The Squid Game Case
Squid game is a South Korean TV show that landed on Netflix in September and immediately enjoyed great success, becoming the most viewed series of the platform, worldwide; however, not everyone seems to be happy about its popularity. In fact, a few days ago, in Italy, a petition was launched for censorship on the show. But let's take a closer look at the plot of Squid Game and what may have led to asking for censorship.
The episodes are set in South Korea, where Seong Gi-hun, a divorced man overwhelmed by debts, is invited by a stranger to take part in a series of traditional children's games to win a large amount of money. He accepts the offer and finds himself in an unknown place along with 455 other people with similar debts to his; only then they all discover that losing one of these games gets you killed. In Squid Game we find a sort of criticism of South Korean society: in the past few years this country has experienced an incredible development in the economical field, but with the increasing wealth, there has also been an increase in the gap between rich and poor. The British newspaper, “The Guardian” wrote that in South Korea ‘Asking for a loan it’s as easy as drinking coffee’; people enquire for money, but aren’t able to return it and often go into debt. We can see the despair of those who, deep in debt, are willing to do anything, in Squid Game’s players: as a matter of fact, beyond the pastel colors and blood sports, viewed ironically, in the show, we have a ferocious satire of capitalism, social classes, concept of merit and everything around us.
Although Netflix suggests the vision for an audience older than 14, since it’s a show full of violent content, it has already been a smash hit among the youngest, causing the Carolina Foundation, an italian association which is working on the fight against cyberbullying, situated in Milan, to launch a petition to censor Squid game; It seems that there have been countless reports of alarmed parents, saying that their children are imitating the violent behaviours of the show, even in primary schools. The Carolina foundation justifies such a measure as a necessary response to the defeat of parental controls and to the parenthood crisis. However there is no shortage of opinions against this, even given by psychologists, which do not consider censorship as the right solution. Now we are wondering if it actually makes any sense, for Netflix, to insert the minimum age for watching certain content.
Anyway, in the meantime, despite the petition lots of people are hoping for a second season and, based on the words of the series creator and director Hwang Dong-hyuk, this scenario seems far from being excluded; in fact, the show is open-ended and it leaves an entire open- world of possibilities for a sequel; also, tons of theories have been formulated on the hidden meanings of the show. We are looking forward to knowing what the future of Squid Game will be.
Martina Bandieri
