Squid Game blew my effing mind. (Review + Analysis)

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00:00 Intro
09:30 Plot
36:30 Context
42:00 Mr. Hwang's Words
45:00 My Thoughts
53:00 Analysis
1:04:00 Problems

[@ForHarriet619]

If you don't want a recap, skip to Context section and join the Patreon! Patreon.com/ForHarriet

[@alexscriabin]

0:13 I hate most stuff too haha, but it's just Sturgeon's law.

[@Valley__]

Hi your an intelligent woman and wanted to share with you an insert from Madam Belvenski occultism book that speaks on the controller of the universe that uses symbols to represent them. The square, triangle and circle they are called the Lipika .

[@nicoleesquenet4524]

Is geed morally defencible? Great question for an episode or interview! Love from Uruguay

[@basil33]

I would love to see your opinion of the new HBO show Gilded Age!

[@girlnettles]

"Even if you win, you lose." -the message of the ending to me. No one "wins' in the game of capitalism.

[@CornOnAKhob]

"It doesn't matter if you win, the prize isn't worth the trauma" That's what I got

[@LethalLemonLime]

unfortunately that's not true and if that's the message it helps capitalism more than it hurts it

[@sarahrochellexo]

🤡🤡🤡

[@emmabunch-benson4795]

@@CornOnAKhob exactly

[@_Alimm]

Squid Game's success is an example of divine timing. Ten years ago, I don't think audiences were ready yet for the hard commentary on capitalism and poverty the way we are now. Neither were we as interested in foreign films or South Korean pop culture. It all aligned for Hwang Dong-hyuk. When they say when it's your time it'll be your time, it's no joke.

[@quizzlybear]

Sooo true, however, I personally don’t want to wait til 50 for “my time”. That sucks ass!

[@Myaccount923]

@Erwin Lii I agree. Squid games is not that good people just love jumping on trends. There are many better done shows and movies with the same theme

[@queenirabor1]

Slum dog millionaire was the closest thing

[@fredrika27]

@Erwin Lii This is so true. This is also why people have such much trouble watching Star Trek: Discovery. They can not invision woman of color being a leader and hero. Women are to serve the men in most societies not the other way around. It has only been within my lifetime that women have come center stage to play a central part in a movie. The Chinese do this better than the Koreans and Japanese. That said, the Chinese also prefer boys over girls--hence why their country will be in trouble in a few years with 15% more men then women!

[@fredrika27]

@@thewireboy100 I watched it religiously! Loved, loved, loved the relationship between father and son!

[@ianpolitano07]

Hello Kim, as a fluent speaker of Korean who is a non-Korean and learned Korean as a third language, lived in Korea for 5 years, and am currently married to my husband who is Korean, I would like to say that Ali's controversy is probably due more to lack of understanding in Korean culture and the Korean language coupled with bad subs and dubs. A classic case of lost in translation. First, Korean culture being hierarchal not only in society, but in the structure of the language itself, it is customary for people to refer to others by status rather than by name, unless they are close--even then, the person with the higher status is allowed to refer to the person of lower status by name, and the person of lower status is usually still forced to not only call the other person by their status but use polite language (Polite language meaning parts of speech that right away let us know who is of higher status by either position or age). Ali, being a non-Korean who was forced to work in a factory without getting paid, has been taught by his boss to call him not "sir" as the sub/dub might have been translated to, but he literally calls him the title you would use to a boss of a company. The show's commentary on this is that Ali has never had relationships with other Koreans outside his work environment. His boss and his small interaction with Koreans have led him to believe that the only way to refer to another man who looks older than him is by calling him "Boss," and using the most formal of Korean language when speaking to them. When he meets Sangwoo and Gihoon, on countless occasions they tell him to stop calling them "Boss." They finally show him acceptance as a teammate and friend and instead tell him to use the word Hyung, which means older brother, instead. This is showing that they are accepting him as not only a human, but into the special relationship between two Korean friends the older brother and younger brother dynamic. (In general even between friends who are a year apart in age, they younger will refer to the older friend as either older brother or older sister). This is why Ali trusts Sangwoo so much. In normal Korean society, the older person takes care of the younger person. That's why Sangwoo's betrayal was more nefarious. When Ali calls out "older brother" before he gets killed, it hits different. Sangwoo not only tricked him, but he broke the cultural norm of the older brother taking care of a younger brother. We also see Sangwoo's break from cultural norms in the last episode when he lashes out at Gihoon for still remaining optimistic. Gihoon is older than Sangwoo and up until that point, Sangwoo called him older brother. He then curses at him and calls him other names demonstrating that he is abandoning everything: his culture, his friendship, his patience, and his humanity all for money. Gihoon though, as the older brother still wants to protect and save his friend not just because they were old friends, but because that is the expectation of what the older brother should do. These subtle nuances are often lost in translation...It reminds me of one of my favorite scenes in Parasite that was lost in translation: the scene where the previous house maid goes downstairs to meet her husband and she's talking to the mom in polite Korean language. She also calls her older sister, and uses honorifics to lower her status and beg the mom to help them. Once the rest of the family falls down the stairs and she realizes they're all "parasites" like her and now she has a video that she can use to blackmail them, she switches not only her tone but the language she's using to talk down to the mom. Consequently, the mom who was once using her perceived status to talk down to the previous maid switches to honorifics to lower her status and respect them. She even tries to call her older sister, but the previous maid rejects her. In the translation, this kind of power shift through language is lost in translation, and that's exactly what happened in the subs and dubs of Squid Game. Final thoughts on Ali though is that him not knowing even and odd to me came across more of he didn't know the meaning of those words in Korean. He had never heard them before, so when he looks at them and says he doesn't understand, it's not showing that he's uneducated, but that he is not fully fluent in Korean and therefore relies on Sangwoo to guide him and take care of him. It's hard for Westerners to understand how Korean society is structured and how in general people are not individualistic as we are. They rely on community to take care of one another, yet when that community fails to take care of them, they must rely on themselves.

[@ColorMeIn]

This just gave me so much more perspective, thank you for your explanation!

[@seeyoucu]

This was a great analysis. I wish there were something like this on KZbin. Would watch a full video tbh.

[@thesellingsocialworker4773]

Wow many thanks to you for this added context!

[@julianatudda4090]

Thank you for this wonderful explanation!

[@midorisour2844]

This is awesome, thank you!

[@reneewhite-francis6287]

When Kimberly said “I hate a lot of stuff”, I felt that in my soul 😆 especially when it comes to scripted television.

[@robertstanley9633]

Yes! I'm not one to keep up with TV shows or Netflix but Squid Game had me up past my bedtime lol

[@NotSoNormalNerd]

When it came to Ali’s character, I just figured much of his misunderstandings came from a language and culture barrier. Most people who learn a different language learns to address people and speak in the most proper way. And when it came to the odds and evens, I thought that he probably knew but due to such barriers he didn’t understand

[@jadaeh2401]

exactly i think because of the language barrier he didn’t get the rules but then he realized what the game was as they were playing

[@luci8497]

Agreed, some words are not used in everyday language so a person interacting in a foreign language may not know words that are basic to native speakers.

[@SoMeLiKEiThOtTeRr]

Yes! I totally agree! My parents didn’t teach or speak to me in English until I went to Kindergarten because they wanted to make sure I was fluent in their native language and even today, I speak to my siblings in sentences half in English and half in Albanian because some words / phrases do not translate and don’t project the same meaning so we will start a sentence off in one language and finish in the other.

[@sakurakou2009]

His death was most painful cuz he had babie , and people commented that his wife and child would never know what happen to him and they will think he abounded them 😭

[@lonnieevans9200]

Let's not forget to shout out the art director for this show too she DID THE DAMN THING. And her name is Chae kyoung-sun

[@moustik31]

I saw her on a Still Watching video and she is amazing. A LOT of the show's success is to lay at her feet.

[@ajm935]

I saw the marble game as a gift the old man gave to anyone who was kind enough to choose him as a partner. He intentionally lost (remember, he won and chose to play again and even reveals he was completely aware Giyoon was trying to trick him to win the 2nd time) so I assume he ALWAYS intended to lose at that game (especially since the next game- glass squares- would be too dangerous for him to play) so whoever took a "hit" to partner with a feeble old man in a game that might potentially require a strong competent partner, was someone kind enough to be worthy of the "free" pass.

[@dahliaherrod4301]

That's a fantastic point and one I didn't consider. Thank you!

[@darkwriter_xx94]

As someone that has lived abroad and had to speak a language that wasn’t my native language, I was often told I spoke too formal (which I did because I didn’t want to accidentally offend anyone). I saw Ali as someone that just wasn’t super familiar with the Korean culture and defaulted to politeness and formality to avoid unintentionally making a social faux pas.

[@thesellingsocialworker4773]

It seems to me that, because he was not Korean, Ali basically be doomed to lose even if he made it to the final round. Just like you mentioned still not fully understanding the rules to the final Squid game (I’ve watched them explain it twice and still couldn’t grasp it, really)… Ali isn’t from there so he would have been equally as confused even if he made it that far. Him being a foreigner and not having the access to the information was destined to be his downfall. Definitely speaks to the privilege that of at least being a natural born and documented citizen of a country, which may transcend wealth itself.

[@ajm935]

Oooo good point! I hadn't considered that!

[@stephysteph8558]

Yup. It's a big theme of the show that the "fairness" of the game is an illusion that is undermined more and more as the story continues.

[@constantine7122]

This might be weird but it is so heartwarming for me to see african american acknowledge the privilege of birthright citizenship. We as a society recognize so many privioleges: white privilege, male privilege, etc. but leave out "citizenship privilege" even black americans have this privilege and. people don't take account for this a lot

[@ZombalayaQ]

I can't believe you didn't talk about what made Episode 6 sooooo insidious!! The set up from episode 5! They encouraged everyone to pick teams and trust each other only for it to be flipped on them.

[@moustik31]

That's where you know, they have perfected the games to an inch. Participants never stood a chance compared to how prepared the organisers were for them.

[@karishajohnson6537]

Yes the marble game episode had my whole face wet. Everyone shined. Impeccable show.

[@saint_silver]

Bruh the way Sang Woo used racism, paternalism, xenophobia and classicist dynamics to screw Ali... It can't be forgiven. Acted truly like a overseer of capitalism. A real mask off moment

[@mimi126112]

@Silver.. yes, shows that this doesn't just happen in the U.S. POC is 💩ed on everywhere, especially when they know your an illegal too. That's why his boss cheated him. Loved Ali, but being naive and having a big heart can be dangerous.

[@kannot1]

I literally loved Sangwoo because he was such a great villain, I wash shocked when he betrayed Ali and it made me see him 100% different with that 180! He was ruthless and that's why he made it as far as he did👀💕

[@apophis7712]

@@kannot1 The signs were there from the beginning, especially since he didn't tell his "allies" about the Honeycomb game in Ep3.

[@ayannabranchcomb7535]

@@apophis7712 yup that was my first inkling of woo sheisty 😂😂 he moved funny from jump

[@lboogi]

Korean, much like Japanese and other languages, have a polite/formal form and a familiar form. Generally, the polite form is spoken to “higher ups”(strangers, elders, bosses). Familiar language is reserved for close friends and family. Using familiar language to “higher ups” is considered rude. For example “Hello Sir” = formal; “Hey” = familiar. Ali is polite, not simple or sniveling.

[@IssaRaeOf10S]

The Tyler Perry wig reference had me rolling! ⚰️⚰️⚰️

[@rainbow_sparkledelights5984]

I saw it coming and I laughed so hard when she said it. 😂

[@SpadeFungi]

Two points that stuck out to me as you talked about this. 1. Western depiction here reminds me of the caricatured depiction of westerners in the play ' A season in the Congo' by Aimé Cesaire. An absolute masterpiece. 2. The storyline with the police officer and his brother is very reminiscent of our current situation. How often do we have the very same people who have been victims of capitalism but through luck make it and then turn around to inflict the same conditions they've suffered on others. All the while they are very much being controlled by a greater power and in some ways are therefore trapped...

[@SpadeFungi]

A bonus point Ali's character bares some resemblence to Balram from the white tiger

[@MiddleChild1111]

My main and possibly only critisism, which seems entirely overlooked almost anytime criticism for the show is brought up, is that the westerners were explicitly queer caricatures, and that that was the only unambiguous queer representation in this show. Why this is never brought up totally blows my mind, and conversations trying to acknowledge this borderline homophobia is dismissed and it's excused as "oh Koreans are just a bit more conservative in that regards."

[@TheLily97232]

I find that "rich people are watching the poor for fun" gimmicky at best and uninteresting to be honest...

[@kasepollard7923]

I don't believe we can call Squid Games "dystopian". Part of what made it horrific, was it's firm placement in contemporary now. Even if you strip it's cultural markers, it's classic 'haves and/to have not's' trope. And Lacon and Freud are NOT contemporaries. Lacon very much studied and greatly credited and critiqued Freud. I don't believe Freud knew of Lacon and his theories.

[@AllTheArtsy]

Definitely not contemporaries. Freud diverged into psychoanalysis from neurology sometimes after 1885, while Lacan's major contributions started in about the mid-1930s. So Lacan was definitely writing and thinking in the shadow of Freud at that point, which is why he could dismantle and propose divergent ideas. Although Lacan did send his thesis to Freud and received a postcard in return as acknowledgement.

[@shortbreadgirlscout3463]

But don't we already live in a dystopia? The future is now.

[@ForHarriet619]

Thank you for this correction!

[@ALu-nq8rf]

I think that's to show that we're already here. Like, that should terrify more people.

[@jeonghoko5545]

I'm glad that you talked about the strike. 33 of the workers and their families have committed suicide because of the trauma and their economic conditions. But here in South Korea the only thing that the media is doing right now is celebrating the show's success, without mentioning the strike, bringing up racism and xenophobia in South Korean society, or going into depth about the show's criticism on capitalism.

[@ambriaashley3383]

Wow, oh my gosh. I didn't know those details. It reminds me there's a lot of worker strikes going on globally rn that are getting such minimal coverage and it's sick. Thanks to you (and Kim) for the reminder of the humanity of these workers.

[@TheLily97232]

they see the hallyu wave bringing money to the chaebols and fueling capitalism. just like when bts and kpop blew up

[@BryanBMusic]

If y’all haven’t seen Parasite yet I also recommend that. South Korea has been making a lot of great content promoting class issues. I’m so proud as a Korean adoptee. And I’m warmed that the whole world is supporting it. Globalization is problematic for workers rights/trade, but cultural globalization is a net good. Thanks for supporting!

[@miguelantile7775]

One of the notions that stuck out to me in the show was the notion of equality/inequality. A lot of the people who choose to participate in the game do so because they live miserable lives that are in large part linked to social inequality. The game itself is supposedly more equal than the real world because of the absence of discrimination and the fact that everyone has an "equal" opportunity. But it turns out that social pressures are replaced by the survival of the fittest, which also generates inequality as not everyone has equal physical strength or intelligence. In the end, only the main character and the old man survive while all the other contestants end up in the crematorium. They are only truly equal when they face the "great equalizer" (i.e. death) and that is a very scary thought.

[@shanzoni1200]

Only thing with Ali though is, I thought alot of his lack of understanding stemmed from the language barrier. Like with the odd and even correct me if I'm wrong I think he just didn't know the korean words for it so he was unsure of the games.

[@Decadancehallking]

I knew the MINUTE Ali started winning the marbles that ole boy was going to cheat his way into winning 😩. Ali consistently showed he was a great player, but his weakness was putting others before himself and letting people screw him over. I knew early on that his "bestie" would be the death of him, smdh

[@BryanBMusic]

PS South Korea does have a national health care system but most people need to get private supplemental insurance because it only covers 60 percent of total costs. It’s like Medicare for seniors. South Korea and US models show that hybrid models don’t work for everyday people. We need single payer Medicare for All.

[@michmiranda9405]

Thank you for the information. A Korean person told me that the VIPs are also meant to represent the white American influence on koreas economy and national law bc apparently American stockholders Get to say whether or not a law gets passed and I just can’t believe how good the show is at educating

[@BryanBMusic]

@@michmiranda9405 yeah the US has a lot of influence over South Korea post Korean War. It’s a complicated issue and there’s no single consensus but a lot of Koreans want reunification. If I lived in Korea I would probably be one of them.

[@taysivyo1863]

okay the polic jun ho plotline was important, it could have been handled bette,r but made the story richer. like the selling of body parts, his investigation, theres so much we can explore with his plotline.

[@kingneptune1971]

Can’t believe you skipped the cop when naming the hotties!

[@CornOnAKhob]

Exactly!!

[@moustik31]

Right?! A real action hero 😍

[@MsNG82]

Yes!!!!

[@nydeagraves1081]

I watched it in the dub, but I thought when they were implying that Alli didn’t know what Odd and even was I assume that he just didn’t know the Korean words for odd and even.

[@jeonghoko5545]

I watched it in Korean and I definitely thought so too

[@rosemay4526]

Same here

[@stephysteph8558]

On gender politics in the show...I think it has both positive and negative traits. The cast skews more heavily male (the pink squids, organizers, and VIPs all seem to be male). I don't think Sae-Byeuk's character arc was very satisfying as she did kind of get subsumed into Gi-hun's ending. One thing it's easy to overlook is that although characters often repeat that they want as many buff dudes as possible on their team, only one of the games relied on brute strength, and even in that one strength wasn't the trump card it seemed to be. No one has a lightbulb moment, but it's there in the writing. One thing I definitely appreciated was the lack of objectification of female characters. They wear the same baggy uniforms as the male characters, and the only M/F sex scene on screen is consensual.

[@laureng6222]

The undercover police officer is fine!! What?!!!

[@Indigolily80]

I agree.!

[@vnesje1981]

Squid game represents the refugee crisis to me! The game of staying or fleeing, surviving or die trying!!

[@geniferprice8596]

I didn't feel the misogyny either. I almost felt the opposite. Not empowering to women or anything like that but equal in how women can be as dirty as men, as desperate, not just a damsel in distress, etc. I felt it was equal opportunity in that sense! There's this test (I can't remember what it's called) but you score a movie by the depth of the female characters. It's scored on things like whether female characters engage with each other in a way that doesn't revolve around men. Squid Game passes! Fargo does a brilliant job of this as well and I can't express the unexpected feels that gave me.

[@360shadowmoon]

I also didn't perceive misogyny or sexism. The only thing lacking with the female characters is they weren't as prominently featured as male characters on the show (in that they weren't given as many lines), which would have been nice. But the characters they had were fine.

[@ExoticDreams]

Bechdel test!

[@marad786]

Capitalism spins a fanciful tale, daring us to believe that anybody who works hard enough is in for a totally fair chance at financial abundance. We're sold this idea of success, we're sold fantasies of meritocracy and upward class mobility. All one must do is simply : work hard and obey the rules. Wealth is within each and every one of our grasps. In Squid Game, we're fed the same concept. Every player is equal, every contestant has the potential to win this enormous cash price. The entire event is founded on this very premise . They even eliminate the doctor for receiving preferential treatment, and thus, an unjust advantage. But... Could a person with Tourettes make it through the first game? What about a person on the autism spectrum? What about a person with Parkinson's? The last game essentially boiled down to a bare knuckle fist fight. Was a woman ever going to win? Was an senior citizen ever going to win? It's made increasingly clear with each challenge these players face, that the winner was predestined to be an able-bodied, relatively young, tall, fit, cis man. As somebody with asthma, I couldn't help but realize I could have very easily lost my life in Red Light, Green Light. It just feels symbolic to me somehow. Similar to how our society disregards the sick, the disabled and the elderly. Interesting that Il-Nam breaks his very own rules, inserting himself into a game he could never lose. Similar to how the extremely affluent, those born into power and luxury, get to play Capitalism: The Game, on easy mode - able to pay crimes into non-existence and inherit jobs they're unqualified for. So much to think about. Loved watching this series and all the discussions arising from it 💙

[@tigress27559]

Well said!

[@midorisour2844]

Good point about Il-Nam. He was allowed to fail and still survive, whereas the other contestants were not allowed the same luxury. The wealthy exist and "play" under the same structure but are allowed to fail without receiving the same punishments as poor people. Capitalism at its finest.

[@constancapages]

That's EXACTLY my thoughts, I cannot agree more. Every time they said all players had the same opportunities I had to roll my eyes, just like I do when I hear rich and/or privileged people saying that in real life

[@mariemariemariemarie4032]

there is a podcast called millennials are killing capitalism which has an episode with ju-hyun park picks apart parasite. please listen you guys because it FITS here.

[@Robstafarian]

Will KZbin let you post a link?

[@MissDee757]

During the initial phase none of the pink clad employees had guns. It wasn't until the first game ended that they came in with guns. They pretended that it was just a fair, calm game for money.

[@eurekamreum5458]

I wasn't going to watch the series because I don't like feeling like I'm "jumping on the bandwagon" lol but then I saw you had uploaded your analysis, so I went "huh, I really wanna watch Kim's new video, but I want to actually engage with its content" so I binged all the chapters in the past couple of days lmao so thank you so much for that, Kim! It was a really good series and yours is a really good analysis as always. Much love from Mexico 💕

[@theorderofthebees7308]

One correction - some of the sets were indeed made and were not green screened - The third episode :”The Honey Comb episode that entire space was absolutely built by scale and the first game “Red Light Green Light actually had 456 extras if you can imagine that!

[@laurettelaliberte8864]

Behind it all, this show was very insightful social commentary and an indictment of capitalism. One of the best breakdowns I've seen was via another YT commenter: Shinius "It violates the whole 'everyone has a fair chance' motto". That's the point. The show is a critique of capitalism. And the idea of meritocracy. The people at the top NEED you to think that you can be rich someday otherwise you won't 'play the capitalist game'. If they told you "You will stay at your dead end job, barely making enough to live until you die" People might stop trying or just kill themselves. The Frontman saying everyone is equal, but in actuality that not being the case is on purpose. Same shit with the glass breaking. If the system was a true meritocracy, Sae-byeok would've won, she was the most capable character in the entire show. But LUCK killed her off, much the same way that in capitalism, it's said to be a meritocracy, but some people are born rich, some people are born with a disability. Luck determines so much of your life and just like how it felt unfair for Sae-byeok dying, it's unfair that people born in first world nations will do better than people born in war-torn third world nations.

[@anngelllll]

WHEEWWWWWWW!!!!

[@sambapitaa]

I’ve been watching Korean gory content for the passed 5 years. Fell in love with the storytelling and their unique ability to surprise viewers with their never-ending plot twists. The content in “Squid Game” is very on-brand for them. But can be a whole out of space experience for those who are not used to. Nevertheless, the capitalism reading here is brilliant! Everyone should give this show a try. Loved you analysis ❤️

[@kentara_excelsior]

Kim is a true millennial. Using that good ole’ Powerpoint application to take us to school.

[@JoeFellaga]

I think it is also very interesting to see that us as watchers/spectators are also behaving like VIP's. We are watching these people dying on our screen for entertainment. It pushes us to question ourselves when we watch these type of contents ...

[@hey_itsmele]

Girl I always get teased for not watching/liking scary movies. I don't like the feeling of being scared and very much will have nightmares for a couple nights. That is exhausting! And ain't nobody got time for that. Nice to know I'm not alone.

[@Myaccount923]

Lmao. I can understand that. For me I’m an adrenaline junkie😂 and I only like watching interesting things. Other genres like comedy or action are usually predictable and boring so I fell in love with horror and psychological thrillers.

[@hey_itsmele]

@@Myaccount923 I ain't gonna lie and say I don't be curious but I know how that's gonna turn out lol. I like Dramas like 911, A Million Little Things, Cruel Sunmer, Little Fires Everywhere shows that will give me enough suspense but without the horror.

[@Indigolily80]

I'm so glad that you mentioned "The Most Dangerous Game." My best friend and I watched this together. I asked her if she remembered reading that story in High School.

[@dani01949]

I find funny to see English native people complaining about the VIP's English skills because we, Spanish speakers, have endured broken Spanish in American shows for so, soooo long. The Spanish in Breaking Bad is beyond hilarious xD

[@isaacroot5459]

Lol I never thought about this.

[@LethalLemonLime]

The English wasn't broken though that wasn't the problem. The problem is it was corny, weird, and unrealistic. If it was broken, I wouldn't care. Broken is better than whatever that mess was.

[@dani01949]

@@LethalLemonLime "la familia es todo" in Breaking Bad sound corny as heck xD

[@Asterite100]

@@LethalLemonLime I would argue that corny and weird are also aspects of broken English. You might have technically correct sentence structure and grammar but if it doesn't flow naturally it can still come off as broken, though "unpolished" might be a better word for it, because you can understand it structurally at least.

[@ALu-nq8rf]

English is my native language and i didn't have a problem with it. But that's probably because that's how I think the elite probably talk.

[@ChibiKawaii3]

Ali didn't know "odd and even" because korean wasn't his first language.

[@Thesilentvoice...]

What I didn't get is why didn't the frontman leave after winning? Why did he go into the games, what was his reason? Why/how did he get to help produce the game? Didn't he have survivor's guilt or PTSD like Gi Hun? What changed? Also has the old man done the games before undercover or is it his first game this time around? Imagine if he kept doing the games and saw a lot of people die? Then he sees the frontman and Gi hun as good successors of his game? If they are going to do a part 2 or second season, it should focus on the frontman's squid game, how he won, why he went into it and more information on the old man and how he created the game. Then it can go back to the present with Gi hun trying to take the game down.

[@nonah7675]

Within 7 years 70% of lotto winners are broke. Just because you win the game doesn't mean you're set for life if the player doesn't change the spending/lifestyle habits that landed them into massive debt in the first place. More money, more problems... he was literally lost in the game.

[@pugnaciousdeliciososa2191]

I think In Ho's ideology was already leaning towards a kind of nihilism before he joined. The clue is when his younger brother was investigating his old flophouse, there were a couple of books and I think their titles were something like "Achieve your self desire" or something along that line.

[@louise-yo7kz]

As someone who grew in a democratic socialist country, then living in America for the past 30 years, I have seen the difference in mindset, glaringly.

[@charlybrown5264]

Wow great take on squid game Kim! What I, as someone who is learning korean for a deacde and lived in South-korea, can say about this show and a lot of other korean films/shows is - that the critism of capitalism (and the police by the way) is something you find A LOT: For people who are interested in more - I can recommend > the housemade (2010 there is also an older version both great), time to hunt 2020, parasite 2019, save me (show) or misaeng -incomplete life (show). What is also interesting to me, is that when the show first came out - people who are familiar with the topic of death games in films like battle royale, as the gods will or netflix alice in borderland > were quick to say plagiarism, even though s.g. goes in a completley different direction. I could say so much more about it (Ali for example) but I need to sleep ...

[@Jess1013]

You are close with the pronunciation! 황 - Hwang (pretty much nailed it) 동 - Dong (The o is a very rounded “o” like in “ago”) 혁 - Hyeok (The yeo is like combining the letter y + the “u” in “bus”)

[@360shadowmoon]

I was also initially frustrated in the ending when Gi-hun didn't get on the plane, but I realize that it makes sense he returned to go after the game perpetrators. Because...are winners of the game really free after they leave? How did then Jun-ho's brother end up back as the frontman? What about the other "staff" or guards? Wouldn't Gi-hun be called upon eventually to work for the Games? Are they really just allowed to carry on with their lives? And I think Gi-hun was smart to not immediately dip into the money. We all know lottery winners end up blowing through their earnings, since more often than not, their lives stay the same after they win. It makes sense he wanted to pay off his debts. I have a feeling the Games winners end up being tied to the Games forever because they do eventually run out of the prize money. I also have another theory that the government is behind the games, in support of the billionaires who started it.

[@theorderofthebees7308]

The Ali character came across to me and reminded me of roles that Sidney Pointer played in early 60s films in which all of his character were near perfect character with no flaws - creating a person that was super human. Ali reminded me of that trope in film.

[@samuri2011]

I think Sangwoo being evil was perfect because he stepped on everybody in and outside the games. In his professional life (career requires him to take advantage of capitalism) and his personal life (how he acted in the game).

[@unpredictableaxolotl3762]

Seen a lot of recommendations for this channel. I get it now.

[@kingneptune1971]

My first foreign film I watched all on my own was when I was a kid. It was called “House of flying daggers” a real good and beautiful movie. When I first watched it, I watched it without subtitles and was still able to to tell what was going on until I finally figured out how to turn the subtitles on.

[@shannon3315]

In terms of the Front Man insisting the game is fair, even though we can clearly see it isn’t; this struck me as such a common lie we tell ourselves in a capitalist society, in order to survive the horrors of the unfairness. We have to tell ourselves there must be some fairness, some order to the universe, that explains why some get ahead and others fall way behind. Gi-hun even openly states it when bragging about how great Sang-woo is: he is SO SMART, and that’s why he went to a good university and got a good job. It must be that he deserves it for being smart, it can’t be that he and Gi-hun (who came from the same place and had the same early education) are actually just the same, and that the universe is chaotic and some get lucky while others don’t. So the Front Man tells himself these games are fair, not in spite of the fact that he won the game, but BECAUSE he did. Because if they aren’t fair, if he didn’t deserve to win? Then he’s a monstrous person who either murdered or at least stood by and allowed people to be murdered. Believing the lie allows him to actively perpetuate those murders still, because he can tell himself that there’s a fairness to it. I think Gi-hun has now seen the lie, and that’s why he can’t adapt to life after the game. Being unable to lie to himself means that he has to think about that chaos every day, and know he’s alive and wealthy only because of luck, and feel the burden of those that suffered for him to have this wealth.

[@LethalLemonLime]

Once I heard Il nam's name it kind of made it obvious who he was. I feel like if you knew minimal Korean it was somewhat obvious. I saw a lot of people comment on episode threads their theories, before we found out his name and I desperately wanted to believe he was a cute innocent old man but once he said his name was Il nam, I was like oh nooooo.

[@tylerhackner9731]

Absolutely love this show and it’s critique of capitalism

[@marisol3518]

I felt it was more about the human condition personally, as money n rewards exists in socialism feudalism capitalism etc

[@hellokittycutie2003]

@@marisol3518 No, it’s a critique of capitalism. Especially when you start to learn about Korea’s history. The creator said so himself.

[@marisol3518]

@@hellokittycutie2003 yes he did say that. The context is not lost on me. I have been thinking about individual experiences, choices, and consequences within systems. Did you pick up on the inclusion of Lacan’s theory of desire?

[@Time_Is_Left]

@@marisol3518 It’s true that exchange and reward exist in every economic theory (that we’ve thought up so far), but capitalism is uniquely insidious (my opinion) for 2 main reasons: it’s goal is accumulation, and it requires endless exponential growth (not an opinion, that’s just logistics)

[@m.miller3217]

We missed you!!!!! I'm so hype ab this review.

[@elizas3249]

"I hate a lot of stuff, honestly I hate most stuff." Me too girl, me too.

[@VENIKA]

Your analysis of this may be the best I have seen yet, particularly the 2nd to last section you really tied everything up perfectly. The most harrowing thing that I got from the series is that people still CHOSE to go back a second time which highlights the lack of anything positive or worthwhile in the outside world, which sadly is not too different from real life.

[@TheKoyn]

The set and costume designer is actually a woman, I think that was super cool finding that out. Her name is Chae Kyoung-sun We love seeing women of color absolutely killing it

[@morethanyourbasics]

The police character plot was one of the later plot points added as the director originally imagined Squid Game as a film and once he was given a series added other pieces to build on to the world.

[@MarioLanzas.]

This is proof that horror and thrillers need more attention. suddenly one gets popular and people are thrilled with it

[@Neco2684]

I think the "sexism" was in the writing about how they were purposely looking for men to join their team during the games. I couldn't necessarily find out the reason why they were and was hoping for a GOTCHA moment of "see! They needed women in this game anyway!" But never got it. So maybe that's what it's from

[@thereisa]

Welcome back!!! This video was a treat and a half! I LOVE that you pronounced all the names. Love your energy and thoughtful analysis. You hit everything on the nail. Thank you! 😍🙏 RE: Ali. I don't think he was being portrayed as stupid, he just doesn't know those words in Korean. There are a couple of times he doesn't know the vocabulary because it's not his language. He didn't know the word for "circle", and he doesn't know the words for "odds" and "evens" because he didn't take geometry in Korean. Once explained, he says it in his language to confirm, which is a common thing when learning any new language. For circle, he draws a circle with his finger to ask "what is the Korean word for this shape?" It did somewhat bother me how naive he was (which I think is the point).. It was so obvious he was being betrayed in the marble games but that is also a reality isn't it? Lots of immigrants and elderly are the targets of many scams; it doesn't make them stupid, it makes them targets of evil people. It's SUPPOSED to bother you. Scams are designed to target the vulnerable. I think some people don't understand just how vulnerable it is to live in a place where you don't know the language, customs, laws, or norms. Even people's reaction of this shows how society blame the victim instead of the evil system that targeted these people ON PURPOSE. Like you said, the attitude is like, "this person must have done something wrong, or deserved it because of a 'choice' they made.". Episode 6 showed the immigrant and the elderly being tricked in the same game. I thought that was brilliant and it also infuriated me. RE: Sexism. Korea is a Patriarchy - I don't think the series made it overtly sexist in the way they treated/portrayed the women. The 3 finalists were all strong characters, one being a woman (she was 100% a total badass). Speaking as a Korean woman, the culture definitely is sexist so the way the characters treat the women is reflective of how women are treated and spoken to. (For one game, the women were seen as weaker, emotional, unreliable, lesser than a man, etc. Even before everyone knew that it was a physical game.) It's getting better today, but the underlying history and attitude is still there. A good example of that is when the main character and the old man talk about why he's there when he should be being taken care of by his daughter-in-law. This is the norm/expectation of the older generation; similar to how boomers say you shouldn't spend money on coffee so you can afford to buy a house in your 20's. That may have been true in their time but it isn't a reality today. I don't think the director included them to be sexist, but as a way of putting up the mirror to show society's faulty ideas.

[@nectarina3891]

It was interesting that they kept saying there are girls games, (elastics etc. ) that they would have an advantage in. Yet none of those games were selected. I presume this is because Player 1 chose his favorite from childhood, so it demonstrates that because men run the game, it is not made for a women to be able to succeed. (reminds me of women trying to have success in the corporate world, and other areas of life. )

[@thereisa]

​@@nectarina3891 I thought that too! I think marbles is considered a "girl game" too but it wasn't listed as one of the examples. Your interpretation is dead on. The game is designed by men, to entertain men; it doesn't leave much room for a woman to do well, not that it's impossible but unlikely.

[@insulaarachnid]

Apparently people have messaging the cast requesting them to do things their characters did in the series. People ask Gong Yoo to slap them and DM Heo Sung-tae, asking him to take them to the restroom!

[@user-pm9pw6cj4c]

I heard about take me to the restroom bit 😂 haha so funny

[@melisacaceres8740]

This is by far the best video i've seen about the show. I enjoy horror, and it surprised me how such a gore horror show became so popular. It's amazing, i've seen similar concepts of survival horror but the characters were teens. I love that Squid Game thrives on the age range of it's character and their different, yet deeply, traumatic experiences that made them desperate. The show is a masterpiece. About the misogyny, i don't really see it. The horror genre tends to take women as their sympathetic token to make the audience feel terrified for her and increase their empathy towards the characters, so, it's a trope, not a deliberate choice.

[@waliyahw1]

"Why the fuck is he smiling" 🤣😂 But seriously thought, it should have been a red flag but we were under the assumption his illness made him a little crazy. But after we find out the truth it just seemed sick. Their whole reason for torturing these people was for entertainment. Simply due to having too much money and being BORED 🙃

[@IshtarNike]

The genius of squid game is that they vote to leave, and then voluntarily come back.

[@roxannevicious]

Anyone watches a lot of South Korean media knows that South Korea has a MAJOR issue with race, and zenophobia in general. 99% of SK dramas have casts with the lightest skin tone possible, no exceptions. Once in awhile you will see a character with a bit of a tan, but then it's always a man and/or a character living in poverty. The only times foreigners are portrayed is to display power (Westerners are portrayed as rich, powerful, and stupid, and are most often given really shitty dialogue and they cast whatever random white people they find, it seems like, bc the actors and actresses are always the most wooden, non-professionals), or ignorance (Chinese characters are often portrayed as idiots who can't grasp the Korean language, and sometimes as odes to homophobia, ie very effeminate Chinese men that the Korean men valiantly put up with) and/or cruelty (Japanese characters are often portrayed as evil, which, you know, has a lot to do with the history of atrocities the Japanese have committed against Koreans). I have literally never seen a black character in any SK drama, and I have watched hundreds over the years. There is a huge issue of colorism in SK, as most people use skin bleaching products and Koreans who naturally have more melanin simply are not cast. Dark-skinned Koreans experience systemic oppression on the basis of their skin color. I find it really strange that people don't seem to question why it is that South Korea continues to present their people as this pale hegemonic facade, when we know that every country has a diversity of people, especially at this point in time. I was actually really surprised that Squid Game had a (somewhat) main character of color at all -- it's extremely progressive of them. I literally can't think of any other Korean shows or movies that I've seen where this is the case (although the dad in Parasite is tan at least . . . . -_- ). In any case, the character of Abdul is still reliant on racist stereotypes that Koreans hold; he is portrayed as a typical token; strong and sweet, but also stupid, out of his depth, and ultimately doomed. He definitely reminds me of an Uncle Sam type representation. South Koreans have access to global media just like the rest of us; this shit should be as inexcusable as in the USA, but I feel like there's this hesitancy to call them out for their racism, bc Westerners think of them as a minority race. But, the thing is, in Korea they're the fucking dominant race. Of course all asian people are impacted by the racism of the West bc of how powerful our empires are, but they still have their own sense of superiority and that still needs to be critiqued. They can portray white westerners however they want, as far as I'm concerned, but the colorism and racism against black and brown people has got to go NOW.

[@Indigolily80]

I've been watching Kdramas since 2007. I hate when they caste nonkorean characters. It ruins the episode in which they appear. I felt the same when the wealthy characters appeared in this series. I noticed that they were white, middle eastern or Indian and possibly Japanese.

[@leelsbless]

I’ve only started watching kdramas the past few years but if you haven’t watched Itaewon class, one of the supporting characters is Black man!

[@asew4897]

I have been watching/listening to media from Asian countries for years and I can attest as well they are xenophobic and Anti-black af. I do feel white supremacy is becoming more overt in their shows (they really do believe the height of culture and sophistication is wrapped in Eurocentric languages idioms and Christianity). They are so obsessed with whiteness that they even improperly over expose images and video to make everything look “whiter” all the sets are designed in white and off white palettes. It’s crazy. I had to pull to away from katanas because I feel like I’m being second-handedly reindoctrinated into the same white supremacy I am trying to wash myself of in my own country.

[@PortraitofAsha]

Exactly! I had an almost visceral reaction towards the portrayal of Ali. Big friendly useful idiot is what he was portrayed as. I'm not sure why people are tiptoeing around this flagrant display of racism and xenophobia 🤷🏾‍♀️

[@sln4281]

I think Itaewon class is one one the only Korean shows I’ve watched with a foreign character that isn’t stereotyped

[@GigiMurakami]

Kim: “ he (Bong Joon Ho) read us basically” Me and all the other Blerd girls, and J and Kdrama stans: “he wasn talkin bout me” 🤣

[@StoneSaysHello]

What fucks me up about Squid Game is that for a while I assumed multiple people could win. Like. I thought however many people lived would split the money that went up as people died. So I knew why people were killing, because each person had a dollar amount to there head. It wasn't until the pick a partner, yeah you or you partner die shit did I realize that they were out to kill everyone.

[@TellitTay]

33:59 “By the way THIS WIG better than anything we’ve seen on any Tyler Perry production”. Call it out sis!!! 😂😂👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

[@glowschannel5012]

I grieved that old man too

[@beau_mobile]

in Scotland, where I live, red light green light is called whats the time mister wolf

[@littleeva]

A perfect example that "Zero Sum" doesn't work. Zero sum is if I win, you have to lose and if you win I lose. Either way, the winner ends up alone.

[@OmfgHiii]

with the cop storyline: question your own family, you never know what they might do / or those that already have openly awful family members may relate

[@YouTuberOnlineNow]

The slow rise of death game movies with symbolism is also happening. The Purge series needs a rewatch too. Teens also get on the action with The Hunger Games.

[@TheLily97232]

i hope it stopped though... it's getting tired don't you think ?

[@TejuAbiola]

I was scared to watch it due to the gore and horror, which I avoid, and can become alarming to me. But for some reason because of the context and structure within Death Game tropes and my knowledge of the triggers ahead of time made it not feel traumatizing. The violence is extreme but didn’t seem to be glorified or dwelled on like it’s been in others I’ve stumbled into.

[@Mariah203]

I recommend Train to Busan for anyone looking to get into more Korean movies, plus it's fitting for Halloween: it's a zombie movie! But its way more than a zombie movie, it had me emotional and crying, it pulls at your heartstrings and it also has some anti-capitalist themes. It is sooooo gooood!!

[@boo1993]

What I thought was interesting was that all of the main characters has interesting numbers. I knew there was something up when the old man was 001. There also 101 and 456 and I'm not sure if these numbers do mean something but I think inherently our human brains say "hmm interesting number 101, I like the look of it" must be notable

[@pickledapples]

Glad that these Asian shows, especially Kdramas, are getting more hype!!! hope that Thai movies are the next to get appreciated🥲

[@ambriaashley3383]

Any good Thai movie recommendations?

[@pickledapples]

@@ambriaashley3383 these are my personal favourites! movies: Bad genius, friend zone, the con-heartist. Shows: Girl from nowhere.

[@fabianvillarreal8236]

With the wealth hoarding, I’ve read somewhere that it also puts people to not have to exercise the muscle of empathy, leading to being empathically challenged. Also, I would be excited to see season 2 explore the dynamics of patriarchal capitalism im which men feel the gender strain in determining their value through wealth (or the power to dismantle wealth) and going down a dark path of becoming the dragon to kill the dragon. After all, only to be left with a dragon just the same. A self perpetuating cycle of violence, scarcity, power, and wealth. Great video!

[@fabianvillarreal8236]

You already see early iterations of this dynamic with the front man’s younger brother literally becoming a red guy to sabotage the games. I hope he ends up surviving so that he can serve as a moral compass of the destroyed ego in season 2. 🤩🤩🤩 so much potential with this show!

[@veeceey1073]

Omg this review is a pleasant surprise! Can’t wait to watch😁

[@dalpowers]

I Love You For This!! I'm almost done watching and need to watch again to take in All the Information you have in this video!! This was a Great Series and I can't wait for season 2🙏🏾❤️💯

[@TubularOfficial]

I’ve been waiting sometime to watch this cause I hadn’t watched the series yet. And literally every point you touch on is so spot on, I literally thought the same thing about the VIPs and how they were almost exaggerated caricatures much like we see bourgeoise depictions in art. And if you liked parasite and squid game please watch lucky strike or “beasts that cling to straws”

[@TheHeyMarlee]

I thought the VIP’s were rich European men(Swedish, Germans and or Dutch). The idea is that they are foreigners, not necessarily Americans or English men. It could be that they gave the role to a bunch of foreigners from Europe living in Korea.

[@erikaenchante]

Just finished it last night and totally thought “I hope Kim makes a vid on this” !!!!! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this 👌🏻

[@aureliafroloff7934]

Have you seen Lupin on Netflix? It’s a French show & since you’ve said Squid Games has broaden your horizons on watching shows from other countries I would love to hear your very enlightened thoughts on it

[@valf156115]

Lupin is nothing special. Omar Sy never does anything too groundbreaking

[@TheLily97232]

it was not that great or interesting. Sy has done better

[@mayenk.]

Thoughts on maid on Netflix and Netflix's trend of series about class and mental illness (queens gambit, you kinda)

[@LaLa_856]

Im loving how you broke this down. I don't do horror either, but I do Squid games...😆

[@BBrunnel]

Kim when I tell you I ENJOY your TV analysis! You always give the best insight and analysis. You'e amazing :)

[@saeorwss1670]

Extremely well made video once again!! As someone who consumes a lot of korean entertainment content, I admire your effort to pronounce their names well, and I hope if you continue it you'll be able to pronounce them the intended way soon ❤️❤️

[@TheHarmonyHaven]

I BEEN WAITIN ON THIS ONE! Welcome back!

[@janeeharris5015]

I'm surprised there's not more mention of the tug of war. Maybe it's just the gruesome deaths, and it was an emotional turn like the team might stick together.😭😣

[@elijahlittle7912]

I can relate to “I hate a lot of stuff” because I honestly am not willing to sit down and watch things like this unless I hear a roaring review of it 😂

[@SherriaJ]

So glad you’re back…been missing your commentary

[@kokikodevereaux4932]

I agree with you about the side story but upon hearing your story, I think that it might be relevant to show how even the winners return to the game which appears to be a common theme.

[@salami5050]

Yours is one of my favourite youtube channels. You are so smart and enjoyable to listen to!

[@mwatson3302]

I already loved this show, but hearing your thoughts and analysis made me appreciate it like ten times more. I think you were spot on when you talked about the financial world AND elite education teaching/encouraging a-morality.

[@DorianEyre]

I love your insightful takes on pop culture Please start a podcast hearing from you weekly would be so cool

[@AnnyKeyz]

I was so waiting for your video! ❤️ I haven’t seen the show but you’re making me want to.