“Squid Game”
First schools in the US are banning Halloween costumes
Controversial: The iconic costumes of “Squid Game”.
© Noh Juhan | Netflix
Children are increasingly inspired by the brutal Netflix series to play “Squid Game” – including punishments for the losers.
Desperate, indebted people compete against each other in school playground games. The winner can win a lot of money, the loser is killed. With this premise, “Squid Game” became a mega hit, the South Korean series is the most successful Netflix series of all time.
Now the brutal games from “Squid Game” are splashing more and more on schoolyards around the world. More and more communities are sounding the alarm. Shortly before Halloween, the Fayetteville-Manlius school district in the US state of New York responded and loudly banned it “Deadline” Costumes that make reference to the series.
Dr. Craig Tice, head of the school district, told USA Today: “Some of our younger students talk about and mimick aspects of the show in school. Parents and guardians (…) have the opportunity to talk to their children about it themselves and to reaffirm the school’s message that games associated with violent behavior are not appropriate for break “.
According to a study, half of all hashtags for Halloween costumes on Instagram contain the term “Squid Game”. The photos often show children in the series’ costumes, which have already become icons of pop culture: the players’ green tracksuits or the guards’ red overalls with fencing masks.
“Squid Game” imitations also in German schoolyards
Although “Squid Game” is approved for ages 16+ in Germany (17+ in the US), the series has also found its way into the republic’s playgrounds. As the “Bayerischer Rundfunk” reported, For example, children in Augsburg played games from the series. With punishment. Face slaps replaced the execution.