Can "Squid Game: The Challenge" be something more than...almost exactly what the original show heavily criticized? The answer is a little complicated.
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00 Can Squid Game the Challenge be something more than… almost exactly what the original
00:05 show heavily criticized?
00:07 The answer is a little complicated.
00:09 "4.56 million dollars.
00:12 People do a whole lot worse for a whole lot less."
00:14 Squid Game was Netflix's most popular series ever, and it's understandable that the streaming
00:19 service would want to capitalize on it to some degree.
00:22 But since the original show is about the horrors of capitalism, and the game is clearly considered
00:27 "evil," maybe they shouldn't have recreated that very same evil game in reality.
00:32 All reality television is morally questionable to some degree because the audience is often
00:37 getting entertainment from the suffering of real people.
00:40 But there's something about Squid Game the Challenge that feels especially insidious.
00:44 Squid Game was a global phenomenon that heavily criticized capitalism through the use of a
00:48 fictional game show.
00:50 The game wasn't broadcast to the entire world, like Netflix's show will be, but rather to
00:55 a set of rich elites.
00:57 "Oh, it's getting exciting."
00:59 These VIPs are the clear villains of the original series, but in making a reality series out
01:04 of those same games, Netflix becomes the VIPs.
01:08 As part of the audience, it's hard not to feel complicit in the contestants' pain.
01:13 And that makes Squid Game the Challenge a tough watch.
01:16 Squid Game the Challenge can be praised for a few things.
01:19 First off, the production itself is impressive.
01:22 Almost everything from Squid Game has been recreated down to the tiniest detail, including
01:27 the giant dormitory with stacked beds where the contestants sleep, several of the game
01:31 rooms, and even the bizarre M.C.
01:33 Escher-inspired staircases.
01:36 The attention to detail is really something to behold, and there are moments where you
01:40 almost have to remind yourself that it's a game show, and not actually Squid Game.
01:44 Also, the camera work and editing during the games is more cinematic than the average reality
01:49 series, which adds to this effect and can be rather unsettling.
01:54 While there's something charming about the contestants getting excited when they see
01:57 certain rooms or props based on the original series, it's also kind of strange because
02:02 they would be acting differently if it was the real deal.
02:05 Sure, the stakes are still very high because the contestants are unpaid and put their lives
02:09 on hold to try and win the massive $4.56 million prize, but no one's dying if they fail in
02:16 a game.
02:17 They do have to pretend they're dead, however, and an ink pack on their chests bursts with
02:22 a loud pop, spraying them with black ink.
02:25 The ink packs look and sound a lot like the fictional Squid Game characters being shot
02:29 with rifles, and we can't help but wonder if they originally had red ink and realized
02:34 that they would come under fire for being glib about murder.
02:36 As is, it's still pretty rough.
02:38 "I'm…"
02:39 "Oh, s---."
02:42 Even if you can move past the dubious decision to kill contestants when they lose, Squid
02:47 Game The Challenge also still has to account for the fact that medics reportedly had to
02:52 be called in repeatedly during the very first game, a recreation of Red Light, Green Light,
02:57 complete with the giant girl robot.
03:00 Contestants reported that they had to hold painful positions for up to hours at a time,
03:04 which explains some of what's shown in the episode.
03:07 People give up on holding positions after what's edited to look like only moments, and
03:11 their loud declarations that they can't do this seem melodramatic.
03:15 Once the contestants who complete the game get into the dorms, they're given dinner and
03:20 it's disgusting, to say the least.
03:22 The paltry meals look like the worst of public school lunches, and contestants frequently
03:27 become combative over food and complain about being hungry.
03:31 Beyond that, the dormitory room was also reportedly freezing, and contestants can be seen trying
03:36 to warm themselves or keeping their hands in their jacket pockets.
03:40 Say you can separate yourself from the contestants' pain, or you don't mind because they've signed
03:45 on for this.
03:46 The question still remains.
03:48 Is Squid Game The Challenge any good as a competition reality series?
03:52 The answer is yes.
03:53 Everything from a production standpoint is impressive, from the sheer size of the competition
03:58 to the way both the games and downtime are shot and edited.
04:01 There are clear heroes and villains, alliances that come to mean something, and the games
04:06 themselves are, mostly, compelling.
04:08 It's fairly well-made reality television that checks all the boxes, but at what cost?
04:13 Are we, the audience, no better than the VIPs who pay to watch other people endure hardship
04:18 for a big wad of cash?
04:20 The reality series shouldn't have to teach us the same lessons as the original series
04:25 all over again, but that's what we got.
04:27 "Who knows what game they'll have us play next."
04:29 [music]