In Netflix’s hit Korean thriller, Squid Game, impoverished contestants compete in deadly games for 45.6 billion, while the obscenely rich VIPs bet and watch the games for their amusement. In reality, we are the VIPs who watch the exploitation of desperate people for our entertainment.
Following the monumental success of Squid Game, Netflix created their own competition spinoff. The original Squid Game is a critique on capitalism and the class divide, and it’s ironic that Netflix used a show about the dangers of capitalism to make more capital. In Squid Game: The Challenge, they have the same eye-catching sets and iconic costumes, but no social commentary or deeper meaning. It is a superficial cash-grab that completely disregards the message of Squid Game. By consuming real life Squid Game media, we are encouraging companies to continue to exploit the original series.
Although the games on Netflix’s reality television show aren’t deadly, some players claim that they faced injuries on set. During Red Light, Green Light, contestants had to stand still in 26 degree Fahrenheit weather for hours. One contestant alleges that she got hypothermia from the game, and the iconic green tracksuits didn’t properly protect her from the cold weather.
Not only are large production companies guilty of not understanding the series, we are as well. In the first episode of season two, titled Bread and Lottery, the recruiter offers homeless people the choice between bread and a lottery ticket. Most of the homeless people take the lottery ticket instead of the bread because they are desperate to escape their dire circumstances. Then, the recruiter destroys the rest of the bread while berating the homeless people for their choice. The recruiter is clearly a villain on the show, but people on social media are following in his footsteps. They are humiliating homeless people for some views or likes online.
Jimmy Donaldson, known as MrBeast online, used Squid Game as inspiration to create his own show, Beast Games on Prime Video. It gathered 1,000 contestants, all competing for the $5 million cash prize. It is easy for us to become detached from the contestants because Donaldson positions them as just numbers, but they are real people fighting to afford basic necessities. This is especially disheartening when Donaldson makes the players’ emotions a spectacle because they are not crying over losing a car or vacation, but because they are unable to afford medicine or a house. Donaldson intentionally puts the contestants in intense and emotional situations for drama in his show.
Donaldson is currently being sued by five anonymous contestants for allegedly failing to pay minimum wage, failing to prevent sexual harassment, exposing contestants to dangerous situations and other labor violations. These contestants are risking everything for money that they desperately need, while he and his production team care more about the show than the players themselves.
Beast Games also solidifies the gap between us as viewers and Donaldson. He, along with Amazon, spent almost $100 million to create this show, while we are struggling with inflation and the housing crisis. It is hard for viewers to ignore that they are a lot closer to becoming the contestants that Donaldson exploits, rather than having even a fraction of his wealth.
Squid Game is a cautionary tale, but Netflix, Prime Video and Donaldson are using it as an instructional manual.
