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Yesterday I finished Squid Game intermittently between school and work. If I had continued to live-tweet as I did it would have taken a few days, I think. Anyway I have thoughts (spoilers) 🧵Permalink On twitter.com
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First of all, just real quickly, fuck this dude Seong Wu, man. I don't even care about North Korea girl. Kang Sae Byeok was already dead. I'm talking about my main man Ali Abdul. He didn't even agree to the "game" that was played that shouldn't have worked fuck thatPermalink On twitter.com
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Second, I liked the reveal that the games happen pretty much because rich people got bored. I like that they really, honestly believed that this was a fair and honest chance to turn your life around, with equal opportunity for everyone to succeed.Permalink On twitter.com
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Because that's honestly probably more evil and more reflective of reality. Billionaires and Silicon Valley tech bros really do think that paying a Somali refugee $3/day to work 12 hours in a data mine is "providing jobs and opportunity". They are delusionalOn twitter.com
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Thematically, though, there are two main Squid Game readings I've arrived at. There's a pessimistic one, and a more optimistic one.Permalink On twitter.com
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The pessimistic take is: Squid Game is very clearly about capitalism and why it is bad. It argues that capitalism creates inescapable cycles of poverty, where people are so desperate that they would kill each other for a way out. Capitalism ruins families and relationshipsPermalink On twitter.com
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But we are never shown a viable alternative. The only mention of socialism/communism is in relation to North Korea, which the show doesn't regard as good (this is a little complicated, since portraying North Korea as good is potentially illegal in the South)Permalink On twitter.com
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The police don't intervene, and even the lone "good cop" as it were fails to bring anyone to justice. Our protagonist was a union member. He went on strike and all it got him was more debt, a dead friend, and a divorce. People are too desperate to vote to stop the gamesPermalink On twitter.com
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At the end of the day, the cycle starts all over again, even after the games' founder dies. Squid Game in this reading argues that capitalism, as bad as it is, is inescapable. People either get lucky and lead a somewhat decent life or die miserable and nothing can change thatPermalink On twitter.com
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This was the "hot take" that I was going to write up on here, maybe last night or earlier this morning, but it doesn't sit right with me.Permalink On twitter.com
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Mainly because the strike that took place "10 years ago" in the show is an actual auto strike that really happened 12 years ago. South Korean audiences would immediately recognize this. So I'm not sure why the show would argue "this real strike was kinda pointless lol"Permalink On twitter.com
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So the optimistic reading: Everything from my previous reading is true... BUT the show argues that the reason why capitalism is currently inescapable is because workers don't show enough solidarity to each other.Permalink On twitter.com
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When Seong Wu and Seong Gi-Hun make it to the final round, it's basically two different ways of thinking: one in which we work together to lift as many of us up as possible and one in which we use others to get to the top. When Gi-Hun wins, so does the former idea.Permalink On twitter.com
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At the end with the bet of if anyone would actually help the houseless man before midnight or leave him to freeze to death, one person does help him. It's at the last second, but still. The capitalist was wrong. Gi-Hun was right. There are good people leftPermalink On twitter.com
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The idea is that if we had more solidarity in the world maybe our strikes would be more successful, and our movements would win bigger gains. Maybe we'd start to change the system instead of just living in it. But until then the games will just continuePermalink On twitter.com