their domestic policies. When the virus hit in 2020, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and Fox News host Brit Hume suggested that the elderly should voluntuntarly risk exposure to the virus to save the U.S. economy. In contrast, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam sacrificed its economic growth on pandemic relief to save lives, including the elderly.
Many other socialist countries responded to the outbreak in ways that put people’s needs first. Cuba was able to send doctors to 40 different countries hit by the pandemic. As Indigenous communities were among the worst hit by the pandemic in Canada, First Nations leaders in Manitoba representing the Anishnaabe and Dakota nations hoped to bring Cuban doctors into their communities to share their expertise, before the Canadian government shot down the idea. Now, Cuba is starting to suffer. Because of the U.S. embargo on Cuba, necessary medical supplies are being prevented from reaching the island, such as syringes needed to give vaccinations. As Hwang said, “we are living in a Squid Game world.”
Workers have also been unable to afford to take time off work to avoid exposure to the virus. The federal government responded like many capitalist countries did, as income support programs were quickly cut and businesses ultimately received more help than people living paycheque to paycheque. Like in Squid Game, the working poor are forced to risk exposure to the deadly virus for money they need, while their bosses at home watch through workplace security cameras, just like the Front Man.
For many, living through the pandemic without income support means taking on debt, much like in Squid Game. In October 2021, Global News reported that, according to a survey, 43 percent of Canadians have added to their debt during the COVID-19 pandemic, while 42 percent are saving less or not at all. It was also reported that Canada’s average standard of living has decreased.
For the longest time, American films and television have largely influenced the world. Being right next to the U.S., Canada is constantly bombarded by American media, so badly that laws such as the Broadcasting Act had to be made to ensure that we are getting enough Canadian content. Now Hollywood is struggling to find new ideas, and if the rumours are true, Squid Game just might be one they are looking for. But how well are they able to copy it? Would it be just as meaningful, or would Hollywood’s version not have the same anti-capitalist message?
Already, some of the meaning of the Squid Game gets lost though the translation, and viewers outside Korea may not understand some of the regional references. Despite this, international audiences can still appreciate the main plot of Squid Game, as the hardships the characters face in the series are struggles many people around the world can relate to.