Recently there’s been a lot of buzz about Squid Game, which in just four weeks since its release has become the most popular series on Netflix. It’s quite a dark & dystopian series, with heavy themes and a fair amount of violence and gore. So how should Christians think through whether or not they watch a show like this?
This question came to the fore for me a few days ago. I made a brief post about Squid Game on Facebook, and a Christian friend mentioned that she and her husband were thinking of watching it, but weren’t sure whether it would be helpful/edifying to watch. That is an excellent instinct and the right question to ask! As Christians, we don’t want to mindlessly consume whatever our culture produces.
But how do we think through the question of which shows to watch? Here are a couple of pointers.
Some Principles
One common mistake in this area is that a lot of Christians focus on the wrong question. They ask whether it would be sinful to watch a particular movie / TV show. The underlying assumption is that if it’s not sinful, then it must be permissible, so go for it!
But the New Testament shows us that this is the wrong question to ask, and it sets the bar far too low. In 1 Corinthians, Paul is addressing the Christians at Corinth who were enjoying their “Christian freedom” a little too much. They rightly rejoiced that they were free from Old Testament law, but wrongly used that “freedom” to get into all kinds of sin, including sleeping with prostitutes (1 Corinthians 6:12-20)!
Paul exposes the superficiality of their thinking by quoting them (“everything is permissible”) but then pushing deeper to show that not everything is beneficial:
12 “Everything is permissible for me” – but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me” – but I will not be mastered by anything. (1 Corinthians 6:12)
So when it comes to Christians consuming media (or anything else for that matter), we shouldn’t simply ask if it’s permissible. We should ask: “Is this beneficial? Will it help me honour God and love others?”
That is the key question to ask. Our goal as followers of Jesus is not to ‘get away with’ as much worldliness as we can without ‘crossing the line’. Our goal is to honour Jesus as much as possible! And this should shape every area of our lives, including our media consumption. Watching Netflix is permissible, but it’s very easy for it to become a barrier to my growth in Christ (i.e. “not everything is beneficial”) or for me to become addicted to it (i.e. “I will not be mastered by anything”).
So if you’re a Christian, should you watch Squid Game? The answer is, it depends.
It definitely has potential for some value. It explores deep themes about humanity, hope, what life is about, what satisfies, etc., and could be a great starting point for conversations with friends about Jesus. But each Christian also needs to discern if watching Squid Game would be unhelpful (i.e. not ‘beneficial’) for them and their own growth in Christ, in which case the potential value isn’t worth it.
And this largely comes down to the individual Christian and their conscience and motives. Paul shows in 1 Corinthians 8-10 that some things are permissible for Christians with a strong conscience, but those same things might be sinful for those with a weaker conscience (see esp. 1 Corinthians 8:1-12).
So part of this comes down to conscience of the individual Christian and what each person will find unhelpful. For me personally, for example, my tolerance for violence and gore is very high – I find I’m not bothered or affected by it at all, whereas my wife has a much more sensitive conscience in this area. When it comes to nudity, on the other hand, I have zero tolerance. I know that any amount of it will be unhelpful for me in my walk with Jesus.
Some Practices
So what are some concrete practices that can help navigate this area?
If you don’t already know about it, IMDB Parents Guide is your friend! We looked it up and discovered that Squid Game has just one sex scene in the whole series, and it told us where it was so we knew when to be ready to skip past it. It also gives you an idea of how much violence, profanity, drug use, and scary scenes there are in a given movie / TV series, so it’s a helpful resource to use before you watch something.
Also, having regular open conversations about this with fellow Christians is a great practice to help us guard our hearts and be thoughtful and wise when it comes to our media consumption.
So if you’re a Christian, should you watch Squid Game? It depends! If you think it won’t be beneficial for your own walk with Christ, then it is wise to stay clear. But if you think it will, and that it will give opportunities to have good conversations about Jesus with others, then it may be worth a watch. And on that note, I’m going to do some follow up posts [see below] unpacking some of the themes in Squid Game and how the gospel speaks into them.
I would like to comment on watching squid game. I think you should advise to definitely stay away from that. I am very aware of your explanation of rules-based thinking, many Christians ask ‘is it sinful’? No, it is not in the Bible defined as so, so it is allowed, i can watch and enjoy. For the same reasons, many Christians in my evangelical church watched sometimes horror and ghost movies.
But it is also about the spirit. Watching this brings such a so negative vibe, energy, fear to you and your home that your mind will be hardened to watch these gory and surrealiatic weird things and it attracts negative entities. The ‘energes’ of the Holy Spirit is pure, loving like Christ our saviour shows. No wonder many young people get sleep issues, nightmares, short temper, using cuss words, have unexplainable fear sometimes etc. The brain filters and heals much slower even if you pray for the Holy Spirit to heal. Please consider the spiritual part also. It is dangerous for os iety. Kind regs, Chris
Hey Chris, thanks for your comment. I can absolutely see where you’re coming from, and I think for some Christians, watching things like Squid Game can absolutely have that effect. For those individuals, Squid Game may be ‘permissible’ but it is not ‘beneficial’ for their walk with Christ, and I think it would be wise not to watch.
Thanks so much for the read. It was such a major concern for me as I watch it and I’m glad you helped me understand better. Absolutely enjoyed the read and may God bless you!
Hello Ben,
Something baffles me about the Christian character of the series.
I’m not sure if what is but it suggests to me that a message is being passed on that Christianity isn’t real.
What’s your take on that?
Hey Thelma, absolutely, I know you’re not alone in feeling uncomfortable about the Christian character (Player 244, the so-called ‘Pastor’)! I think it presents Christianity in a pretty bad light, but is actually a great opportunity to have a conversation with others about Jesus. I wrote a follow-up post about this very thing: https://thebensmartblog.com/2021/10/17/squid-games-reflections-2-religious-hypocrisy/
Hey Ben, interesting article.
I would emphasize that you can watch just about anything through a Theological Lens. For example, I know some Christians who are afraid to watch Harry Potter but I think Harry Potter has some deep theological meaning in it.
Same for Squid Game. On the surface, this could look really against Christian values, but for me when I watched all 9 episodes, I saw a really creative portrayal of our human sin & greed. I mean, how wild is it that 93% of the contestants re-entered the game when given the option to leave after knowing the consequences! But ultimately the prize people played for proved to be UNFULFILLING! And in the process, we get the feeling that the main character learned a lesson in coveting possessions & money and found what is fulfilling is the relationships and serving others.
Squid Game is loaded with Theology like many other great stories are!
Hey Evan, I agree that a thoughtful theological lens is key when we watch things, and that there can be real value in that (as you say, there are some key themes in Squid Game that can lead to conversations!).
But I would want to emphasize that just because we can watch almost anything with a theological lens, it doesn’t mean we SHOULD watch almost anything, because there is a lot of media out there that will actually be unhelpful for our Christlikeness. Harry Potter? Go for it! Game of Thrones… different story!