Global TV: “Squid Game” Episode 6 Screening and Discussion

The Netflix smash hit Squid Game topped streaming charts worldwide in 2021 and found critical success for its biting social commentary and class critique. The show follows Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), a down-on-his-luck debtor invited to a mysterious underground game that promises considerable wealth to one lucky winner. Hundreds of similarly destitute players compete in familiar children’s games like Red Light, Green Light and tug of war, only to realize the lethal stakes when one loses a game. The only way to win is to outlast other players and follow the rules enforced by the masked guards led by a shady organization. Joined by his childhood friend Cho Sang-woo (Park Hae-soo), Gi-hun encounters a motley crew of Korea’s underclass, including North Korean defector Kang Sae-byeok (HoYeon Jung), migrant worker Abdul Ali (Anupam Tripathi), petty gangster Jang Deok-su (Heo Sung-tae), and the elderly man Oh Il-nam (O Yeong-su). Striking production design and powerful performances elevate Squid Game’s dark allegory of class struggle, wealth disparity, and the ravages of capitalism, and the show offers resonant commentary on our contemporary society.

For this special hybrid event, the Pollock Theater will offer an in-person screening of Squid Game episode 6, “Gganbu.” Following the screening, Squid Gameproduction designer Chae Kyoung-sun will join moderator Rita Raley (English, UCSB) and interpreter Eunjin Choi in a post-screening discussion of the show. Participants may register to join the discussion in the theater with other Pollock patrons, or may join remotely via Zoom webinar at 8:15 PM PDT.