Squid Game, a killfest for children. Although in most countries the latest Netflix series is not recommended for viewing by those under the age of 17, many young people still have access to it, exposed to the harmful effects of violent depictions, vasarnap.hu reports.
While Netflix's latest South Korean survival drama series "Squid Game" - in Hungarian "Win your life" - is breaking viewership records, more and more experts are advising parents: don't let their children watch it, read on CNN in a published article.
In the survival series, which premiered in September, deep-in-debt contestants play Korean children's games to win money. But if the participants lose, they also lose their lives. And the film does not shy away from depicting bloody scenes and violence at all - the author of the article points out.
The series has gathered a huge following. According to Netflix's report, 111 million users watched the series within a month, making it the most watched series of all time for that period. The Halloween costumes inspired by the clothes seen in the film lead the Internet search charts, and TikTok has already been flooded with challenges based on what was seen in the series.
Despite the fact that the program received the TV-MA classification on the channel, i.e. it is not recommended for people under 17 years of age (in Hungary it is currently recommended for people over 16 years old), the program still reaches the younger age group, raising the concern of experts.
David Anderson, head of the Child Mind Institute in New York, recently released a statement calling the level of violence in the film frightening.
And he compared the show to a murder festival, which assumes that only one of the more than 400 participants can be a survivor.
The guide on the Common Sense Media website also warns of the intensity and harmful effects of violence. The site, which rates programs and films, also draws parents' attention to the fact that "the characters in the films are systematically tortured and killed for the sadistic pleasure of the game master. Adult actors engage in sexual relations and threaten sexual violence: women are grabbed by the hair and beaten". They add: the film focuses on topics of how to get money through gambling or fraud.
Since the publication of the series, several schools have launched an appeal. At the private school in Roswell, Georgia, for example, it was forbidden to discuss the film and the games that appear in the institution.
This is not the first time that Netflix has released a show that is harmful to children. Last year, the channel's film Cuties, bordering on child pornography, caused international outrage. In the film, teenage girls twerk and show off. Although there was a worldwide movement to cancel Netflix subscriptions, the liberal mainstream immediately came to the defense of the film, saying it was about coming of age. In their opinion, the film that won an award at the Sundance festival is a victim of the right-wing media and a "gunpowder barrel" in an age that is terrified of childish sexuality.
Yes, we have been afraid ever since - and it seems now it could be from someone else...
Source and full article: vasarnap.hu
Featured image: MTI/EPA/Dzson Hon Kyun
