The Netflix hit is as fantastical as it is violent – but underpinning its macabre story of impoverished contestants risking their lives for money is a real crisis of personal debt in South Korea. Why has it resonated all over the world?
A high-concept, ultraviolent South Korean thriller that was rejected by Seoul TV executives for a decade might seem like an unlikely candidate for the most popular series ever to be shown on Netflix. But by now you probably know that Squid Game shows hundreds of down-on-their-luck contestants playing a series of children’s games for a vast cash prize in the knowledge that if they lose, they will be killed on the spot. The show has become a worldwide phenomenon, a lightning rod for debates over depictions of violence, and an instant classic costume option for Halloween.
Underneath all that hype is a story that resonates deeply in South Korea – where levels of personal debt are now equivalent to 105% of GDP – and has struck a chord around the world. In Rachel Humphreys’ final episode as presenter, the Seoul-based culture journalist Nemo Kim explains the connection between the TV show and a crisis founded on a system that makes taking out a loan as easy as buying a cup of coffee. And the TV critic Ellen E Jones examines how those themes have been picked up by audiences everywhere – and what the show’s success tells us about the extraordinary power Netflix holds to reshape our cultural tastes.
Continue reading...from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3nNQ6lZ
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