whiskytamponflamenco t1_j5xruu5 wrote on January 26, 2023 at 8:02 AM

Reply to comment by a_millenial in Netflix denies any Squid Game reality show contestants have suffered ‘serious injury’ by trashcan_paradise

Isn't the point of Squid Game that even good people would do anything for a life-changing amount of money? Take a regular person and put them in a desperate situation, and they will turn on their friends and family. Gi-hun might be the incorruptible hero trope (in the end), but the show isn't really about him, it's about the spectacle of the game and inviting viewers to decide what they'd do in every round.

Plenty of people found the fight for money and survival relatable (since it framed money and survival as the same thing). Don't know about S. Korea, but 65% of the US lives paycheck to paycheck and the average American is 90K in debt. Remember that in the show, all the players voted to leave the Game and then returned of their own free will -- and this was a massively relatable moment for the audience. It conveyed that the Game is inescapable and that we are all already playing it. The show also gave people permission to think about how brutal they'd get if put into this type of situation by making it seem like everyone else would be just as cutthroat.

The reality show is just a PG version of this dark fantasy.

a_millenial t1_j5xwcn8 wrote on January 26, 2023 at 9:03 AM

All solid points.

I guess for me my takeaway was a sort of moral shaming of the elites who prey on our desperation.

So to willingly participate in these recreations is like almost giving your approval to these people to exploit you.

But you're right in that even in the show, they chose to come back. I totally forgot that part. People willingly took part in their exploitation, just like real life.

I guess it's a case of art mirroring life, and it's uncomfortable for me to see it depicted so bluntly.