It’s 3:00 pm on a Wednesday and your timeline is teeming with talk of ‘Red Light, Green Light,’ while memes about a giant doll abound, as do pertinent conversations about how capitalism is unethical. It’s not just another day though — it’s life under the rule of ‘Squid Game,’ the Netflix series people can’t get over.
“There’s a show on Netflix right now that is the #1 in the world. Like, everywhere in the world. It’s called ‘Squid Game,’ said Netflix’s Cheif Executive Officer, Ted Sarandos, during #CodeCon. “It’s only been out for nine days, and it’s a very good chance it’s going to be our biggest show ever.”
The 9-episode series debuted on September 17 and is quickly becoming one of the most watched original shows to ever appear on the streaming platform. It could beat out other obsessions, like season one of “Tiger King” and “Emily in Paris.” Why? Well, it’s an honest global critique that’s not about where we’re headed as a society, but where we are and refuse to believe.
In “Squid Game,” 456 players who face financial troubles are plucked to compete against the others for a large sum of cash. A loss is more than a loss though, it’s your life — the defeated are killed where they stand. The games are childish with grave stakes, which almost feels like a metaphor for life itself. I mean, we’re whirling through the universe and we’ve created unnecessary constraints, like bills on natural resources, that could impact our lives in dangerous ways.
The current most-watched show on Netflix is Shonda Rhimes’ period piece, “Bridgerton.”
Television isn’t strictly about escapism. Shows like “Good Times” and “The Handmaid’s Tale” magnified issues that we face (poverty and oppression and an overly-involved, religion-centric government, respectively), which could continue to be the future of what’s beloved, at least to some degree, about television.
Watch the trailer for “Squid Game” below.