The Real Message Behind 'Squid Game', Explained 

Squid Game twisted our innocent childhood games into a deadly competition. Now, as we approach the final Season 3, it's important to take a step back and reflect on what the show is really about.

Beyond its gore and violence, Squid Game is actually about something that feels uncomfortably familiar to many of us.

1. ‘Squid Game’ Is a Social Commentary on Our Capitalistic Society

Main idea of ‘Squid Game’: the criticism of the capitalistic world. The show doesn't even try to be subtle about this. Just like the players risking their lives for money, many of us are stuck in a rat race doing whatever it takes to survive.

“I wanted to write a story that was an allegory or fable about modern capitalist society, something that depicts an extreme competition,” Hwang Dong-hyuk told Variety.

2. The Bigger Picture: ‘Squid Game’ Is Not Just About Korea

Although the show is set in South Korea, its message is universal. Student debt, medical bills and housing costs are struggles that people face worldwide. The games may be fictional, but the desperation they depict is very real.

Nice touch: the games themselves can be viewed as a metaphor for how some people have to step on others to climb the social ladder (without your “competitors” dying though).

3. ‘Squid Game’ Exposes Our Hunger for More Entertainment

Ironic: the show's massive success proves one of its own points. While we watch characters being exploited for entertainment, millions of us binge-watched their suffering as well.

We criticized the VIPs for enjoying watching people die. But isn't this happening in real life as well?

Why it’s important: we have become desensitized to horror, true crime is at an all-time high and we constantly need entertainment fed to us. It's scary to think whether this insatiability will lead to something as terrifying as Squid Game.

4. The VIPs: A 'Squid Game' Not-So-Subtle Take on the 1%

Speaking of VIPs, the show makes it pretty clear who they represent. These wealthy people who treat human lives as a source of entertainment perfectly symbolize how the ultra-rich often view the rest of society.

Interesting: the VIPs are portrayed as a bored, desensitized group of people who need increasingly extreme forms of entertainment to feel anything.

Where to Watch ‘Squid Game’?

You can watch the show on Netflix right now. Season 3 is coming out on June 27.