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Squid Game's 'bread or lottery' in real life – are we learning the wrong lessons from the show?

The Squid Game franchise was developed as a critique of capitalism and human greed. However, the current rise of an online trend modelled after a scene in Squid Game has made CNA Lifestyle’s Hazeeq Sukri question if society is learning the right lessons from the show.

Squid Game's 'bread or lottery' in real life – are we learning the wrong lessons from the show?

A scene featuring The Recruiter (played by South Korean actor Gong Yoo) in the first episode of Squid Game Season 2. (Photo: Netflix)

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Look, I’ll be the first to admit that whenever I watch a TV show or movie, my number one goal is to turn off my brain and be entertained. I need my dose of colourful explosions and elaborate fight sequences to unwind after a hard week at work. That being said, I do believe that media consumers should at least be congnisant of a show’s themes and subtext – even if they don’t want to engage in its discourse.

It’s perfectly fine if your greatest takeaway from Fight Club is seeing sweaty men duking it out in a basement as long as you know – even at a subconscious level – that the movie is a scathing review of consumerism. Or how you can still laugh at the antics of The Gang in It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia and still be aware that the show is actively mocking its characters.

Which brings us to Squid Game. 

Gi-hun, played by Lee Jung-jae, in a still from Squid Game Season 2. (Photo: Netflix)

At its core, the South Korean drama is a critique of capitalism.

Writer-director Hwang Dong-hyuk said as much in an interview with entertainment outlet Variety: “I wanted to write a story that was an allegory or fable about modern capitalist society, something that depicts an extreme competition, somewhat like the extreme competition of life. But I wanted it to use the kind of characters we’ve all met in real life. As a survival game, it is entertainment and human drama.”

Contestants of Squid Game: The Challenge attempting one of the games in the show. (Photo: Netflix)

Do I think it’s highly ironic that a show on greed has spawned an almost-billion-dollar-generating franchise with multiple spin-offs and merchandise, or that Squid Game viewers are inadvertently becoming like the show’s VIPs with our amusement at the misfortune of the characters? 

Of course. 

But as I’ve said, I think it’s perfectly fine to enjoy media as it is and go about your day once it’s over.

What is concerning, however, is taking the wrong lessons from a show like Squid Game and applying them in real life to real people.

A scene featuring The Recruiter (played by South Korean actor Gong Yoo) in the first episode of Squid Game Season 2. (Photo: Netflix)

Case in point: The rising online trend of ‘Bread Or Lottery In Real Life’. And yes, Squid Game viewers, it’s exactly what you think.

For those who don’t watch the show, here’s a brief rundown of the scene in question. In Squid Game Season 2, a character (played by Train To Busan star Gong Yoo) approaches homeless people and offers them two options – fresh bread or a lottery scratch card – with an overwhelming majority choosing the latter.

In response, Gong Yoo’s character dumps all the unchosen yet pristine bread onto the ground and stomps on them, drawing cries from the homeless people.

“I gave you a chance and you made your choice,” says the character. “I’m not the one who threw this away. It’s you, ladies and gentlemen.”

It’s a scene that illustrates the illusion of choice and how a system designed by those in power can cause those without power to make choices that go against their self-interest – much like the series of deadly games in the show.

Since the release of Squid Game 2, a few content creators throughout the world have recreated the scene in real life with seemingly homeless people – complete with the stomping.

Their actions have drawn significant backlash but some viewers are questioning the criticism levied against the creators, arguing that the homeless people made their choice by opting for the lottery ticket.

Again, this is where the illusion of free choice comes in.

Framing the act of choosing the lottery ticket as the gotcha moment in these videos ignores the systemic injustice that led to the circumstances of the homeless in the first place.

And I would be remiss if I didn't point out the parallels of content creators using the plight of the homeless for views versus Squid Game's villains using the plight of those in debt for the amusement of the uber-rich.

And this isn't exactly brand-new information.

Hwang Dong-hyuk arrives at the 82nd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan 5, 2025, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Hwang himself has gone on record to talk about the link between Squid Game and capitalism: “I think fundamentally what continues to drive this system is human selfishness and greed. These days, I'm becoming more pessimistic about human nature. I almost think that, for homo sapiens, it's greed that allows them to create a society that they feel most comfortable in.”

While the show might trigger a few red lights on the perils of greed, it’s fair to say that you don’t need a green light to treat someone with kindness. 

Unlike Squid Game’s characters, viewers like us have the choice to engage with the show’s content at either a surface or critical level – whether it’s trying dalgona candy and screaming “I’ve played these games before” in Roblox or discussing its themes on Reddit.

But if you choose to incorporate something from the show into real life, just make sure it’s not something that will make you look like Player 001.

Source: CNA/hq
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