The Netflix original (self-produced) drama 'Squid Game Season 2' returns after 3 years, opening with 'Russian Roulette.' It is a survival game where a single bullet is placed in a revolver, and players take turns aiming the gun and pulling the trigger.
The protagonist, Seong Gi-hun (played by Lee Jung-jae), who says 'I should stop the game,' jumps into this extreme game while leaving his life to chance. Every time players take turns aiming the gun, it is unavoidable to feel like dopamine, a neurotransmitter that transmits excitement in the brain's nerve cells, is exploding.
The popularity of 'Squid Game 2,' released on Dec. 26 last year, continues. According to FlixPatrol, which aggregates content rankings from global over-the-top (OTT) platforms, 'Squid Game 2' reached the top in all 93 countries included in the survey, not just domestically.
'Squid Game 2' adopts the same survival game format as its predecessor. However, a large number of new characters have been introduced to add fresh stimuli. A pregnant woman participates in the game, and characters who are heavily in debt through cryptocurrency or behave under the influence of drugs feature prominently.
The game, where players pair up based on the number of participants on a large disc reminiscent of a amusement park carousel to the tune of the beloved Korean children's song 'Doongeulga Doongeulga', becomes increasingly grotesque as it is repeated, leaving participants drenched in fatigue (see image above). The raw organ extraction scenes following the previous work and the four-minute long brawl among participants are evaluated as some of the bloodiest scenes.
The brutality of 'Family Planning,' which is setting new records for watch time and viewership in the Coupang Play series, rivals that of 'Squid Game 2.' The show depicts a mother (played by Bae Doona) with a special ability to edit memories working with her family to unleash hell on a villain, shocking viewers from the start with a scene where the mother slices 1 kg of flesh from a criminal's thigh.
Comprising six episodes, 'Family Planning' reveals a more formidable villain as episodes progress, showcasing gruesome scenes such as ear severing and crucifixion. Its aim is to maximize the character's suffering, severely punishing villains while allowing viewers to feel catharsis. It also features the process of fostering strong bonds through violence and becoming a family. However, this setup has raised concerns that violence depicted in a torturous manner may glamorize it or worsen viewers' psychological unease.
Disney+, aiming for a 'second Moving,' launched 'Light Shop' at the end of last year, featuring ghosts with abnormally transformed bodies, including a woman with nails stuck to her palm and an endlessly growing arm. The show startles viewers with scenes from self-hanging to nails falling off during the struggle.
'Light Shop,' which unfolds the stories of people on the boundary between life and death in the form of horror, has maintained its top position on Disney+ even a month after its release due to word of mouth.
Experts say it is inevitable to seek stimulating content in difficult political and economic situations. This is to temporarily release dopamine to alleviate stress and seek pleasure.
Choi Jae-bung, a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Sungkyunkwan University, noted, 'Although they may appear stimulating and brutal, there is a high demand for empathy or catharsis when compared to grim realities,' adding, 'It can be seen as timely content that meets what people want.'
The popularization of OTT platforms without restrictions on intensity or expression, along with YouTube algorithms, is also cited as a reason for the increased exposure of stimulating content.
Some argue that rather than focusing solely on violence itself, attention should be paid to the underlying message. Cultural critic Jeong Deok-hyeon stated, 'OTT has brought to the surface crimes like prostitution, drug use, and school violence that could not be depicted on mainstream channels due to its entry barrier of self-selecting and paying fees,' remarking, 'While it is true that the violence is intense, more emphasis should be placed on whether the stories intended to be expressed through it are properly conveyed.'