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One interesting thing that stood out to me is how the game was supposed to be about everyone having an equal chance but very quickly women and older people were discriminated against when it came to team games

I said it once and I'll say it again: Il-Nam is the one in the wrong. He not only made the game, he decided to play it because it got bored. And he had the audacity to say that the poor and the rich are the same because "we're all bored". Bored of what?! You have all your need met. The poor aren't bored; they're struggling. Trying to figure out where they're next meal is gonna come from. I would've pulled his plug right then and there. Oh yeah, he also bet on a homeless man before he died. wtf?

"Equate randomness with fairness" holy shit can we talk about this concept more???

Nobody is talking about the guy who killed his own brother, who attempted to expose the game.

I disagree that Gi-hun is the "best" player. In the end, a big part of it was dumb luck and the help/mercy/sacrifices of others. Sure, he had some ingenuity that helped him and some others survive the candy round, but that's not enough to carry him the rest of the way. Which cements that capitalism doesn't reward based on who deserves it. And as they say, no man is an island.

It’s funny, during the glass bridge game, I was eating some chocolate as one does when they watch television, but during a shot of the ‘vips’ I realised that I was them, I too was betting on who would win and indulging as I watched from afar. During the first game I couldn’t eat because I was so shaky but I realised I had so quickly acclimatised, like the players in the game, and suddenly I couldn’t bring myself to eat the anymore chocolate. I couldn’t do it

One thing Ive also realized: The show shows 4 types of debt through its characters. Seong Gi is what most of us imagine to be the reason of poor, by gambling, not saving money etc. a sort of "his own fault" mentality. But then we have Cho Sang-Woo, supposedly rich, being poor because of bad investments, though the reveal of his character may hint that he also tricked other investors unfairly until he lost everything. Then we have Saebyeok, a refugee, who has already paid the human trafficker but got tricked into paying it again. And of course Ali, an illegal worker who is being completely exploited by greedy factory owners, using illegal immigrants as modern day slaves. There are so many more of course, but it shows how "being poor" just isnt a thing you can generalize. Something that is usually described with the "The poor are poor because they want to be/own fault etc." mentality.

I find it disturbing how many people want to play “The Squid Game” for real, and how quickly various companies are vowing to put together a playable version of “The Squid Game” as a reality show.

did Gi Hun "win"? what did he win? it seems like in the end he lost everything important in his life.

I'm not going to lie, I had to turn off the first episode a few minutes in and wait several days to come back. I come from a poor family with a father exactly like Gi-Hun. He was a severe alcoholic and absent, never able to pay child support. He wasn't around and my mom had to work doubly hard to raise me and my siblings and still my family is struggling to stay above the poverty line. We've lived in govt housing with tons of roaches. We were homeless for a while. Struggling even more since food stamps were cut off. Now I'm on my own and still struggling. My family has stable housing and financial help mostly through help from the govt or friends/other family. I'm not trying to throw a pity party, I'm just saying this shit felt too real. Watching Gi-Hun struggling to get his daughter a cheap birthday gift hit too fucking hard. Literally the first ten minutes destroyed me bc my family has been through stuff way too close to that. It's so visceral and gutting, for every viewer but especially for people that have been in poverty like that.

I heard that this was supposed to be made 10 years ago or so? I think the setbacks were a blessing in disguise cos it was made at the perfect time. Class consciousness is a lot more prevalent these days compared to back in 2011. And so many people are becoming aware of the socioeconomic climate and Capitalism's effect on people's lives. While it was understandable that Gi-hun's troubles make sense for someone like him, it was important to also bring up Sang-woo's apparent success in the past constantly. At any point, someone could fall into financial ruin and be in the same place as someone who's never even graduated high school, let's say. Lots of people lost their jobs due to the pandemic and it didn't matter if you used to work at a bank or at a McDonald's, almost everyone is struggling financially these days. Almost everyone is dealing with money troubles and lots of people could relate to the desperation the characters felt in the show.

Succeeding in a capitalist system by critiquing capitalism is a long standing irony we have all seen and participated in. These narratives are important tho, as changes can only happen when everyone works towards it. In Korea, squid game has helped inspire and bring more of a spotlight on workers who are protesting for better working conditions and wages. I think overlooking the impact of a Korean show like this in Korea is a huge oversight. I'm not Korean, but as a long time fan of Korean media I notice that this is often overlooked whenever something from Korea gets popular worldwide (mainly in the West). Also of course Gi-hun was made out to be a likable person... he's the protagonist, that's the whole point of every show/movie ever lol😂😂 idk what else you would expect tbh 🤷

The most meta about Squid Game is how the series is popular at all, both cementing Netflix as the world's biggest streaming service and on how established South Korean pop-culture, not just SqG, in the global consciousness, alongside anime & Bollywood.

My issue with Squid Game is, if the old man really wanted to reward people's for their kindness and generosity, why would he not reward the Indian/Pakistani guy? I mean, the latter is very certainly the personification of kindness in the series?

I'm starting to believe that media that brutally critiques the systems we are oppressed by are helping keep those systems in place. If you can have the elation and satisfaction of seeing an unjust system fall, without putting you comfort on the line, why address the very real problems in front of us? We get to see justice done swiftly, and completely in a satisfying and immediate way that doesn't hold true to reality. Fighting those systems is a process that holds little catharsis. We tend to chose the instant gratification of a hollow, fabricated victory.

We like to think we're Gi-Hun but, in reality, most of us would be Sang-woo

I'm going to disagree with you on the idea that Gihun was the right person to win. He wins a lot of the games by luck: the first game, Ali saves him, the third and fourth game, the old man saves him, the fifth game, that random dude saved him by taking number 1, game number 6, his opponent kills himself. The only game where he REALLY got the win on his own is for the 2nd game. I think the reason that Gihun refuses to touch the money for a year is because he realizes that he didn't really deserve the money, he wasn't better than the other players, he just got lucky.

This was another brilliant video essay, and you are the only one who captured the ultimate lie of Squid game's "randomness is presented as fairness"! I do wish that you'd consult with Korean researchers and talk a bit more about how each character represents various sectors in Korean society, and SK's colonial and authoritarian history re: the VIPs.

The fact that Bezo has some interested relation to this show hurts my soul sooo much.

You should do a „Russian villain trope explaned“ video!!! P.S like it so the Girls could see!

These videos are always excellent, but I think your analysis missed the show’s satire. The ending is not happy, and Gi-hun is not portrayed as the most deserving. According to capitalism’s “survival of the fittest” ideal, Gi-hun should have died in the first game. He succeeds only because of others who are smarter, kinder, and tougher, which refutes the belief that a capitalist society is a meritocracy. At the end, Gi-hun is totally isolated: his friends and mother are dead. He rejects his last human connection by not going to see his daughter. While he claims to want to destroy the Game, he’s more a part of it than ever before, as symbolized by his red hair-the color of blood and the guards’ uniforms. The ending satirizes the “lone hero” but is actually really bleak because it implies that no one can escape capitalism. It also points out the irony and hypocrisy of anyone with any degree of privilege attempting to critique capitalism, including the show itself, because we all benefit from it.

The Front Man was a winner from a few years back. Whatever he may have been before the game, he was probably just as ruthless as Sang-woo by the end. And even if he had been like Gi-hun, he definitely was not like Gi-hun at the time of this game. He had fully bought into the game, rationalizing every act of violence done in the game and by himself. If he did not, then he would have to reflect on all that he had done to become a winner in his game. That Gi-hun won that one game while being a good person may be a copout in terms of the overall themes, but it is irrelevant within the universe of the show where someone like the Front Man had also won.

Also, I love the notion that if they had pooled together and talked about the resources they had and who they were outside of the game, they might have not needed to come back that second time.

Squid Game is more than just a critique of capitalism but a reflection of society in South Korea. You don't need to understand the Korean context to enjoy the show, but a lot is missed without it. Imo, the structure of the game reflects the structure of contemporary Korean society, or to even take it further, the game is analogous to the South Korean state: the Front Man is the government who is semingly in control while it was (global) capital in the form of Oh Il-nam who was in charge all along. Even though critics will point out that there are many other death game shows and media that are better, and that SG is just an inferior copy, I'd venture what made this worthwhile and different from the other death games was the fact that the Squid Game is "voluntary". Even though the conditions of the people in debt esentially forced them to rejoin the game, they felt some sort of agency in taking that "choice"; the same way a lot of people feel like in democracy in modern capitalism. Hey at least we have a choice.

Imagine if we didn't even get hope in our entertainment, we are living our own squid game, just let us enjoy our little bit of hope given to us by artists, those who are the most outcast and who are undervalued, the way the writer of the show was trying to make this happen for years while enduring just working for the little money he could gather, we need to believe, we need the hope, specially right now during this unprecedented times, we just need to have hope

Netflix's 3% is another great example of this genre. The ending is much better, and more in line with the capitalist critique. Highly recommend!!!

the people talking about "so and so deserved to win because they were morally better or purer of heart" etc are missing the point - even if that person wins, everyone else is killed, which is evil in itself. choosing a good representative is a distraction from realizing that the game shouldn't even be existing in the first place

I've watched a lot of video essays on Squid Game and honestly, this one is the best I've seen so far! You made some very interesting points about the way randomness is presented as fairness, death games as a phenomenon or the logic of capitalism and how Sang-Woo, who was portrayed as the antagonist, actually just played by the rules. At one point while watching the show, I found myself rooting for Gi-hun and it suddenly felt very strange. "Actually ANYONE of these people deserves to win," I thought but soon corrected myself: "No, actually none of them deserves to be in this horrible situation!" It was scary how quickly I was willing to accept the rules of the game.

Squid Game is one of the best series on Netflix. It’s a reason this series is so popular. If Squid Games existed today, people would participate. Unfortunately alot of people are desperate for money because alot of people are struggling to survive.

Watching this video and reading the comments section makes me feel like we have a serious media literacy issue in the US. A character saying one thing but acting in a contradictory way doesn’t mean bad or inconsistent writing; it means the character is not a reliable narrator. Especially taking the villains at their word about the game being “equal” and then getting upset it wasn’t truly equal is so silly. That’s literally the point. Also, the people who are so quick to judge and say “why did Gi-hun not immediately take care of Sang-woo’s mom and Sae-byok’s brother? He’s a terrible person” missed the point entirely too. If you’re having the thought “I would act so much better than him n this situation,” you are essentially saying that after being deeply traumatized in a way most people can’t begin to imagine, you would be functional and mentally coherent. Okay? Prove it. The idea of the show is that capitalism crushes even “good” people and makes them act in ways out of character. It’s not meant to be totally literal either, it’s an allegory. Idk I just wish people would take a moment to try to understand the writers’ motivations instead of just going with a knee jerk reaction of “this person is bad” or “the writers messed up.” If you do that, it actually becomes clear that almost everything that happened had a clear purpose.

I don't think that any player is really more deserving than any other. the reality is that winning was primarily luck. and every person deserves the basics of life. It's not that the protagonist is more deserving than others. rather, that they're all deserving, and so it's still unfair to have such winners and losers in this kind of system. it's like billionaires: yes, they worked hard... but that doesn't justify the system. they're not *more* deserving than others, let alone of basic dignity like going to piss when you need to.

While I agree the ending's a bit...muddy...it's kind of the only way the story could resolve. A completely random unnamed character winning might've been more potent, but far less narratively satisfying, and the production does need to...make money. Any other major character winning could be read the same way - that some positive trait secured their win - meritocracy validated. And I think they go through great lengths to frame Gi-Hun's luck, not his morality, as his primary reason for success. The fact that whoever won would become upper class, and at best a "good millionaire", at worst another Masked Man, is a big part of why Gi-Hun wrestles with spending the money at all imo. As for whether it's possible to authentically critique capitalism under capitalism, while profiting off that critique...I have to think so. Any popular critique will make money under a system designed around money, and any unpopular critique wouldn't be effective in the first place. Similar to the "poor socialist jealous, rich socialist hypocrite" Catch-22. And I'd never want to risk becoming the "yet you participate in society. Curious." meme. I don't think a concrete, compelling alternative is necessary either, in the same way you wouldn't have to know exactly what replaces feudalism to admit the system is inhumane and should be replaced.

I *just* finished watching the show after avoiding - with success - spoilers for weeks. What an incredible timing.

I have a more nihilist take on why Gihoon won. If it was about Goodness why didn't Ali win? If it was about Fairness why didn't Sae Byeok win. It was always about luck. In that capitalist institutions aren't undone by kindness or the arc of history. It's because of luck. He doesn't win because of teamwork. There is no reason for why he won. He survives the guilt because he is a good person. He has to give meaning to what happened. Don't get it twisted. Even Sang Woo is more deserving. If people are treated randomly people who are undeserving will win, and Capitalism will never let us cone to that harsh reality. There are no VIP in real life, a world where we tell ourselves we are broke. Only Gihoon opts out by refusing to play. And even his dream is thwarted. We only survive because we are good people. And winning really is meaningless if the game is this destructive.

Gi hun, ali and sae byeok were most deserving to win. Ali and gi hun are super kind people and both had strong moral values. Sae byeok had a very sad life story and also was a good person behind that cold mask. Wish those three all won but sang woo said no

I like that there are also characters such as the black masked host, who has survived the game and used his remaining time, despite rich, making others go through what he has. There are many "winners" of the capitalist game who thrive (and bank) in making others go through unreasonable suffering, knowingly condemning most of them to fail.

I feel like this analysis forgets that 1) the squid game was decades old, and one of the former winners was the front man, suggesting that usually, cutthroat people with no empathy would make it to the top. And 2) Gi-Hun tried to stop the game because he didn't deem it possible to win AND keep his humanity. He only won because Sang-Woo sacrificed himself. Gi-Hun's win was an anomaly in many ways, which seems like a big point of the story to me - decent people succeeding in late-stage capitalism is pretty much a fluke, and when Gi-Hun gets out of the arena his mom is dead and his daughter is leaving. He won the game but he didn't win his life back.

A multi billionaire praised the show…. I just know the message flew right over his head… That man could help so many people but he chooses to exploit the people who work for him along with anyone else who contributes to his company

I think the idea is to address and resolve the anxiety that last guys finish last. Sangwoo is an archetype for the person that older people warn us about. The one that takes advantage of the vulnerable and manipulates without a regard for anyone's feelings. GiHun is meant to represent Sangwoo's opposite, the ideal person. Someone who values human connection and wouldn't back-stab. He's constructed in such a way that we identify and see ourselves in him. Thus, we want him to be rewarded because his character is someone we want to become or aspire to be, while Sangwoo is the person we're supposed to be. I have a feeling that like how Sangwoo was GiHun's foil this season, the Front Man will be his foil next season because he seems to share similar traits to Sangwoo. Thats why i think InHo won in his year, because he used Sangwoo's strategies without a GiHun to compete with. I just love the binary thats created, it makes you think a lot.

Why nobody talks about how typical is that Gi-hun is an awful human being to his family (mother, wife and daughter), but «has a heart of gold» when it comes to other people? He steals from his ill mother, leaves his wife to give birth all alone, decides to «fight the bad guys» instead of visiting his own daughter on her birthday (breaking the promise he made to her). He also waits a whole year to take care of his late friend's brother - once again, ignoring her last wish/his promise. I want to see some critique, based on a look through female eyes. ps: Also, this show is so similar to dozens movies and shows, it makes me mad seeing how everyone seems to praise SG today.

What’s so funny is seeing conservatives trying SO HARD to deny thats it’s about capitalism

I just realized that player 001 could be the owner of the car manufacturing company that Gi Hun used to work at. It isn't mentioned anywhere in the show but its very much possible... That could be a wild coincidence 😮

How exactly is Batman helping the people with his money? He is just beating up criminals, who probably didn’t have any other options. He never gives the poor his money.

Squid Game: A scathing critique of capitalism and Korean society. Everyone & Netflix: How much dalgona candy and green tracksuits can we sell this year? 🤔 Love the show!

I'm still pissed Gi Hun didn't help Ali's wife and child

Please make a video about Snowpiercer. It has so much to analyze

Thank you so much for using the original Korean audio. A lot of video essays have been using the awful dub that I can't take seriously.

i'm sorry, but you are just finding meaning in something that has none. it's like when an english teacher asks you to describe the smell of a color in a book...there is none

Squid Game reminds me of the US healthcare system

“Squid Game’s premise often seems to entail a very dark view of human nature and how our capitalist societies are structured. But there are also glimmers of optimism and more positive hints about human nature. The show seems to revolve around the struggle between these two fundamental world views. Do you see yourself as ultimately an optimist?” “That’s very difficult to answer. Personally, I’m not an optimist, and people around me often tell me that I’m more of a cynical type. So it’s true that the world of Squid Game is depicted in a very dark way, in a cynical way, with some very cold-eyed views on humanity. Nevertheless, I believe that we cannot go on living without trust in other people - unless you choose to do wrong things and go down a dark path. This is very well depicted in the lines of Gi-hun. Right before the nighttime battle when he is approaching Sae-byeok (the female North Korean defector, played by breakout star Jung Ho-yeon) to come join his team. Sae-byeok says, “I don’t trust people.” But to that, Gi-hun says, “You don’t trust people because you can; you trust people because you have to” - meaning, we don’t have anything else to depend on. Those lines from Gi-hun are, in fact, exactly in line with my feelings. Many of us are put in situations where we cannot really trust other people. I mean, I have been put in that situation quite often. But even though that is the case, if you don’t trust other people, and if you don’t have trust in the humanity that is inside yourself, then there is really no answer for you as to how you are going to live. So even though the overall situation in the world is quite grim, and even though some people will betray you, and even though you’re in a situation where it’s quite difficult for you to have trust in anyone, fundamentally, you have to strive to believe in that last glimmer of hope that is coming out of Pandora’s box. These were my thoughts. And it’s portrayed in that scene near the end, where Gi-hun is approaching the sleeping Sang-woo with a knife in his hand, and he’s preparing to stab him. This is the moment when Gi-hun was about to lose the last string of humanity left inside him. But then Sae-byeok stops him, by saying, “You’re not that kind of person.” This is the gift that Sae-byeok gave Gi-hun, by reminding him of his remaining humanity.” He wasn’t commenting on capitalism solely he was commenting on humanity and its dark nature more on a general view then anything of course people like this can’t see the bigger picture and can only narrow it down to a current economic structure they don’t like as what the show is about when this artist has a deeper meaning behind all of this that they can’t grasp ultimately.

Thank you SO MUCH for talking about this perspective. Everybody is talking about Squid Game, but very few people are discussing it for real. I watched the whole show thinking "yeah, this is our society, this is our everyday life. WE CAN'T ACCEPT IT ANYMORE", but then the videos and the memes about it are so shallow, it's like most people got it wrong or something. D:

Am I the only one who feels like the least believable part was that his hair could go from black to red in one session?

As you highlight your sponsor. Americans always into dictating messages: it’s about this!

This is why Parasite is better. Ultimately, we need to stop the “mean rich people trope” because it doesn’t matter if someone is nice if they are hoarding wealth and keeping people in poverty.

The team at The Take does an amazing job on these pop culture analysis videos. Well researched and great editing.

I've been waiting for your video, thank you 💖💖

I think being a collective is one way but that still doesnt always works as the rich will always find a way to distract the poor or in a way place new barriers. We would like to believe tht if you hustle hard enough you can be part of the rich, but ppl forget that most of the ultra rich were already rich to begin and had very different starting lines.

It seemed to me it was also talking about the class struggle that you often times fine in South Korean society.

Yaaaeey.. finally The Take give away their reviews on this film which I just finished watching it 3 days ago, thank you! Only 2 views today xx

Excellent critique, a very happy subscriber to your channel here.

this video was pretty good up until when it started talking about the ending imo, the point seemed to be entirely missed. gi-hun did win the prize money but that's not actually a win. getting the money isn't what he really wanted, he wanted to not be in constant poverty and just be able to have himself and his family be safe, just like everyone else there. the money is not the important part but instead what the money can do for you. but if your family has all died or gone away, there's not much that it can do for you anymore except fill the void with meaningless material possessions. you could do what gi-hun is going to do and try to take down the system that did this to you, but still, that doesn't bring back all those people who were killed or get you what you wanted from the start. plus, gi-hun made all those real connections with other people in the same exact situation with him as he was playing the game just to see them murdered and betrayed by the people who once would never do that. the abilities that money brings drive people to do whatever things they can for the people they love, whether that be themself or others. doing those things almost always drives everyone to death. gi-hun was only successful at surviving the game, everything else in his life got entirely ruined because of the fact that he had to play it. all for the enjoyment of others. doesn't seem like a win to me

It’s good game was really trying to give an anti capitalist message, Seung-woo would have won

great vid. keep up the good work!

I was waiting on this!!

wow just blown away by the depth take on the movie, so much could be missed in midst of violence. Most important thing is we get the underlying message. An outstanding analysis of the movie/connection to capitalistic ways & human response to it. In end, i'd say a bit of every character a person needs to survive in our crooked world but yes most importantly the Hero's good heart & trust in humanity & valueing relaitonships/life over money lets us know what we should we be more like to win this game of life. I thank you & look forward to other TAKES, ART is beautiful, a picture is worth a 1000 words (subscribed!)

Can we talk about how the loan sharks courteously stopped harassing Gi-fun after the game, without collecting the debt?

Only now do I realize that On Il-nam's original voice sounds exactly like Master Yoda's.

I knew you'll come with this kind of interpretations. I was waiting fot this analysis :p I also saw the "nothing to loose" feeling at the end of the second episode. I was like "Why are the coming back? ohhh they have nothing to lose". The worst option is at least an option for them.

But...but...but...a hard right-winger who loves capitalism because they get to or at least desire to exploit others for personal gain told me it's actually _not_ about capitalism. Are you SURE you got it right? Is the show's creator SURE he's right, too?

Squid Game is an amazing show with an interesting hope Netflix renews it for a Season 2.

I was waiting for this video!!!!!!

I love the take they always break down everything i like and it helps

I literally just finished binge watching this show. I can't believe he went back!

Can we also talk about how capitalism has already capitalized off of the series.

The video we’ve been waiting for 🌞

The only one who truly rejected the game, totally and completely, was the girl who played marbels with north korean refugee girl. She refused to even engage in rat race and at the end gave her life based on what is right - acording to her, the other girl had more reasons to live. Capitalism is essentially patriarchal hierarchy and it takes completely other mindset and logic to break it, which you will only find in woman, or more precisely, in womens unity, which is what the duo of 2 girls represented. No man in that game had the capacity to break the system, because at the end, that same system is designed to benefit men, and every each of them knows deep down that he may be the lucky one, rather than some girl. While women resent it completely, even the annoying one, who ended up killing her ex lover with her, had the kind of attitude towards the red suits army that was full of pride and rejection of their rules, that no man had.

Yes a mix of kindness , luck and cleverness one but another person we have not met in the games lost we just didn't follow them.

I actually don't think this show focus too much on criticizing capitalism at all, or the metaphor is not strong enough. Most of the characters didn't find themselves in this unfortunate position because of an unfair society, but because of their bad decisions and their desire of getting the things they want using shortcuts. I think the game represents the ultimate shortcut and, at an extreme, the consequences of taking this path in life. Only 2 of the characters in the show are not part of this mold: 1-Ali, who I think is the one real comment on Capitalism since he is a person in a vulnerable position who is being exploded by his boss and other people for his innocent personality. And ... 2-Kang Sae-byeok who, as North Korean defector, has few options for helping herself and her family. I will not comment on this part since I think the issues they are talking about are much more complex.

Seeing the popularity of costumes and cosplays of the show feels so uncany and dystopian

Thank heavens for pointing out the Battle Royale reference!!!!

Rich people have too much money... they feel sad it makes them just like poors How delusional you must be to even think that. I have zero compassion for any billionaire.

I'm amazed that this channel I've never seen before but reminds me of something like watch mojo will go this deep and unflinching into a critique of capitalism, that's awesome. Capitalism is something we need to move on from if we're going to survive as a species Edit: I love that you así don't shy away from the parts that it fails in its criticism too, it is after all, a story. There's no such thing as a "good" capitalist you can be nice but the only "good" option is to try to end it. If you're rich you have more obligation to help Edit 2: 18:05 YES this is SUCH a great observation, thw only way out of capitalism is IF WE ALL WORK TOGETHER. Unionize and fight collectively, rich and poor together so we can ALL be better off

To care about your own survival is being an organism. To also care about another’s survival is being human.

“And when you lose control you'll reap the harvest you have sown And as the fear grows the bad blood slows and turns to stone And it’s too late to lose the weight you used to need to throw down” -“Dogs” by Pink Floyd

While watching I couldn't shake the feeling the whole game resembles a corporate structure and I'm playing the game too, just much larger timescale. My mother being sick and me not able to provide the best medical care really made me feel like nowadays it depends largely on money who lives and who dies. I'm not a gambler or poor. I work and still can't do enough. In the series the guys in the red suits with geometric figures on their face masks really represent supervisors and different layer managers. They are still expendable like everybody else but they agree to the whole system just because they are bit better of than the bottom players and can look down on somebody else. Finally the ones on the top represent the shareholders, they can't go wrong. If you own the means of production in a country, no matter what, you can't loose. What people will stop eating or dressing or traveling because of a financial crisis or war or whatever? It really is the people who can vote out this system, but everyone seems to be focused on the big money at the top, just like in the TV series. I'm NOT saying go communist because capitalism is really Squid Game in disguise, but I do think progressive taxation can do wonders. We don't really need billionaires in our world anyway. All income over 100 000$ a year should be taxed at 90+%. US did it under Franklin Delano Roosevelt to fund WW2. Japan did it after WW2 to stop the Zaibatsu. Both countries got better off doing it.

I dunno, Gi Hun was sorta good, but he wasn’t the kindest, the smartest, or the most capable. It’s true that the sequel bait is just a “without the rich we have no chance”, but it’s less meritocratic capitalism and more “brute facts of life” capitalism, which the show tries to rule out with Oh Il Nam’s final bet but eh

i like to think of Oh Il Nam as a korean version of Citizen Kane. Citizen Kane was a man who had millions of dollars. Everybody would envy him and everybody would want to be him , but he didnt like being a millionaire , in fact he hated it. He was happy with the little things, the little joys in life like his sled Rosebud. But ALL of that was taken away from him. The only thing he got in exchange was money. He hated money because no matter how much money he spent, he couldnt recover the happiness and joy he had lost. He always lost , whether it was in politics, or pushing his second wife s career as an opera singer. Oh Il Nam most likely was a poor man as a kid. Just like everyone in our current society, he wanted to become rich. He mentions he used to live in an alley with his children. Im assuming back then he was still struggling to progress in his career. My theory is that his children died while he was finally starting to make progress in his career. He lost his family, and the only thing he got in exchange was money, the money he had coveted for so long, but no matter what he did Money wouldnt give him back the joy he had lost. He felt betrayed by the society who had pushed him to pursue money and wealth , and made him forget the truly important things in life, the simple daily joys like hugging your family and saying "i love you" to them. He grew resentful of the modern capitalistic society and thats why he started the games. What he calls "boring" is actually a lack of joy, a lack of happiness. And i think the reason he offers money to the winner is an experiment. He wants to see whether having all that money will make them happy, or will they just end up miserable like him.

LETS TALK AB THE SANGWOO/GIHUN PARALELS SOME MORE! In the first lunch break scene Sangwoo is suspicious of the food they are given, so instead of eating he gives it to Ali, WHILE THINKING IT MAY BE BAD, bc in case it is indeed some poison or something at least HE didn't eat it. He purposedly sets up one of his own allies from the get go, much like he does in the second game, because he fears 'showing his cards' and becoming vulnerable, he fears not having the advantage. GiHun also gives Ali his milk, because he can't drink it and so it's of no use to him, and he figures out Ali can have his then, and funnily enough it's his licking idea that ends up helps others on the 2nd round and, sure, he didn't do it on purpose the second time, but it's almost as if Gi-Hun and Sangwoo balance each other sometimes.

Rich people would do anything BUT give away money

I feel like it’s a critique of both the worst of capitalism and the reality of communism in practice. Capitalism is not the only political system that contains corruption. Systems that are entirely socialist and or communist have welcomed corruption and abuse of the public with open arms. Capitalism at least gives you the ability to climb the latter. There is no escape from your position in life when you’re in a communist or strictly socialist society. Also, in this show everyone makes choices; the message to me discusses the issues of all spectrums of these political systems. It shows that people are easy to fall to their vices, that treating these issues should be priority, that there is corruption in all systems, etc. You can’t assign these things to political parties. All political systems are corrupt, all. Politicians of high-status are almost always parasites. To some degree, someone is getting screwed, and morals are being compromised.

We were waiting for this

I love your analysis. I can listen to you for hours. Thanks

The players don't find themselves in the desperate situations they're in because of some mythical system floating around somewhere. Virtually all of them are there because they made awful life decisions at every possible turn.

I'm not sure that Gi-hun winning was about cementing the idea of capitalism. Granted, you do need to use your brain a little, but the show itself comments through Sang-woo on the fact that he is doing the dirty work for him. Also, at least for me, it was painfully obvious that Gi-hun being 16th in the game was just awfully lucky. Also, they say that everyone 'has an equal chance' but they purposefully manipulate the games, making it impossible to make the right choices - like the honeycomb game: they could easily give everyone an easy shape, but they don't (well you mention this in "equating randomness with equality"). Besides, the game never mentioned that there must be only one winner, however we go through one episode at a time learning about and attaching to all the characters, and they kill ALL of them except Gi-hun. Including his mother. He may have won, but I'm not sure if a lot of people feel super happy about that in the light of all the misery, deaths, unfairness and everything that precedes this. Completed with the fact that he lives like a homeless person not touching the money for a year after the fact. As for him using his wealth to go after the culprits - well, though problematic in a way, the fact stands that you need money to survive, and this is a good way to use it when you have it. The problem is that most who do don't use it on anything but perpetuating the status quo and treading on those beneath them.

12:00 Huh? He won out of luck. That's what the writer wanted to show. He was a gambler with no unique abilities and just got lucky and won.

The Bull and Bear masks must be from the One Percent villains from the Archer and Armstrong comics.

It’s driving me nuts 🥜 her name is not sai byok it’s pronounced SEH-byok. I mean she says it correctly in the film >

Yet another critical work fails the purity test. However, SG (like most good stories) is more than one thing (not even taking into account however readers/viewers create/take different and multiple meanings of/from it/them). But the game of the media is capturing attention, and so this channel plays it by calling the subject some kind of failure because that gets more clicks. (alternatively, point out redeeming value from a highly unpopular subject) The game the channel plays is Capitalism too.

The circle, triangle, and square from the cookie game were from the Squid Game logo but the umbrella I think symbolized the rain that fell in the last game.