Squid Game is the most watched show on Netflix in history.
What makes Squid Game so popular?
-unique story line
-high stakes (audiences become invested in the characters)
-mirrors the current issues of reality (makes audiences feel less alone)
-nostalgic, particularly for Korean audiences
-focuses more on the psychological elements of the games, rather than just the violent nature of the games themselves
-released soon after lockdown, where a surge in television binge-watching happened
How did an international show succeed so well?
-suffering isn't understood through language, but acting
-intertextuality (comparable to the Hunger Games, and one viewer from New Zealand said that the show is “brutal like [Quentin] Tarantino’s movies")
-human nature can be observed from anywhere around the world, no matter the language
-with a rise in international media, young people are more accepting of the need for subtitles, where they might not have been before
-capitalism is an issue in almost every country around the world, making the show feel relatable and appealing to the working class
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