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By Coren Feldman and Josh Logue
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So what is it about Squid Game that captured global audiences? Joining us is Josh Logue, Korean cinema enthusiast and tallest person in my apartment.
CF: So Josh, first of all, as a person who actually watches a lot of Korean TV and movies, how does Squid Game compare to “regular” Korean TV/ Cinema?
JL: Well, let me stop you right there and first say what an honor it is to be here.
CF: Thank you. And all it took was me hounding you to write something for several months.
JL: Now you know how my editors felt back when I used to be a writer. I’m in the marketing game now. What was your question?
CF: You can literally just scroll up and read it.
JL: Ah I see it. I’m going to copy and paste it here so we’re all on the same page. You asked:
“So Josh, first of all, as a person who actually watches a lot of Korean TV and movies, how does Squid Game compare to “regular” Korean TV/ Cinema?”
That’s a pretty good question! Well, first of all, I actually watch very little Korean TV. The shows I’ve dipped into have almost all been a little too soapy and melodramatic for my taste. Korean cinema is a whole different world, which is often a lot more violent and graphic than TV over there, however, Squid Game is interesting because it seems to be part of a trend of Korean TV that’s getting darker, more violent, more etc. The other show that comes to mind in that vein is called Kingdom, which is about period zombies (not to be confused with the show of the same name with Stephen Fry, which is not violent at all).
Now you only watch the Korean stuff I force you to watch, so I’m curious to hear what you think of this show?
CF: I liked it. I think the reaction to it feels incredibly out of proportion for what it is, which is what I find so fascinating. It’s a solid show but it’s not groundbreaking or particularly good in a way that I haven’t seen in a while. What sticks out to me is that the two Korean exports that have taken the world by storm are Squid Game and Parasite which are different but have a lot of thematic similarities, both dealing with poverty, staggering inequality and violence. And it feels like those messages are relevant in the US (and around the world) today, with the gap between lower/ middle class and the billionaires widening. So I wonder if that’s part of what’s resonating with people? Just the helplessness of being trapped in a socioeconomic status?
JL: I suppose that’s possible. I’m a little leery of ascribing pop culture phenomenon too directly to The Issues We’re Dealing With Now because, like, nine years ago (jesus) “Gangnam Style” took off. What could that possibly mean. And the other major Korean cultural import here in the US is K-Pop broadly, and I’d say BTS specifically, and that stuff seems to me to bleed uncriticality of consumerism and capitalism.
That said, it’s hard not to see the line you’re drawing. I guess for me, those two things—Squid Game and Parasite—even though they are both in the area of criticising capitalism, and, interestingly, the capitalism of South Korea in particular, they couldn’t be more different in that arena. Parasite is a deeply layered and thoughtful critique of social class and inequality, whereas Squid Game kinda doesn’t take its “inequality is murderously bad” message anywhere after establishing that’s what the show is about.
CF: I totally agree. It’s also hard to try to spot a trend with only two pieces of data. I do think, though, that what drew American audiences to both is the violence as a reaction to many’s inability to rise above the class they were born into. I think there’s a lot of rage brewing below the surface that these two pieces speak to.
JL: Yeah, I think there’s truth to that, and while I’m no cultural expert or anything, I think it’s specifically true in South Korea too. Lots of movies from there deal with similar themes. (Anyone who is interested in a list of Korean movies I think are good can hit up Coren, and he’ll put you in touch with me.)
CF: So I’m curious to hear your thoughts about the show. To me it feels like there was some disparity in how thought through certain things were and how they did or didn’t follow ideas to their natural conclusion.
JL: Well, first of all, and related to what we were just talking about, one thing I think the show did exceptionally well, and which definitely in my mind contributed to all the craze, is its characters. Virtually all of them are specific, idiosyncratic and vividly depicted. Not particularly deep or anything, but very highly distinct and human feeling, which is honestly pretty rare!
But you’re right about follow through, I think. There is certainly a storyline that we are both thinking of but probably can’t talk too much about due to spoiler reasons that didn’t seem to have much momentum behind it or go anywhere interesting.
CF: Yeah, there were a few things that just sort of petered out for seemingly no reason, which is what makes me apprehensive about a second season for the show, which it will most certainly get. It feels like this would have been better as a mini-series and their lack of follow-through makes me feel like a second season might be a big let down. But I could be wrong.
JL: Nah, I totally disagree. Any show that’s big enough is going to have disappointing storylines, and this one may just need time to lean into its better ideas and stories. My money is on season two being some kinda Tournament of Champions things like in Hunger Games, and honestly, that could be pretty neat.
Also, along these lines, I think it’s worth saying that I do really like the underlying premise of turning playground games into adult murder parties, and I think the show sometimes pulled off really fun to watch and/or interesting games, but sometimes it, uh, didn’t.
CF: I think kid things in adult contexts are always creepy. Think about the twins in The Shining, or any show where you hear kids singing with a lot of reverb. Kids are creepy!
JL: That’s undeniably true.
Another thing I really enjoyed about Squid Game was a kind of reality TV show feeling that it had. It really captured the excitement and tension of watching teams form and dissolve, strategies develop and morph, fail and succeed as context changes. I think I’d only ever really seen that specific dynamic on reality TV, and it was cool to see it in a different medium.
CF: That’s a great point! And maybe that element helped it resonate with American audiences, who are pretty big on reality TV.
Ok I’m gonna put you on the spot and make you predict what the Next Big Thing is gonna be. Go!
JL: We’re staring down the barrel of an imminent phenomenon of narrative albums released on streaming services in a series of music videos, which are the episodes. Steven Soderbergh will direct the first one, about a 19th century slave who gets teleported to a dimension where the Muppets were real people.
CF: So a Muppet musical?
JL: That has a lot to say about American chattel slavery, yes.
Coren Feldman is the founder of CorenTV and originally the third "Johnson" in "Johnson and Johnson" before being ousted because three Johnsons is too many and also Coren's last name isn't Johnson.
Josh Logue is a contributor to CorenTV. His work has previously appeared on CorenTV, and he has forthcoming pieces on CorenTV.