The Social Spark of Squid Game
Open Access DepositedSquid Game (오징어 게임), a Korean drama and a Netflix original production first aired in September 2021. By 2021, Netflix’s platform was reaching about 92 countries with Squid Game alighting screens everywhere. How did this unassuming, non-English language series from a small Asian country become the most watched show across the globe? Why was 2021 and not sooner or later, the moment? What about Squid Game captivated audiences, and what did they take away from the series? It is very likely the reason was not one but a perfect confluence of factors, both natural and social events surrounding the show’s release that propelled Squid Game to trend on social media platforms and zip to the top of the world’s watch list.This paper suggests that Squid Game, in conjunction with the context of the world, at the time, together amounted to a lightening catalyst that instantly burst and leaked into the social psyche. The research and analysis in this paper will show there was an unexpected and dormant anticipation for such an epistemological social awakening. In coalescing viewer reaction and media response against the backdrop of history, theory, and literature, insightful and compelling correlations open an inchoate discovery into the possibility that Squid Game, as a representative of the larger Korean wave, triggered such an awakening and enhancement of social consciousness. Through art and the power of Squid Game’s storytelling, viewers not only connected with the story, but swarms of viewers also sought connection with others online to share their own and hear other’s experience. When Squid Game, an underappreciated Korean drama, became a globally appreciated story, an unintended refracting or reworlding of today’s understanding of identity was set off, and may have dimmed but continues to reverberate.
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