A relentless pursuit of profit

by Karen Geier

Cultural critics are dropping the ball on Squid Game Season two, sidestepping its direct critique of capitalism and watering it down to “income inequality.” Why are they so afraid to call out the system the show screams about?

Squid Game has never been a hard text to unpack. It is beautiful and entertaining, but its themes are readily available for anyone capable of looking away from their phones for ten minutes. It’s about capitalism. Obviously. 

Why, now that season two has dropped on Netflix, are so many reviews framing Squid Game as a story about “income inequality”? Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone calls income inequality “the whole point of this macabre story” in his review, while others specifically cited income or “economic inequality” as the boogeyman of the series. This watered-down interpretation shifts blame away from systemic oppression, reducing capitalism’s inherent violence to a mere oversight or error.

Season one of the show used each game to support its thesis against capitalism in key ways: the games themselves are childish and easy to learn, but have a barbarism underpinning them that becomes evident as the rules are communicated to the players. The rules take these simple games and add layers of horrific complexity to the choices allowed because they are always charged with the fact someone will die.