Commodified Death as the Ultimate Outcome of Social Inequalities: An Analysis of the Squid Game Discourse

Abstract

This paper explores how death is represented in the popular Netflix television series Squid Game. While death is an overarching theme in this series, there is one feature of its storytelling that sets it apart from other fictional deadly games’ televisual or cinematic franchises. Indeed, Squid Game depicts players implicitly consenting to die if they lose the game. This narrative is centered on the deep vulnerabilities that come from social inequalities and create conditions in which death can be staged as merchandise to be sold or bought for entertainment purposes. This paper describes and analyzes how the implicit consent to death was portrayed as the ultimate outcome of social inequalities, as a commodity, and as an object of leisure. We will conclude the paper by discussing the implications of exposure to this discourse during leisure.

Keywords:

• death
• implicit consent
• leisure
• social inequalities
• television

Disclosure statement

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.

Notes

1 For instance, the first game is “Red Light, Green Light”. The goal is to get from the starting line of the playing area to the other (i.e., behind the giant doll) in a limited time frame. However, when the doll turns his head, the players need to stop moving.

2 Manga are comic or graphic novels, while anime are hand-drawn or computer-generated animation films or television series both originating from Japan and constituting an important part of Japan’s content in the media production industry.

3 Ddakji is a Korean game where each player has a piece of paper folded into a square (i.e., a card) and the goal is to use their card to flip the opponent’s one.

4 See the following websites: (https://squid-game.io/; https://www.crazygames.fr/jeu/squid-game-online; https://www.play-games.com/play-squid-game-online-for-free.html