How Netflix KILLED Squid Game (This is DYSTOPIAN)

[@TheKavernacle]

My new Gaming Instagram: instagram.com/thegamernacle/profilecard/?igsh=MTA1bDcycHk1NHBnMQ==

[@UnfollowYourDreams]

The fourth matrix film. Not very subtle as per usual with hollywood, but still.

[@sophitiaofhyrule]

It's sickening how little creators get paid for the billions they generate. I hate corporations so much

[@deandredunbar9618]

yeah think about animators for movies like endgame giv Robert downy Jr 40 million to stand on an x and repeat line he didn't even write lol. while animators make 40k a year

[@ammo7]

​@@deandredunbar9618My guy, this ain't it. Actors are labor too. You're focusing on the wrong thing.

[@a.g.m8790]

Do you really? What do you do w/ that hate? My guess is nothing and you just keep buying things from corporations

[@dzhang4459]

@@a.g.m8790 Why would you assume that? They probably steal and pirate like the rest of us.

[@Ezcape0]

​@@deandredunbar9618you really chose the worst example rdj srs

[@intrepidabsurdist]

The whole ‘without capitalism you wouldn’t be able to make this critique of capitalism’ argument is so dumb. Without capitalism he wouldn’t have felt the need to make the critique in the first place.

[@gazetronix]

SO IT'S TRUE THEN?! 😂

[@peachyjam9440]

Also he would absolutely be able to make the critique, perhaps less budget or different form and maybe less violent

[@chrisp7044]

Big "the slaves learned marketable skills tho" energy. 'Where would you be without our exploitation?'

[@firemaster2229]

To be fair, how can you criticize something that does not exist... Actually I take that back. Many people find a way to do that anyways (with issues that don't exist I mean)

[@Guisantz]

@@gazetronix your mom

[@yu-anliu4198]

As someone who loves the show this is really depressing how fans of the show completely miss the message.

[@Drstrange3000]

I agree. There are some great messages in the show, but a lot of people are like, "I just want to see the games" or "Check out this meme!"

[@Jdwest81]

Ah yes the capitalists have mastered the art of co-opting monetizing and ultimately killing movements/messages.

[@majorlazor5058]

I don’t know. Most people I know who like the show understand the message. It’s people who didn’t give the show a chance seem to the ones who don’t understand the theme.

[@yu-anliu4198]

@@majorlazor5058 I hope you're right. The only positive I hope to see in the future is that by capitalizing this "franchise" more people would want to see the show, therefore increasing the number of people who end up learning about the end product of extreme capitalism.

[@vietimports]

i dont think they miss the message, i think they just treat it like a show

[@AKimmelFIlms]

Season 2 is basically the struggle to create class consciousness and uprising against the systems, shown to be very difficult under surveillance capitalism and moles from the top ensuring failure.

[@majorlazor5058]

Ana Kasperian is the Frontman. 😂😂😂

[@Dave102693]

@@majorlazor5058😂

[@RyanAEdwards]

This! If anything S2 is a logical next step in the overall narrative. S1 was about the system we find ourselves in. S2 was about the main character gaining that class consciousness and then having to go right back into the system to attempt to help others only to get push back from people trapped in the system like he was in S1. The irony of the show's creator going through that EXACT thing with the show's production is insanely sad.

[@bubblegirl55]

@@RyanAEdwards and @AKimmelFIlms both of your words are so well put together, I can finally understand the purpose of season 2. So sad that the author has to go through this exact scenario just like his work :

[@Fuyjilicious]

💯

[@pluto545]

People who argued Squid Games wasn’t about “capitalism” are almost purely dense, naive, or is a scared capitalist. The concept of people in massive debt risk their lives in silly games of death for the amusement of what we perceive as wealthy oligarchs and businessmen.

[@billhicks8]

Most people get it. Like you said, it's just not something they want to confront, even though they like coolness of the product. The owning class sigh with relief every time they can sell a hoodie from these things, maintaining the conspiracy of silence between exploiter and exploited, and patting themselves on the back for risking profit off of artwork that critiques them. They are banking on convenience over class consciousness

[@yoonahkang7384]

They are not naive, THEY ARE STUPID.

[@satyasyasatyasya5746]

*nothing anticapitalist made under capitalism won't be turned to serve capitalism* on other words, you can't "sell anticap stuff" your way out of capitalism

[@UnfollowYourDreams]

Well, there also isn't such a thing as ethical consumption.

[@satyasyasatyasya5746]

@@UnfollowYourDreams "no ethical consumption under capitalism" =/= "welp, there's just nothing you can do folks, anyho..." it means "change the system"

[@UnfollowYourDreams]

@@satyasyasatyasya5746 good, i thought you didn't get that.

[@peachyjam9440]

You're right but the phrasing is hard to understand

[@satyasyasatyasya5746]

@@peachyjam9440 ok, how about this: everything made under capitalism - especially anticapitalist stuff - will always be turned into meaningless products with no teeth or meaning, that serve capitalism (by not challenging it). You can't use the tools of the system to bring the system down.

[@xerxestheimmortal1]

Many people never understand the message they just like the aesthetic. I still rember conservatives hating that Rage Against the Machine got "woke" all of a sudden. Its like what did you think " some of those who run forces are the same who burn crosses" ment.

[@jeremybeau8334]

How stupid you got to be to NOT get the message. Its literally in your face...

[@banquetoftheleviathan1404]

mom got me a gullitine card game as a kid where you got more points for killing rich people, she's not allowed to suprise pikachu face when i call her neeeding bail money

[@cookeris]

Or how people don't understand star trek, the matrix, red dead redemption 2 and so on.

[@billhicks8]

They get it, they just don't want to think critically because they sense that the message contains a responsibility of action to its knowledge that they don't want to have to bear. Or acknowledge, depending on their socioeconomic status...

[@majorlazor5058]

My favorite are the fans of the Boys who think the show got woke in Season 4 😂😂😂😂

[@223Drone]

Netflix and Mr Beast think Squid Game is a instruction manual.

[@ticketforlife2103]

You mean Amazon?

[@Neku628]

Well, thankfully, they haven't outright murdered anyone like in the game.

[@thebigm8052]

@@Neku628 *yet

[@toxiczombiewolf5692]

​@Neku628 I fucking home not as days pass ngl I'm starting to expect the future to be as cursed in that cyberpunk 2077 game. Because so many problems we got now are in that game only difference is cool clothes and cyberwear where here we get cringe Mr beast stuff 😂

[@bubblegirl55]

@@Neku628 well maybe its more likely that the murders are kept under the rugs.... corporations suck!!

[@ajoliva95_vigilante_anime_86]

The same thing people were miss the point of breaking bad while they still believe walter white is a sigma

[@billhicks8]

This is worse though because the intent is more corporate-directed and malicious. Ultimately something like Squid Game _needs_ to be co-opted in capitalism because it is too critical of power to be left alone. Walter White misinterpretation is more of a downstream issue of people's selfishness reinforcing their desire to become the monster as long as it means you get to sit on a pile of money, drugs and power

[@nevergonnagiveyouupnevergo2795]

he is a sigma tho

[@OlgaZuccati]

@nevergonnagiveyouupnevergo2795 He's a whiny baby wtf you talking about?

[@ajoliva95_vigilante_anime_86]

@nevergonnagiveyouupnevergo2795 cope

[@nevergonnagiveyouupnevergo2795]

@@OlgaZuccati can you cook like he can? that’s what i thought

[@PokhrajRoy.]

I’m so grateful that I’m not on the ‘Squid Game’ hype train because I had a feeling that like many times before, people would take the wrong lessons from it. I was stunned to hear about the live reality show version of it.

[@gazetronix]

Of course Netflix were going to fuck it up 🤷🏼‍♂️ Season 2 ends before the the conclusion of the game. That is not only bad storytelling, but a blatant money grab. I'm beginning to think a life on the open waves is the best way to get shows after all.

[@Drstrange3000]

It is a shame because the show is really good and I hate that it is seen as a meme or viral show of the moment. I hate when corporations take something good and milk it for all it's worth.

[@NintendoWorld64]

@@gazetronix The fact that the final season is coming out so soon I have to imagine it's not the "storytelling" that's the problem. But it's that stupid thing where Netflix cuts a season in half and calls it a two individual seasons.

[@gazetronix]

​@@NintendoWorld64 I hate that!

[@TheDragonfriday]

The squid game show is fine, I cried few times in season 2 involving the old mom and son sadly there people only care about the gore not the story. Like they just skip to the part of the games only just like when people watch horror they only watch the part being chase by monster

[@Radjhitoocool]

The most annoying thing to me is being unable to find breakdown videos of the anti capitalist message. KZbinrs are just doing recaps and speculation on season 3 for views 😡

[@cookeris]

Well there is a channel called The Take, they did some great analysis of the first season. Hopefully they will do the second one.

[@downstairs2508]

@@cookeris Its old now but Kay and Skittles take on squid game. Also Kajji ultimate survivor as an inspiration has lots of commentary on it also.

[@Starpotion]

EruptionFang has one for both seasons that include the topic, I really love his second one since it discusses 456's ideology

[@topdamagewizard]

I can't get into any dystopian or cyberpunk fiction. We can just go out side We live it everyday

[@Drstrange3000]

Yeah, it used to be my favorite genre with Deus Ex and Shadowrun. Now it just too depressing and is way too close to home.

[@topdamagewizard]

@@Drstrange3000 If we can just get a Deus Ex remaster. Not even a remake before I die I'll be happy. It sucks that the worst version of the game (PS2) is the best controlling version of the game.

[@Drstrange3000]

@topdamagewizard I really hope the series makes a comeback in some form. I only got to play Human Revolution and Mankind Divided but a remaster of the older titles would be welcome.

[@HopefulTomorrow420]

​@@topdamagewizard Isn't some greedy VC company holding the licence now? We can't have nice things nowadays.

[@topdamagewizard]

@@HopefulTomorrow420 No it's Square Enix. So yeal. Pretty much the same thing.

[@BlackNerdMagic]

I’m so happy you made a video about this. Me and my wife have been somewhat disgusted with the marketing for this show. We enjoy the show for its messages and storytelling but the fans who totally missed the point make it a bad look.

[@mercurialfox]

I was about to make a very similar comment. After seeing so many companies using it for ads, I'm just not going to watch season2, at least not any time soon. I'm glad there are some actually talking about the irony of all of this and how dystopian it feels.

[@jayw9619]

This situation reminds me a bit of that episode in Black Mirror (15 Million merits) which was also a critique on capitalism - and how the main character works really hard to get himself on a large scale platform to scream his truth and experience, only for it and him to end up as just another commodification. Ironically, the show has been bought by Netflix and it’s on there now too, haha.

[@billhicks8]

they do it because it works.

[@cursedwyvern3044]

I’m actually baffled how many people missed the message of the show. I feel so bad for the creator I would be so insanely enraged if that happened to me and my works

[@SpoopySquid]

Remember when the right-wing dingalings were trying to convince us that Squid Game was actually about communism?

[@andjkh]

They now are to busy griping about the trans woman. Who is played by a CIS male I believe.

[@shushunk00]

Season 2 is about gaining class consciousness and doing a revolution against the system ,so season 2 is more rasical than season 1

[@stannyb3346]

And yet the revolution failed and is treated as another "game" within the system. The series should end with Gi-hun exposing squid game and instead of being outraged, people love the game and becomes the most watched game show in the world.

[@TheDragonfriday]

Also not hero arc he trying to be a hero but make things worse. Like the moment he revealed he played the game before these gamblers think they got the chance to keep going to win big just like an adjective gambler would do

[@Dave102693]

@@stannyb3346actually that sounds like an awesome ending like how people liked the note bloody gladiator games in ancient Rome

[@CeruleanC]

​@@stannyb3346nah that would be ironic af Remember people don't want to reflect themselves if they're the problem, that's why both of the seasons of squid game got meme-ified so they can cope with the meaning of squid game (i don't even know what am i saying someone correct me 😭)

[@renaria3160]

​@@stannyb3346 i can genuinely see this irl. Something unethical is exposed, and despite themselves, people will love it.

[@samuelrosander1048]

This is why people talking about the "end times/stage of capitalism" need to stop. Capitalism will never end on its own except by making itself so bad that it turns into something even worse, like a new version of feudalism ("technofeudalism")...except that the joke is on everyone, because just giving it a new name doesn't change the fact that capitalism has always been "feudalism with the deniability of markets," so it is only an aesthetic change, not a fundamental one. The structure of capitalism is like feudalism, where every business is a fief. Replace the key words (lord, majordomo, peasant, serf, etc -> boss/CEO, manager, contractor, employee, etc) and you describe one by describing the other. You have minor and major lords (businesses/corporations), kingdoms (countries or corporate conglomerates) full of fiefs and fiefs on their own. Each fief and each kingdom are struggling for dominance among the others, doing whatever they can get away with to destroy and/or absorb their competition for greater "territory." If it comes down to a few major kingdoms they may achieve some equilibrium, but they will always be looking at ways to destroy and/or absorb each other in order to come out as the only one. Even within a single kingdom the fiefs war with each other to establish dominance and take over the kingdom. Because capitalism, which is built on competition, is competing to END competition. And the closer they get to that goal the more the bosses actually gain the POLITICAL power of a feudal lord or king. If you look at the POTUS or the British PM as kings and business leaders as lords, there are some lords that hold so much power that the kings could end up getting dethroned for going against them. "Technofeudalism" is just more capitalism, which is just more feudalism. The only change is aesthetic. It will never truly end unless people very intentionally end it, including the faux "socialist" version that always manages to backslide into the private version.

[@carlost856]

We call it late stage capitalism with the knowledge that late stage anything kills the host. Capitalism will end through capitalism's fault. Taking everything with it.

[@blipblop888]

"This is why people talking about the "end times/stage of capitalism" need to stop. Capitalism will never end on its own except by making itself so bad that it turns into something even worse" wouldn't that just be fascism?

[@ZenAndPsychedelicHealingCenter]

@@blipblop888 It is.

[@samuelrosander1048]

@@blipblop888 Potentially, but not necessarily. That's merely one possibility. It could also, as the rest of the sentence quoted suggested, produce a new version of feudalism given that the two systems are mirrors of each other with different labels. There is no single line of evolution. If you broadly define fascism as "anything authoritarian" then capitalism, feudalism, dictatorship, monarchy, republicanism, etc etc etc are all fascism. Feudalism had the lords/serfs dynamic, where peasants worked their own land as well as that of their local lord. That can also be used to describe "technofeudalism," except that you exchange labels and re-imagine what "work their own lands" can mean. In an agrarian society it is clear, but in an advanced industrialized society or one with a major service economy? You work your job (the "land" of the local lord) and do a side hussle (your own "land"). Working for the lord allows you to continue to live where you are while working your own racket gives you your subsistence. But it could go a number of other directions under the right conditions, including creating a more robust social democracy in order to protect capitalists from revolution, thus allowing capitalism to re-birth itself in an endless cycle. Limiting evolution to just one possibility blinds you to all of the others that could just as easily happen...including capitalism continuing business as usual but with better mechanisms to achieve its goals vs the working class. This is why making broad declarations or predictions about the "end stage" is ludicrous. You have to fight for the ending you want, but there is never a guarantee that you will achieve it, OR that there will be an ending in your lifetime, OR that the ending will be what you think.

[@blondbraid7986]

Ironically, capitalism is even worse than feudalism, because at least in feudalism, the privileges also came with the notion of noblesse oblige; the obligation to fund and provide knights and castles to defend the land, modern billionaires don't even have to do that.

[@AC-mb2kp]

Its fight club all over again

[@Fusilier7]

What I think is scary is the fact that Netflix and Mr. Beast, saw the Squid Games and thought it should be for real, basically, both of them killed parody and satire. South Korea has been ringing the alarm bells about the dangerous unrestrained capitalism, South Korea is already a technocratic dystopia, under the iron rule of chaebols, but this cautionary tale became a deranged wet dream for wealthy American elites. We don't need to watch the Hunger Games or the Running Man to experience dystopia anymore, we're living in one.

[@oboretaiwritingch.2077]

As someone who lives in Thailand, the promotion of red light green light doll with a Buddhist temple RIGHT FUCKING IN THE BACKGROUND puts on the extra layer of irony and missing the point. Thailand is a Buddhist nation. Buddhist is a religion that denounces materialism. The teaching is literally that your material possessions aren't who you are and don't last forever, but yeah sure let's put an absurd amount of money into promoting the fact we got the "largest" Squid Game doll on the planet. People don't only miss the message of the show, they miss the message of their own goddamn culture, and I'm not even patriotic nor religious.

[@Virjunior01]

Pet peeve: people adding "s" to titles where there isn't one. It's _Squid Game._

[@CatsMeowPaw]

I really like Squid Game, but I question the marketing of it to children. McDonald's meals, small chip packets, etc. This show is so violent that do we really want seven year olds watching it?

[@andjkh]

Seeing some soccer mom smiling as their toddlers are doing the Red Light Green Light game in little track suits.

[@selkrasouza6262]

Reminds me of how Terminator (a rated R film) marketed to children with toys and video games. I guess some things don’t change.

[@FarEastSanctuary]

TheKavernacle shows he didn't played Disco Elysium for 20 minutes The line in the game fits perfectly: Capital has the ability to subsume all critiques into itself. Even those who would 'critique' capital end up 'reinforcing' it instead.

[@majorlazor5058]

Vivek Ramaswamy praise the film Whiplash as an example pro hard work film. It never occurred to me someone would watch that movie think it was motivational when it’s clearly a cautionary tale.

[@pedroportillo1585]

This is the problem when things get too main stream, people miss the messaging behind it!

[@atomicgoblin]

I feel like this is a repeat of what happened with the hunger games, where the production studio completely misses the point of the (anti-capitalist) story.

[@greenscythe8940]

Absolutely, they also had merch everywhere and ads as if we were the capitol or tributes.

[@potatoppppower]

It's not they miss the point, they just know it'll never tip the balance and create systemic change. So they can profit without fear of disturbing the status quo!

[@educprof2160]

The hunger games were never good in the firstplace.

[@toxiczombiewolf5692]

Fr I can think of a few other movies and games where people miss the point. Hell even some people don't realise 1 thing can have more than one important message in it.

[@Fuyjilicious]

​@@potatoppppowerThis precisely.

[@gur262]

American gods had a great scene of Anansi asking slaves to set fire to the ship. Great scene. They then fired the actor. The Boys started quite radical. Then watered it down and never returned to the idea of perhaps just destroying Vaught full tilt. I think most anti capitalism media will get watered down immensely once it turns into film, into something that ain't a 1-5 man operation ( not that the boys comic is profound at all, really isn't)

[@mars3168]

I love that scene from American Gods. It was so powerful.

[@nephthis42]

Have you played Disco Elysium? One of the character's quotes haunts me ever since hearing it: “Capital has the ability to subsume all critiques into itself. Even those who would *critique* capital end up *reinforcing* it instead.”

[@thepokekid01]

The message was already lost when Netflix immediately announced a game show based on Squid Game (even before they announced a second season). It just showed no self-awareness (I mean this on Netflix part... I know you probably don't agree, but I'm not completely against individuals getting that bag).

[@talluna8619]

the just eat ad is especially messed up because the second season makes it especially clear that the guards are also victims of the system, one of the characters specifically works as a guard during the games as a gig job. like,, it's bonkers. also s2 has a failed revolution that really only fails because there's no class solidarity

[@mvh7261]

Meh, oldest trick in the book - the board game monopoly is probably the first example of capitalism corrupting stuff meant to criticise it. Never watched squid game, looked like a documentary.

[@christineliddle8591]

Omg i did not expect anyone to cover this, the just eat thing was so weird. In the uk city i live in, there was an official squid game ghost kitchen style restaurant, no info beyond netflix as the owners and apparently they were serving squid game themed korean fried chicken

[@TheEmuofEnnui]

The weirdest one for me, as a doll collector, is the Young-Hee Monster High Doll. Like it was dropped a year ago out of nowhere from Mattel. The doll community was fucking confused and then she was like 100£??? More now with scalpers on Ebay. Its so, so bizarre how comodified the entire IP of Squidgame is.

[@lindasmith320]

Doll community, wth?

[@tlalocraingod2205]

It's not that they miss the message. They just don't care. They can convince someone to buy it at a profit so of course they sell it. It's the people buying it that miss the message. They are apparently the fans who don't get it.

[@wackwabbit3831]

"Capital has the ability to subsume all critiques into itself. Even those who would *critique* capital end up *reinforcing* it instead."

[@iirosiren5120]

2 unskippable ads is dystopian

[@ibuprofen-noodles]

lately i don't even bother watching a video if i get an ad im tired of being assaulted by audio stings and jingles, seeing the actors' fuckin annoying mugs..

[@aspiring...]

Has anyone noticed alot of squid game content/products aimed at chldren? The show is also quite violent and children should not be watching. There are squid game dolls.

[@onyourleft5648]

Season two stages a failed revolution where the owning class put an ill-intentioned operative into the games which results in the operative spoils the revolution but also leaving so few survivors that it will be able to control what message it tells the other contestants (proletariats) if squid games 1 is a generalist critique of America’s exploitation of South Korea economically, squid 2 is an examination of what happened to countries who fought back where not only did they often lose, they narrative was spun to either demonize or work in the revolutionaries mythology into the capitalist framework, usually done with informants or agents. Standing alone it reads like the movie Judas and the Black messiah except instead of endorsing the mission with a tragic ending due to the moral failings of a person (individualism being the framing as the true villain) the tragedy here is the ignorance of our revolutionaries, the inability for 456 to even wonder why 001 switched hands in the group race, or even worse suspecting him but still giving him the power to destroy the revolution anyway. Now with another season on the way I doubt that the message is finished so it will likely be about how revolutionary messaging without the means to do so is wasteful fantasy, a sort of opiate of the leftists…and that season three may have messaging about how it thinks or wants to stop the games(neoliberal capitalist hegemony)

[@hookedonfandom]

It’s like the hunger games theme park. Completely missing the point of the media.

[@erinnadia0409]

It's crazy how Star Wars was an anti capitalist story and today on the Disney cruise there is a star wars themed cocktail that costs $5000 USD, when I asked if people order it the bar tender said usually 2-3 people a week will order it 😅

[@SF17777]

The message is more about being anti dictatorship, the fight between good and evil, a hero’s journey and a struggle for freedom. Being a capitalist himself I strongly doubt that was the primary message George Lucas intended.

[@dr.polaris6423]

Seeing those adds promoting rampant consumption with a Squid Game filter makes me feel sick!

[@pufffincrazy5275]

What’s next? Comrade commissar is going to try and sell me Domino’s?

[@mylesnaumoff6238]

I’ve been inundated with dominoes commercials where it’s basically ”taking a break” from the picture cookie game. Every time I see it, it makes me both frustrated and so tired 🙃 I don’t agree with everything you say but your anti-capitalist analysis is pretty spot on and I appreciate your perspective.☺️

[@ladygrey4113]

I genuinely wonder how the creator of squid game feels about all this junk

[@dowman5]

The most understated yet disgusting advertising for Squid Game season 2 came from WhatsApp of all things. The brief ad talked about using their messaging service, so you and your friends can trauma bond while watching it. First of all, trauma bonding should not be trivialized. Genuine instances of trauma bonding are disturbing coping mechanisms people end up doing to process shared horror together, like surviving a war zone or abuse. This is a sign of something going terribly wrong in these people's lives that they resort to such desperate behavior for comfort. A corporation using that as a tagline to watch any piece of entertainment sails way past missing the damn point into borderline sociopathy. No. Just...NO.

[@mse90]

I think the craziest marketing / media pairing for me was what they did with The Hunger Games franchise. Here's a series that not only criticizes inequality but the way poor people are exploited for entertainment by those living in privilege... And the marketing decided to lean into the idea that the people watching and buying the merch were in fact those same privileged people in this fictional 'Capitol'. Most people did not like that, but honestly, I personally find it almost genius because it actually posed the question: are we the baddies? 😂

[@ThomasstevenSlater]

I'm mainly disappointed about the lack of squids

[@From305toSH]

I gotta give props to the creator making his artistic vision still work regardless of Netflix probably screwing him over in several fronts but also kidna disappointed the general public is *really* not getting it and outright shunning it for all the wrong reasons. I didn't even wanted to watch it until a bout of boredom and cold weather made me give in expectating a much worse season and coming out a fan still. Sure, it ain't perfect but it was still extremely enjoyable. I didn't expect a non-Korean audience to get some of the more subtle nuances about Korean society (same with S1) but I was flabbergasted how many people still don't get the general message(s) the show puts out and are mostly invested in the games and spectacle of violence.

[@CordeliaAurora]

If you want something that really has a message, watch/read Kaiji. It's the anime/manga work that inspired Hwang and it's way more "real" It doesn't pander, it's gritty, it's ugly and it's horrible in a way that doesn't give you satisfaction unlike SG. It really shows what it's like to both lose and barely survive in a way that's profound, while showing how complex and well thought out the trap we're all in actually is. But even that is becoming more marketable as people get used to seeing horrors on social media and irl. Nothing really helping short of organizing/joining resistance and even that's debatable.

[@Coroplocs-Chameleon]

New season of Octopus Activities looks Wild!!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@jshowao]

Squid Game exposed capitalism and Netflix couldnt have that so they turned Squid Game into a mockery. They should have never made a season 2 or 3

[@DJM.I.A.]

This is another reason why I couldn't get into the new dragon ball series. In fact after goku beat freiza he was supposed to die on namek and that was supposed to be the end of it but since it was such a huge success in the west, Akira Toryima was pressured by funimation and cartoon network to keep going since it generated so much money. Now we have a watered down franchise that lost its soul and doesn't grab my attention anymore.

[@SSJKamui]

On topic of commodification: I think there, star trek is actually worse. And more hypocritical. They on the one hand tell you we could live so much better without capitalism and then hyper commodify stuff and use copyright against fan creations

[@picahudsoniaunflocked5426]

It’s been a long time since I read the theory, but there’s a specific term for corpos gobbling up + defanging any potent piece of culture that could lead to progressive change or revolutionary thought…reminds me of Disco Elysium.

[@andersonisowo9603]

The term you are looking for is recuperation.

[@ShroudedWolf51]

You should look into James Stephanie Sterling's Jimquisition episode on MultiVersus and other crossovers. Steph did a phenomenal job discussing how the whole goal of corporations pulling stunts like what you discuss here with Squid Game is to strip away all context, as monetizing the superficial image is infinitely more profitable. Who cares if the point of The Iron Giant was that he abhored violence? Go watch this thing you likee when you were twelve punch another big thing! Who cares if Arya Stark went through unimaginable suffering, killed a family of torturers, baked their bodies into pies, and fed those to the last surviving member or that family. Remember this girl boss and aren't piew tasty? Who cares about the obvious criticisms of late and end stage capitalism, funny looking doll and Playstation symbol masks! You get the idea. The system isn't broken; it was explicitly made to break us.

[@rohanxdavis]

I was literally talking to my wife about this this morning lol great timing

[@Usagi393]

If I have to see that Domino’s ad one more time I’m gonna end up on the news

[@gengarvenom1180]

By this argument, the show was completely stripped of its message the moment it was given to Netflix. I dont vibe with your conclusion. These collabs clearly miss the point, sure, but so what?

[@Vonvominatrix]

how do you miss the plot of the show you helped make so badly

[@thesebridgesareburnt]

on purpose. theyre just not gonna let a critique of capitalism exist they have to co-opt it until it means nothing.

[@Vonvominatrix]

@ money money money money

[@Hunterchuck]

I hope there is not a happy ending for the show so it fits reality

[@literallyanythingelseother]

I watched Squid Game like a couple weeks before it blew up. It was really good, my partner and i watched it in like 2 days. I feel like the fact that it blew up the way it did really distorted the point of it all. I will not watch season 2, mainly because I can no longer use my parents netflix. But also because this shit is cooked. It was a cool show with a good message. No one seems to listen though

[@Drstrange3000]

I hope you do watch seasons 2 and 3 after all the hype has blown over. Season 2 is a bit different but I enjoyed the messages within it. It is sad seeing so many people missing the. Completely.

[@worldofwilson464]

Squid Game has become a real-life version of the guy ranting from the episode of Black Mirror Fifteen Million Merits.

[@astra3310]

They saw a show about big money openly and brazenly preying on the poor held captive by the system they live in for profit and thought “we need this in real life!” “I don’t want to live on this planet anymore” - Professor Farnsworth

[@Dave102693]

Talk about Beast Games next

[@AllahIsTheOneAndOnlyUnity]

This 👆

[@jeremybeau8334]

I also dont like mormons.

[@Dave102693]

@@jeremybeau8334?

[@Lilith2718]

I watched the first season, which I consider to be good and I refuse to watch the second season out of principle.

[@tutu3909]

Squid game is a real life event that happened in the 80s

[@Georgeorwell9260]

Name of event

[@ElicuuKit]

​@@Georgeorwell9260 Brothers home. Really disturbing history. (Tho the series is not in reality based on that)

[@Oliver_Klozoff69]

@@ElicuuKitwhat happened for brothers home?

[@ElicuuKit]

@ It's a name for a internment camp in South Korea during 70s and 80s. During that time there were efforts to "cleanse" the country from "filth" (poor people) and one of the solution was to build this camp for the unemployed and poor. Needles to say there happened some really really awful things and horrible human rights abuses. The history on this is so much more complicated and so incredibly dystopian...I recommend you to search more unformation of this on your own if you are interested. Like it's actually baffling.

[@Treebeard1992]

Please get one more chocolate orange to even out the stack. You've earned the subscribers to get many chocolate oranges, but that gap on the end is messing with me. Also, can I please have one? Thank you.

[@orange_turtle3412]

This is the exact opposite of everything the show stands for

[@chillleft]

It's like the message of the show went over their heads and they just saw people getting killed dramatically playing games...

[@EyreAffair]

Channel Awesome (Nostalgia Critic, Doug Walker) did a great commentary and review some years ago that covered how the same thing happened to 'The Lorax' in 2012.

[@blondbraid7986]

I am the Lorax and I speak for the -trees- Car corporations

[@sunnevacarat]

This reminds of The Boys. Loads of people loved it until the most recent season when the show made it even more obvious they were making fun of those types of people. (Far right, trump cultists and so on)

[@connorgrynol9021]

Capitalism taking critiques of it and monetizing it? *looks over to hasbro’s Monopoly,* nah, that would never happen.

[@VinnieSajan]

Unfortunately I have to put up a point with this. When these anti-capitalist ideas get made into show. It has already been making money and benefiting netflix shareholders, the 1% and who knows who else. It is already a capitalist product. You can't escape this. Getting upset with all the marketing stuff and other paraphernalia coming out adjacent to the show to me is just the same as mothers and conservatives back in the 90's pearl clutching that games are going to rot kids brains and/or make them violent. Don't get me wrong, I still get the bleak and discomforting feeling seeing all of it. But at the same time I'm just like whatever, that's just the world.

[@smallbrownbird]

there was one of them weird ‘installations’ in my city but it was just a bunch of blokes in their pink outfits standing there with some big balloons haha

[@annEngr]

I had no idea about these marketing schemes for the show or the merchandising, etc. I enjoy the show for the symbolism and message. It is definitely very very relatable to the capitalist hellscape we're living in.

[@thetiniestleaf]

Friend and I watched Squid Game 2 completely blind - neither of us were exposed to the marketing either (we are both largely off social media and tv lol). And both of us liked the first season as a story about capitalism and class in-fighting and the characters as characters. (We had some minor issues with the final episode but it wasn’t too bad) This second season though did feel more hollow. We were able to glean the message about this being about a revolution against the ruling class, but also we felt like the message was muddied. The rules were changed from the first game, the reasons for which we don’t quite know at this point in time. But there currently this sort of discussion about the players of this game sort of being victims of their own making (one of them is a KZbinr and another is a cryptobro) who are given the chance to actually better themselves through collaboration, but instead choose to gamble a known certainty for the risk of an even BETTER possibility to move on up in a world. A message which I believe can be executed well (and may ultimately end with the idea of people learning to shed off the pursuit of exorbitant wealth in favor of focusing on the greater good of the working class). But if that’s the angle they’re going for, they’re not doing a good job of showcasing the reasons why these people would want to risk their lives or why we should sympathize with them, or even how much debt most of them are in. Overall the second season is… fine. But it didn’t have the same emotional impact as the first season.

[@gneu1527]

I swear why is everyone using the word dystopian now

[@ITZCHELSEA2244]

Why do people hate on Capitalism do they not want freedom

[@raven_g6667]

I went down to visit my immediate fam for the holidays and I'm not one of those ppl who feels like they need to do stuff with my fam when I haven't seen em in a long time. We just sat around, shot the shit, I got to see my nieces and then it was back home. My mom was scrolling Netflix and asked if I wanted to watch Squid Games cuz she remembered how much I liked the first season. I wasn't planning on ever watching it, cuz regardless of the dystopian ads and marketing around this new season, it's message has already been said. There's no reason to make another season unless you're tryna squeeze all the blood out of a stone. Anyways, I say sure, I'll watch one episode and see how it goes. Not 2 minutes in, the dumbest commercial for pizza plays where they're playing Red light, Green light and as it's red light, a delivery person shows up and hands them a pizza. I immediately turned it off. PS: I have not watched anything from Netflix for years now. I had no idea that now, even if you pay for Netflix, they still have ads. That genuinely blew my mind.

[@rocarolan2003]

Its basically same thing that happened to Monopoly the board game. It was designed to show how dump and unequal landlordships is but was bought by capitalist and then used to celebrate capitalism as good thing.

[@solarmoth4628]

I accidentally bought squid game tteok(rice cakes). I actually have not watched the show so I missed the less explicit marketing. I try to avoid buying squid game banded objects. Here in Taiwan it’s been so pervasive. Seeing Netflix collaborate with huge corporations like pepsico really spits in the face of the original creators message.

[@Selfinflictedhummusrocket]

Subscribed immediately when you recognized Mr. Robot as the best show of all time

[@ComradeSam_617]

Welcome back

[@nameisamine]

it was obvious that a Squid Game second season would be a complete money grab (even if it was good).

[@stachu5049]

We're proud to announce we finally recreated the Torment Nexus from the hit sci-fi novel "Don't Create the Torment Nexus"

[@themoonlit-wolf3773]

The poor creator really did not want to make a season two. As a writer, I fear my hand will be forced like this one day

[@ryantraynor9830]

Can't wait to see your book on Netan-flix.

[@majorlazor5058]

I like how they got some rando Korean looking guy in the contestant track suit instead of someone from the show…😂😂

[@soulking2007]

Disco Elysium is in an even more apt situation about being against capitalism only to be commodified. In fact it predicted it would be in this quote from the game: “Capital has the ability to subsume all critiques into itself. Even those who would *critique* capital end up *reinforcing* it instead.”

[@deddrz2549]

The wort part is that as soon as you showed the squid game CoD collab it made me want to start playing CoD, I'm part of the problem lol 😅. That Uber one is devious though

[@InternetFanatic]

Hwang deserved to have an opportunity to refuse this over advertising. Best thing we could do about this is just watch the show and nothing else. This right here is the cost of becoming mainstream. This ain’t the first time something like this has happened.

[@nonyeVezi]

It's a conscious decision to dilute the meaning because if people actually take away the actual message, it would lead to increased scrutiny of the people pitting the workforce like gladiators.

[@gibletti]

the black ops even is genuinely diabolical like the game is already in dire straights with all the technical issues and controversies around ai generated content & mistreating their employees, and now they decide to nickel & dime the playerbase with the most tone-deaf event possible

[@pennymcchicken5555]

Being Anti-Capitalist and Anarchist is Just capitalism

[@samhall7385]

I think season one was another dystopian sci-fi story but the capitalist seen it and thought that's the way I want the real world to be

[@baby.nay.]

Tim Pool said it’s about communism 😂

[@UdumbaraMusic]

Doesn't even surprise me. Every day is opposite day for him.

[@chetmanley1885]

I think his brain is overheating under that hat

[@ZenAndPsychedelicHealingCenter]

Pim Tool is a moron though with zero credibility.

[@gamingidiots7495]

How are we supposed to enjoy these kinds of properties then? Because i love wearing the merch getting the limited edtion thing that come from it, hell im probably gonna get the call of duty skins because me and my girlfreind love that scene of red light green light, how am i supposed to watch and enjoy this type of show ethically? Just watch and move on from it? Thats kind of lack luster:( im genuinely curious

[@ReptarKingOfMeat]

For basic merch, buy second-hand after the hype dies down (but don't support scalpers), make your own stuff, or buy from small creators. The limited stuff is tough, but at the end of the day, it's your choice whether or not to buy it. You can try to neutralize those choices by donating to appropriate charities or calling out the companies doing sketchy practices online, and hopefully, enough people will do the same to encourage change in the future.

[@gamingidiots7495]

@ReptarKingOfMeat thank you for the well thought out response and giving me actual things and ideas.

[@kriscantswim66]

Me and my friend were watching it and we kept laughing at how uncomfortable we were with every ad being the dominos squid game ad💀💀

[@SiThuNyein-k4k]

We all knew this would happen when Mr. Beast make his own Squid Game knock off on KZbin. We knew that the message is lost on the public. Hate to admit it he kinda of set the cultural zeitgeist of current era. We are so f***k.

[@ferra51]

You might want to check out the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on Herbert Marcuse-that is, assuming you haven’t read much Marcuse. For most of his life, Marcuse contemplated the way aesthetics-or art more generally-functioned both as a medium for imagining liberation, and thus as a catalyst for social change, as well as something appropriated by the repressive culture within which it’s produced either to further or to maintain the system of domination. If you’re not familiar with Marcuse, the SEP entry will point you to some specific sources within his canon.

[@samuelmercelina9407]

Life is nasty and brutish is what thomas Hobbes described the state of Nature is his Levianthan .