A “Squid Game” tournament took place in Abu Dhabi – in real life
Netflix series “Squid Game”
Everybody deserves a second chance. But it can end fatally in the South Korean series “The Squid Game”. “Squid Game” is currently the world’s most popular production on Netflix. See the trailer here.
The Netflix series is well on its way to breaking records and attracts millions of viewers. But the hype is slowly getting out of hand: In the United Arab Emirates, a tournament based on the “Squid Game” was taking place.
A.There’s no getting around it: the new series “Squid Game” on Netflix has achieved cult status within a very short time thanks to millions of viewers. In case you missed the trend, we will summarize the plot of the series – spoiler-free, of course – in a nutshell: In the thriller series, 456 highly indebted men and women compete against each other in a number of different children’s games. The winner can look forward to high prize money. But if you lose, you don’t just go home empty-handed – he or she is killed instantly.
The South Korean production has only been running since September 17, but is already climbing to the top of the Netflix world rankings: the dystopian thriller is number one of the most viewed content on the streaming service in 90 countries. According to Co-CEO Ted Sarandos, “Squid Game” could even be the most successful Netflix series ever – and some seem to want to transfer the fiction into real life. A real version of the “Squid Game” even took place in Abu Dhabi.
“Squid Game” in Abu Dhabi: Two-hour competition based on a series
First of all, to reassure you: Neither assault nor murder were part of the event. There was also no amount of money worth millions as a bonus. The only thing that could be won was the green tracksuit known from the series.
Here are some first impressions from the tournament:
In the two-hour tournament on October 12th, two teams of 15 people competed against each other in children’s games such as “Red Light, Green Light” (in Germany also known as “Weather, Thunder, Lightning” or “Ochs am Berg”) and a tug of war. While the competitors wore T-shirts with the “Squid Game” logo, the employees at the event wore pink suits, as in the series.
The pink-clad security guards from the Netflix series “Squid Game”
Source: pa / ZUMAPRESS.com / Netflix
“Squid Game” is actually socially critical
The tournament was held from Korean cultural center organized in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In order to participate, interested parties had to answer three questions about the dystopian series in an online form.
The fact that the Netflix hit is primarily to be understood as a criticism of modern capitalist competition seems to have passed the organizers and participants in the UAE by by. They have turned the horror and madness from “Squid Game” into a fun event.
The influence of the South Korean Netflix series extends beyond screen borders
After the massive success of “Squid Game”, the boundaries between fantasy and reality seem to be slowly blurring. Ever since the series premiered, people have been ordering green tracksuits and white sneakers like crazy. Just selling white slip-on vans is, according to the magazine Variety since the start of the successful series has increased by 7,800 percent.
In “Squid Game” the 456 participants wear green and white tracksuits with different numbers
Source: pa / ZUMAPRESS.com / Netflix
To imitate the cruel games or the styling of the protagonists from the Netflix series may be seen as fun by some adults. But one incident in Belgium is worrying: Schoolchildren are said to have reenacted the series during recess – those who lost were beaten up by their classmates. Hopefully this real violence will remain an exception.
There was a similar imitation effect through viral challenges and an equally controversial discussion when the Netflix thriller “Bird Box” was released in 2019 with Sandra Bullock in the lead role. Blindfolded, some fans even put their lives in danger.
