Warning: Spoilers ahead for ‘Squid Game’ season 2
The last week of the year saw the release of ‘Squid Game’ season 2, a Korean TV show whose story revolves around the contestants participating in a series of games to win a hefty cash prize. The games are ridiculous and childish, yet immensely stress-inducing at the same time, for those who fail to finish the challenge get killed by the game organisers. Despite the topics being fictitious and primarily meant for entertainment purposes, ‘Squid Game’, throughout the two seasons, explores a theme of inequality and class-consciousness.
In the first episode of the second season, titled ‘Bread and Lottery’, there was this one scene where the antagonist goes around a park with a bag full of bread and lottery tickets, making the people choose whatever they desire amongst the two. Unsurprisingly, most people chose the lottery ticket and not the piece of bread despite not having the means to sustain themselves. It did not matter if they were starving.
The lottery tickets with minimal chances of winning seemed more appealing to them. That short five-minute scene accurately depicts the entire series for me. It shows us that despite all the atrocities the contestants face regularly, the mere hope that they might win the game keeps them going; it does not matter if the chances of that happening are 1 in 456 people. To them, that lottery ticket is not just a piece of paper with random numbers but the possibility that they might be seconds away from achieving their dream life.
While season 1 was undoubtedly a great entertainer, season 2 has been relatively better at capturing the anti-capitalist elements and is a fantastic satire on society. The show’s format deals with such heavy themes that often go unnoticed because of how subtly they are depicted in the show.
The commoditisation of the lower class
There is a distinct differentiation between the contestants and the ones conducting all the drama. The entire game setting can be considered a society where the contestants represent the poor class. In contrast, the ones behind the masks are considered elites (while I don’t think the masks were intended to be symbolic, they do act as a metaphor for how the rich aren’t held liable for their actions, despite how bad the crime is, and are protected by this mask of wealth not to face the consequences of their actions).
The elites consider the poor as their commodity, which is evident in this one scene in the show where one of the masked men is justifying the actions of their men by saying something like they’re “doing them a favour” and “their lives are worthless”. The people who run the game think they have complete autonomy over the individuals’ lives and the authority to end their lives according to their will.
This commoditisation is further fuelled by the games they play since the men behind the mask believe there is nothing unusual in putting a price on human lives, and they can be bought with the money they’re offering.
Moreover, the game is entertainment for a particular group of people, known as “VIPs” on the show. These VIPs are said to be the ones who bet on the players and set the prize money, the 45.6 billion South Korean won for which the contestants compete through the course of the combined 16 episodes in both seasons. The contestants are nothing but a means of entertainment for the elites or the VIPs, and their lives are of little to no worth to them.
While the ‘Squid Game’ is an extension and an extreme situation, it can be considered an accurate perception of our world. Despite the technological and social advancements we see today, the world remains a cruel and unjust place for the Lower sections of society, whether the distinction is by caste, religion, or money. Emotional manipulation is a real thing happening everywhere today, where the poor are used as bait to fulfil the goals of the elite.
Political parties do this now and then, relying on the audience’s emotions to win votes. This phenomenon is seen not only in political scenarios but also in reality TV. How many times have we seen a celebrity cry on national television because of the sad past of the contestant?
Not to sound insensitive, but the only people benefitting from that are the makers of that show, whose entire intention was to capitalise upon the audiences’ emotions and use the contestant and his story as entertainment. Sadly, the person who has gone through everything returns to leading an everyday life after the makers have profited from him.
Marxist elements in ‘Squid Game’ Season 2
Karl Marx, an eminent philosopher and sociologist, believed they could end this class conflict and struggle of the proletariat or the lower class if they collectively conducted an uprising and protested against the upper classes or the bourgeoisie. He believed that the cycle could be ended if the working class stopped adhering to the norms set by the bourgeoisie. This was known as the theory of class consciousness.
In the final episode of season 2, themes of class consciousness can be noticed. The contestants realised that if they got together and protested against the masked men collectively, they could outdo them and end this game that has been tormenting people for a while now.
They formulate a plan and even get successful in stealing guns from the soldiers, giving tough competition to authorities there. But Alas, freedom has its own cost, and many contestants had to sacrifice their lives to accomplish this. At this point, the elements of class consciousness became evident, which I was contemplating at the beginning of the season.
We do not know whether they escaped the game, as the season ended on a somewhat incomplete note then and there. However, as a sociology fanatic, seeing the makers incorporate Marxist elements in this show was refreshing. The second season was indeed a better and fresher perspective on the game, a perspective that no one saw coming.
Featured image credit: ‘Squid Game’ Season 2, Netflix, Siren Pictures Inc.