Cathleen Chow '23
It’s all fun and games until a disturbingly-large Korean Doll shoots you after sensing your movement in a psychotic game of red light-green light. Yikes. While watching the Netflix hit-show “Squid Game” (subbed and not dubbed of course!)I couldn’t help but ask myself: how worthless are these people to risk their lives in this twisted battle royale?
It’s said in the show that, for each person killed during a game, the prize money increases by 1 million won ($847.69). To put that into perspective, that can buy you a used 2004 Toyota Camry, one month’s worth of rent in a house in Iowa, 448 large McDonald’s fries, or 154 cups of good boba—tax not included. However, we clearly indulge in these things--and even better luxuries-- in our lifespan. Hell, I’m sure that my friends and I used to eat 448 large Mcdonald's fries AND drink 154 cups of boba in a single year. In short, people are expensive—and worth far more than 1 million won.
So, why are they stuck in this unnamed (no, circles and squares aren’t phonetic letters; take a page from Elon Musk and Grimes’s book) hellhole? Well, they obviously make poor life choices (e.g. joining the game). And, more importantly, the losses they reap from being in the tournament outweigh the value of their life. Desperately running away from their problems--loan sharks, dignity, crime, and North Korea, they rejoin the game despite knowing that they may, and probably will, die in the process. While it can simply be gambling addiction, there is no doubt that their desperation in their seemingly worthless lives has an impact.
The more you think about it, the more you realize how Squid Game illustrates capitalistic practices. You're forced into this system where you’re forced to follow ludicrous rules. You’re forced to play games that depend more on luck than skill. You risk your life for the sake of the cash prize. And the worst part is: it’s a less scary version. To the privileged, capitalism is great. The rich get richer. In fact, in 2017, the top 1% owned 38.5% of the country’s economy—and it’s honestly not getting better. Meanwhile, that money the rich earned has become a debt to the disenfranchised: people who don’t know how to spend their money, people who can’t find a job, or people who just can’t make enough money despite their efforts.
Of course, it’s not like the people who joined the game are complete victims: many are addicted to gambling, have fairly questionable morals, and have a ruthlessly selfish mentality. However, the true evil in this show is neither the gangsters nor the two-faced guys. In fact, it’s the ones at the top of the chain -- the rich men who watch and create this game for amusement -- who are the cruelest. The worst part is that we can’t really do anything about it.
Despite fighting for our morals of equity and a better livelihood for all, we all go to a private boarding school to end up with a good future to make money of our own--money that we gained from taking away from somebody--because at the end of the day, we want to be at the top too.
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