By Lauren Siegel ‘23, Arts and Entertainment Editor

Image courtesy of The Tab

Since its release onto Netflix on September 17th, 2021, the South Korean television show Squid Game has become a world-renowned hit. Reaching over 111 million accounts within its first month on the platform, the show currently stands as Netflix’s biggest debut ever. Additionally, with the hashtag “#SquidGame” on TikTok raking in more than 22.8 billion views, this show has made an immense cultural impact on our generation.

This show tells the story of 456 deeply indebted Korean citizens who compete in a series of children’s games in order to win a cash prize. The twist? These games are lethal, and if you lose, you die. While full of gore, drama, and incredible set design, Squid Game also aims to make a powerful statement about our society, and is anything but subtle in its anti-capitalist commentary. As the competitors are gradually killed off throughout the game, we learn that a collection of insanely rich men, known as VIPs, are the patrons of this event who watch the suffering of the competitors for entertainment. In the second episode of the show, the competitors decide to end the game and return to their normal lives via a majority vote. However, they eventually return to the game, as their debt-stricken lives are so terrible that they would rather die for the possibility of becoming rich than continue living in their conditions. As these aspects of the show indicate, Squid Game is meant to be an allegory for our money-driven, inequitable society. These themes add solemnity and realism to a plot that otherwise seems outlandish, forcing the viewer to look beyond the gory visuals and recognize the parallels between the Squid Game and our everyday lives.

Despite this powerful messaging, social media has made it obvious that many people, especially in America, have completely misinterpreted and overlooked what this show is trying to convey. On October 15th, popular YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson (better known as Mr. Beast) announced he would be recreating his own Squid Game in real life, obviously minus the casualties. For those unfamiliar with Donaldson’s content, he makes intricate and expensive challenge videos where he awards money to people who complete arduous tasks. His videos are insanely popular, reaching tens of millions of viewers every week. In a sense, Mr. Beast’s content is already somewhat of a real-life Squid Game, with the viewers acting as the VIPs who enjoy the adversity of others for our entertainment. That is why Donaldson’s decision to host Squid Game in real life is so concerning: it demonstrates a pointed ignorance of the themes of this show — which go directly against the money-hungry ideologies of his content — for the sake of profit and publicity. Through his commodification of Squid Game and its messages, Donaldson is helping to instill a rejection of critical thinking into social media.

Mr. Beast is not alone in his misinterpretation of the themes of the show. Throughout Tiktok and Instagram, videos have gone viral of people humorously pretending to insert themselves into the games or discussing how to survive each round and win the cash prize. And, while there is nothing wrong with people enjoying the show and creating content that engages with it, these videos make it apparent that many are looking past the gravity of the show’s meaning for the sake of internet popularity. We are purposefully protecting ourselves from the burden of thinking critically about the media we consume and acknowledging the harsh realities of the world around us that they present. Of course, we don’t need to be serious and critical about media at all times. But it’s important to recognize that certain shows were crafted with a message in mind, and it is worth delving into the implications of influential content. So, if you tune in to Mr. Beast’s Squid Game video, be sure to keep in mind the parallels between what’s happening on-screen and the themes of the show itself.