Squid Game: The Challenge is a tone-deaf adaptation of the original show
Squid Game, released at the height of the pandemic in late 2021, was undoubtedly an instant classic, becoming one of the most-watched shows in Netflix's history.
In an attempt to recreate the magic of the original show, Netflix has adapted the show into a ten-episode reality challenge, where 456 participants compete for a USD 4.56 million cash prize. The reality television genre has had fleeting moments in the cultural zeitgeist. It catapulted individuals into fame and even the highest public office in the U.S. However, reality television has always been seen as the runt of the entertainment industry. Moreover, the genre is heavily criticised for being exploitative and encroaching on participants' privacy – allegations that Squid Game: The Challenge has been unable to beat.
As predicted, Squid Game: The Challenge was a big hit for the streaming giant. The show was surprisingly complex and thoroughly entertaining, with lots of empowering moments, humour, and numerous unpredictable twists and turns scattered throughout. The new show recreates the original show's set and electric atmosphere to near perfection. However, given the world's current socio-economic and political climate, it ultimately is a bleaker and even more depressing watch than the original.
The show had an open casting call for its 456 participants, with the single requirement that players be fluent in English, and received over 81,000 applications to be on the show. Like the original show, most participants are ordinary people with regular jobs and dreams. A series of candid testimonials drive home that most people are participating in paying off their mortgages, cars, loans, and debts. This gives the show an uneasy atmosphere from the get-go.
The large looming dormitories and transparent piggy bank held over participants' heads added to Squid Game's dramatic flair, but they didn't translate well into a real-life context. Two unnamed participants of the show have recently come forward, describing filming conditions as "inhumane," claiming to have suffered hypothermia and nerve damage while filming the show.
The games in Squid Game: The Challenge gradually become increasingly complex, demanding, and cruel. It created division and hostility within the participants and forced them to make difficult decisions. The devastating reactions of many participants when they get eliminated from the show is also agonising to watch. After all, they have lost the opportunity to attain a significant amount of money that could have changed their lives.
While the show has redemptive qualities, its very existence remains its core problem. The original Squid Game was thoroughly entertaining despite its darker themes and heavy undertones, as it was a scripted show taking place in a fictional context. However, a depressed global economy trying to recover from a pandemic and two paradigm-shifting conflicts, turning an anti-capitalist piece of media into a game show where participants do whatever it takes to win is tone-deaf. Not only is the point of the original show missed but Squid Game: The Challenge buys into the hyper-capitalist and consumerist notions the show was meant to dispel.
Taaseen Mohammed Islam is a student at NSU.