Squid Game is Misunderstood | NOT About Capitalism | VIDEO ESSAY
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ส.ค. 2024
- CHAPTERS:
00:00 Intro
00:49 What People Think It's About
01:26 Losing Meaning In Translation
01:42 The Concept of Jeong
02:16 My Thesis
02:30 South Korean Political History & Context
04:32 What Americans Misunderstand
05:03 Ending Explained & Analyzing Oh Il-nam
06:03 Wealth & Happiness
07:07 What it Takes to Win
07:41 What The Show is REALLY Saying
08:11 American-Centrism
08:40 The Writing on The Wall
09:28 Conclusion - บันเทิง
How are there no comments on this video??Incredibly thoughtful, insightful analysis. While I still do find merit in the squid game = capitalism bad argument, I couldn’t agree more that it feels like an attempt to project western experiences onto a completely different socioeconomic framework, which doesn’t necessarily make it wrong, but does lead to, as you stated, some lost translation. That’s one of the reasons why I personally tried to explore more universal themes in my own essay on squid game. Great video again. Looking forward to more of your content.
I appreciate it! Yeah it's not as simple as "capitalism = bad" but I think it's not so much about CAPITALISM as it as about the POVERTY found in capitalist systems, specifically South Korean poverty resulting from South Korea's brand of capitalism. I'm gonna go watch yours now!
@@MediaMattersChannel Your analysis is frankly naive. You overestimate just how prevalent home ownership is in the US, how scarce homelessness, usurious rent, and wage theft are in the US, how secure Americans' jobs truly are, how few Americans have access to pensions and the wherewithal to save, how little American wages have increased commensurate to inflation, and the pervasiveness of monopoly capitalism in the US, which incidentally, antitrust laws have been unable to curtail. On the flip side, USAID's assistance didn't amount to writing a blank cheque but directing the formulation of economic policy. This is similar to the Marshall Plan and the postwar reforms that the US engaged in in Japan.
Hwang Dong-Hyuk has not been quiet or ambiguous about his inspirations. He's been explicit about wanting to critique capitalism, and that it is a global problem. I don't know why people keep trying to recontextualize that. Just listen to the man.
@@CripplingDuality Sorry if I'm misunderstanding, but all I'm hearing from you here is that "capitalism is bad in the West, too." I'm not saying it isn't. I'm saying that to UNDERSTAND THE ART, you must first understand its CONTEXT, and western society (particularly American society) struggles with that because we've normalized certain socio-economic behaviors. In this scenario, you need to comprehend a different culture's perspective on capitalism, and to do that requires an understanding of what makes us different. We have different economies, anti-trust regulations, social securities, and the pace of economic growth in the west has been much more sustainable by taking place over the better part of a century, not a couple of decades, giving us time to prepare for many (not ALL) of the repercussions of capitalism.
We experience capitalism but in a different way, and that's a much more nuanced conversation than I feel you're giving it credit for. When Hwang Dong-hyuk says, "It's about capitalism," he's speaking from his own point of view and lived experience with capitalism, not yours. And that's what this conversation is about. As a result, you cannot evaluate Eastern art from a Western perspective. If that isn't clear enough for you, then that's my fault, and I've failed to express what it is that is crucial about having empathy for other cultures that share our planet. But based on the overall feedback, I get the idea that people in the west DO gain something from this discourse and a new appreciation for the show.
You appear to be well versed about the influence of capitalism on the standard of living in the United States, yet you never mentioned South Korea, and I did the research and work to lay that out clearly for you in the video. But the goal here is not to argue that the United States is without suffering; rather, it is to educate on why understanding context and nuance is crucial when importing content (or, for that matter, translating language) between two different cultures. If you're interested in learning then please hang out, crack a cold one, watch the video, and try to leave this conversation with fresh insights since that's what I'm here to provide. But I don't get the impression that's what you're trying to do with this comment. What you're saying comes off as ostentatious in how you chose to start your comment by labelling something as naive without participating in the actual conversation being had and I hope that's not how you meant to come off. But some constructive criticism I would give you would be to refrain from short sighted language like that because it detracts from the smart things you have to say.
@@MediaMattersChannel "I'm saying that to UNDERSTAND THE ART, you must first understand its CONTEXT, and western society (particularly American society) struggles with that because we've normalized certain socio-economic behaviors."
I'm not American; I'm not even a westerner so I am not parsing Squid Game's message from a western perspective.
"We have different economies, anti-trust regulations, social securities, and the pace of economic growth in the west has been much more sustainable by taking place over the better part of a century, not a couple of decades, giving us time to prepare for many (not ALL) of the repercussions of capitalism."
These are differences without meaningful material distinctions. Both countries have mixed economies dominated by large industrial concerns, with high levels of automation and investment particularly in the automotive and high tech sectors. Both countries have also undertaken legislative solutions to enforcing competition and providing social security to their citizens, and failed miserably. It is too early to say what South Korea's economic trajectory is going to be in the future, but empirically, it can be compared to just about every market economy that undergoes cyclical rates of growth, just as the US did.
When those cycles are in periods of decline and stagnation, which again, are inevitable, we can expect more people to lose out on the table scraps they get during boom periods, as they have for decades. You describe the average American worker as having 40-hour work weeks, ample PTO, access to 401Ks, and getting promoted every few years, which frankly doesn't track. Americans are some of the most overworked people on the planet, mainly because there is no legally defined standard work week or PTO statutes, and also because the average American worker works multiple part-time jobs just to survive, without health or unemployment insurance, and staving off unprosecuted wage theft. This gets worse with each passing year.
Plainly, to say that the western 'social model' has caught up with its 'economic model' simply isn't true, as standards of living have only declined precipitously for most people in the west, and social scientists do not predict an inflection point in the near future.
"We experience capitalism but in a different way, and that's a much more nuanced conversation than I feel you're giving it credit for. When Hwang Dong-hyuk says, "It's about capitalism," he's speaking from his own point of view and lived experience with capitalism, not yours."
His lived experience has included travelling to the US and other countries, and he very specifically says that his characterization of South Korea is one that others will see reflected in their lived experience in their non-Korean countries, as it is simple economic fact that class disparity is observed globally and has been studied extensively . Also, the intended audience is not just Koreans, and the goal is not to teach westerners about life in Korea. Why do you think there's a Pakistani and a North Korean in the cast? This interview in the Guardian (www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/oct/26/squid-games-creator-rich-netflix-bonus-hwang-dong-hyuk) is just one place where he dives into this.
"you never mentioned South Korea"
I did, when I brought up USAID. I assumed you'd understand what I'm referring to, ie, the program of formal economic aid the US gave the ROK during and after the Korean war. Even today, the US funds development in miltech among other sectors in South Korea. This is the point, that economic aid such as what is on offer from the US and agencies like the World Bank and IMF usually comprises not just handing over money but advisors prescribing certain measures and enforcing their implementation. The net effect is that economies begin to develop into highly similar and symbiotic machines, and we see this pretty clearly as the ROK has become one of the US' principal trading partners in the region, a major military client, and a major importer of South Korean products.
It's true that Hwang is Korean, it's true that South Korea underwent rapid development that left its underclass behind, and that its government has not taken a long-term view of the needs of its populace.
It's also true that its economic development was guided and influenced by its ties to the west, making it more similar to than different from the US'.
It's *not* true that western economies grew at a more reserved pace while building social infrastructure, quite the opposite, actually.
Frankly, though, it's all moot when, again, the show's creator has made his intentions, his inspirations, and the universality of the thematic premises clear repeatedly.
I watched the video from start to finish. From a technical perspective it's really well-done, but your thesis is based on flawed premises, sorry.
Just now found this video. Great points, really well made. I wish this talking point went around more when we were all talking about this show
This was an amazing video. I wish it had more views because it is so informative. Thank you for researching and sharing!
loved this video!
Its not often I get on on the ground floor of a great channel. Keep up the great work!
Glad you enjoy it! Hope I don't disappoint you!
Wow thank you! This video was great ❤️
This was so well educated and as somone who isn't Korean this was so eye opening
This is the best analysis of squid game I’ve seen yet.
is poverty not inextricable from capitalism?
You can be any race or background so long as you have empathy you can relate or understand anyones issues or problems.
I can see where you’re going but to a certain degree I feel like this perspective only makes sense when you disregard the downtrodden in America where the fight for survival is ever so present here in the states. Whether you’re looking at examples of low rural America or daily life in the hood, people at the end of the day are fighting for survival since the material conditions have caused them to do so. Capitalism does have it’s differences in different parts of the world, but sets itself in a similar path to where you can see similarities. The show definitely is about the effects of a capitalist society and its effects on the working class.
I enjoy your video but I don't agree with your distinction between the "brutality of capitalism" and the "brutality of poverty". The poverty depicted in squid game is specifically the kind that exists under capitalist economies. The whole reason the main character is broken and in debt is because he lost his good job at the factory. Remember, he was fired after he took part in a worker's strike. His friend was killed by strike-breaking police, the MC lost his job, his wife, and his kid, and never recovered. How are these not capitalist forces?
If they showed us the conditions of poverty in a communist state then the story would have a uniquely different message, would it not?