海角大神

It makes 鈥淭he Hunger Games鈥� look like a third grade field trip. It doesn鈥檛 star Jennifer Lawrence or Woody Harrelson or any other big Hollywood names. And it鈥檚 got subtitles 鈥� poorly written ones at that.

But 鈥淪quid Game鈥� has conquered 94 countries and counting with its tracksuits and bleak message of social inequality, inspiring hundreds of memes and becoming the anti-鈥淭ed Lasso.鈥� Within a month of its mid-September debut, it overtook steamy Regency romance 鈥淏ridgerton鈥� as Netflix鈥檚 most-watched series ever.

That people gravitate toward dystopian fiction to make sense of difficult times is nothing new 鈥� liberals turned George Orwell and Aldous Huxley into bestselling authors,聽decades after their deaths,聽during the first months of the Trump presidency. 鈥淪quid Game,鈥� however, has become part of the global conversation in a way that few other stories have. Its rise reflects a growing appetite for Korean culture, the desire for a novel streaming experience, and a sense of economic uncertainty around the world 鈥� all while reigniting debates around the role of violence in media.

鈥淕lobal audiences have been living in an increasingly precarious world, especially since the pandemic began,鈥� says Sung-Ae Lee, an Asian studies lecturer at Australia鈥檚 Macquarie University and expert on South Korean film and television. 鈥淎nd it seems that during dark times, people turn to dystopian stories ... because it can be a way of processing trauma.鈥澛犅�

In these contexts, she adds, violence is 鈥渦sed to both engage audiences and encourage them to view society critically.鈥澛�

Personal struggle strikes a global chord

Part of the popularity of 鈥淪quid Game鈥� comes down to a basic rule of internet virality: Hype feeds hype.聽聽

鈥淓verything [on social media] was 鈥楽quid Game鈥�-related. After a certain point in time, I couldn鈥檛 relate to the memes anymore,鈥� says Nyah Tewani, a junior at Northeastern University in Boston. 鈥淚 was like, 鈥極K, I have to watch it so that I can actually know what鈥檚 going on.鈥欌��

Other viewers have praised the show for its cinematography, outstanding cast, genre-bending humor, and unique premise.

鈥淸鈥楽quid Game鈥� was] something that I had never seen before,鈥� says Ben Reingold, a visual and media arts student at Emerson College in Boston. 鈥淭he entire concept of playing kids鈥� games to be able to keep your life is just completely nuts to me. ... A lot of American films would not go that far.鈥�

This isn鈥檛 the first story where those who are 鈥渉aves鈥� pit 鈥渉ave-nots鈥� against one another in a play-to-the-death competition. But unlike in 鈥淭he Hunger Games鈥� or Japanese film thriller 鈥淏attle Royale,鈥� 鈥淪quid Game鈥� participants actually have the opportunity to end the games if the majority votes to leave. This happens after the first trial, a robot-monitored round of 鈥渞ed light, green light鈥� where 255 of the 456 players are gunned down for moving at the wrong time.聽

When confronted with the real-world challenges of living in debt, almost all return to the deadly games for the chance to win roughly $38 million. This includes a North Korean defector who needs $33,000 to smuggle her mother across the border, and a kindhearted father whose debt and gambling problems are tearing his family apart. The games may be outlandish, but the dystopian world around them is very real.

鈥淭he show is motivated by a simple idea,鈥� director Hwang Dong-hyuk recently told The Guardian. 鈥淲e are fighting for our lives in very unequal circumstances.鈥�

The 2007-08 global financial crisis hit South Korea hard. Like many other Koreans, Mr. Hwang had to take out personal loans when he was unable to work. During this low point, he wrote 鈥淪quid Game,鈥� and though it took a decade for a studio to pick up the series, its anti-capitalism messages are even more relevant today.聽

South Korea鈥檚 household debt-to-GDP ratio is now the highest in Asia, contributing to a growing wealth gap. Around the world, similar trends have been exacerbated by the pandemic, reports the International Monetary Fund, with 120 million people pushed into extreme poverty as billionaires became wealthier.

Jacob Atagi, in Alexandria, Virginia, watched 鈥淪quid Game鈥� after seeing clips of the show on TikTok, and recognized the anxieties around debt and financial security. He saw them play out among his friends who graduated in 2020, during the start of the pandemic; some had job offers pulled at the last minute, and others had to wait months to start work. 鈥淪o you definitely see how [鈥淪quid Game鈥漖 would play into those fears,鈥� says the associate at KPMG, adding that he鈥檚 recommended the show to several friends.

New York University student Morgan Martin binge-watched the series within a few days. She says the main character, Seong Gi-Hun (played by Lee Jung-jae), reminded her of her own financial worries when starting college. 鈥淭hough his debt was definitely different than mine, [I related to] that feeling of trying to do whatever you can to make money,鈥� she says.聽 聽

The extreme inequality showcased in 鈥淪quid Game鈥� was also familiar to Ms. Tewani, the Northeastern student, who grew up in Johannesburg until she was 16. 鈥淭hat part resonated with me, because I [realized] I鈥檝e been put in a position where I鈥檓 so privileged that I would never feel inclined to do those things,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so easy to say, 鈥極h yeah, I would never [choose to compete].鈥� But a lot of people would actually go for that because it鈥檚 their livelihood and they鈥檙e trying to support their families.鈥�

Violence: gratuitous or necessary?

鈥淪quid Game鈥� is all over social media, though it鈥檚 not always clear how gruesome it is from a screenshot of the pastel- and primary-colored sets. The show is rated TV-MA for graphic violence and mature themes. Regardless of viewers鈥� tolerance for gore, Ms. Tewani believes understanding the gravity of the players鈥� circumstances outside the arena is key.

鈥淧eople went into this game because they鈥檙e suffering from severe economic problems,鈥� she says. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 romanticize that.鈥�

By showing each death head-on, she says, 鈥淪quid Game鈥� forces viewers to confront the fact that this is not a normal game show. People aren鈥檛 being 鈥渆liminated,鈥� but killed. 鈥淚 think that if they censored it even slightly, it wouldn鈥檛 have gained the same traction,鈥� she says.

But that doesn鈥檛 mean all 142 million viewers actually聽enjoyed 鈥淪quid Game.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 interesting to watch, but it doesn鈥檛 make you feel good,鈥� says Amy Lu, associate professor at Northeastern University and director of the school鈥檚 Health Technology Lab. The show鈥檚 graphic nature 鈥� especially the mass death witnessed during the first game 鈥� strikes her as a marketing strategy.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a very successful commercial operation in terms of predicting people鈥檚 attention,鈥� she says. 鈥淧eople鈥檚 sensation-seeking curve, especially for guys, will grow during their adolescent years and then gradually go down.鈥澛�

Combine that with the simplicity of the games, versions of which are played by children in many cultures, and she says it鈥檚 easy to see why the show took off.聽

Dr. Lee in Australia has a different take on the role of violence in 鈥淪quid Game.鈥澛�

鈥淎udiences are not necessarily drawn to violence in itself,鈥� she says, 鈥渂ut it heightens tension and suspense, and an audience鈥檚 visceral response to violent images ... becomes a metaphor for deep social malaise.鈥澛�

Mr. Hwang is one of her favorite directors, and before 鈥淪quid Game,鈥� he was best known for films like 鈥淪ilenced鈥� (2011). The movie dealt with real-life abuse of students at Gwangju Inhwa School for deaf people. Mr. Hwang depicted not only the abuse, but also the structural issues that allowed teachers and administrators to act with impunity. More than 4 million Koreans saw the movie, and the ensuing public outrage pushed the National Assembly to abolish the statute of limitations for sex crimes against minors and disabled people.聽

鈥淭hat鈥檚 really powerful,鈥� says Dr. Lee. 鈥淭hese kinds of things can change society.鈥�

Staff writers Pavithra Rajesh and聽Tom谩s Gonz谩lez contributed to this report.