Fresh off the heels of Netflix announcing that Squid Game, their most-watched show to date, will be getting a second season, the streaming platform announced that it had no care toward or concept of the series’ main message by launching a real-life Squid Game—where 456 contestants will compete for a $4.56 million prize.
It’s not April 1 (I checked the calendar twice to be sure), so it seems like this will actually be a real thing. That’s right, the Netflix Squid Game game is real—proof positive that we live in dystopic times. Netflix even released a promotional video (see below), which tells you how you can apply to take part and hopefully not die?
Do you want to play a game? Enter to join Squid Game: The Challenge at https://t.co/MaXfZnqmvb pic.twitter.com/6gYLXlplDC
— Netflix (@netflix) June 14, 2022
“Squid Game took the world by storm with [director Hwang Dong-hyuk’s] captivating story and iconic imagery,” Brandon Riegg, Netflix VP of Unscripted and Documentary Series said in a statement (via The Hollywood Reporter). “We’re grateful for his support as we turn the fictional world into reality in this massive competition and social experiment. Fans of the drama series are in for a fascinating and unpredictable journey as our 456 real world contestants navigate the biggest competition series ever, full of tension and twists, with the biggest-ever cash prize at the end.”
On its face, the ten-episode show (which I hope they call The World’s Most Dangerous (Squid) Game) seems to be flouting the fictional series’ message that capitalism literally kills people in their scramble to make ends meet. The real-life competition is also mandating that contestants must be English-speaking… which is also not a good look, given that the show is almost entirely in Korean.
With Hwang’s involvement, maybe this real-life game will subvert the reality show genre and further reveal to us how damaging capitalism can be to society? Or maybe not.
No news yet on when this reality show will make its way to the streaming platform, or when season two of Squid Game will premiere. The first season of Squid Game is currently streaming on Netflix.
