Is that still fun?
“I’ll kill you”: The series “Squid Game” is even re-enacted in day-care centers
“Squid Game” is currently the most successful series on the Netflix streaming portal.
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The new series “Squid Game” is celebrating great success worldwide – the makers have already announced the second season. But the brutality of the series worries many, because recently the games that end in death have even been re-enacted in day-care centers.
What is “Squid Game” about? The concept is relatively simple: In the series, highly indebted people compete against each other. The whole thing takes place in a dystopian version of South Korea on a mysterious island. Those who successfully survive six games will receive prize money of 45.6 billion won, the equivalent of around 33 million euros. The catch: if you lose, you pay with your life.
“Squid Game”: Korean children’s games are re-enacted bloodthirstily
The games in the series are based on popular Korean children’s games. It’s about tug-of-war or marbles, just in a rather bloodthirsty way. The series is not only extremely brutal, but also superficially depicts a society that couldn’t be more inhumane: either rich or dead.
The series has so far fascinated 111 million viewers: all over the world, making it the most watched series on the Netflix portal. But not only adults have long been enthusiastic, the brutal games have already reached schoolyards and even daycare centers.
“Squid Game” in the schoolyard: whoever loses gets a slap in the face
For example the game “Red Light, Green Light”. In the series, the players stand in a walled courtyard, where at the other end there is a doll statue several meters high. When she turns her head and looks at the players, everyone has to stand still. If she looks away, there is a run. Anyone who moves as soon as the doll looks will be shot. The game looks very similar in the schoolyard – there is no shooting, but there can still be a slap in the face, research by the “Bavarian Radio” in Augsburg has shown.
These messages are currently coming from all parts of Germany. In Lower Saxony, losers were beaten when replaying at two schools, writes the Ministry of Education. The Thuringian Ministry of Education already warned parents before the series that the content was not suitable for children under 16 years of age.
“Squid Game” is even re-enacted in day-care centers
Despite the age limit, there have even been reports of children re-enacting the “Squid Game” in the day care center. This is also the case in a Pinneberger daycare center near Hamburg. According to the reports of the “Schleswig-Holsteinische Zeitungsverlag”, kindergarten teachers are said to have noticed that those under six said at the end of the game: “I’ll kill you”.
The series is problematic for children not only because of the explicitly shown violence, but also because of its initially striking expressiveness: Violence is an acceptable means of pulling yourself out of debt and making money. It legitimizes acts of violence if they result in a benefit.
Experts demand: The age rating of 16 years must be complied with for “Squid Game”
Experts advocate that the FSK age rating from 16 years of age should be strictly adhered to. The scenes of violence can represent a very high psychological stress in children and young adults because they cannot yet process and classify what they see on the screen, according to the psychotherapist Katajun Lindenberg from the Goethe University in Frankfurt to the “Deutsche Presse” -Agency”.
Children only see the violence and what is obviously happening. The different levels of the series and the strong social criticism that lies behind this story, they cannot understand at all. In the worst case, their willingness to use violence increases, says Lindenberg.
The problem is that especially with young adults it is difficult to avoid dealing with the series. Because parts of the series can now be found on various social media. In addition, there is no age control for films and series from 16 on Netflix, this only applies from 18, where a youth protection code is then requested. With older children it is therefore worthwhile to talk about the complexity of this series, what it should actually stand for and about the fact that money and power are not everything in life.
Sources used: zdf.de, tagesschau.de, mopo.de, Newsletter Initiative Schau hin !, sueddeutsche.de