[SPOILER ALERT! These posts contain major spoilers for Squid Game. Also, if you’re a Christian, it’s worth thinking through whether or not this is a show you want to watch]
One of the important themes that Squid Game explores is the question of human dignity. I reckon this could be a good opportunity to have conversations with those who don’t yet know Jesus about an important issue. So what does Squid Game say about human dignity? And how can that lead to a good gospel conversation?
Human Dignity in Squid Game
In episode 9, after Gi-Hun has won the game, he is clearly still reeling from the traumatic experience. While blindfolded, he asks the Frontman (who helps run the game), “Why? Why did you do it? How could you?”
The Frontman replies, “You bet on horses. It’s the same here, but we bet on humans. You’re our horses.”
Gi-Hun is deeply disturbed by this, but is unable to continue the conversation because he is gassed. At the end of the episode, however, when Gi-Hun manages to find the phone number and call the Frontman, he tells him emphatically, “Listen carefully. I’m not a horse. I’m a person.”
When you look throughout the show, there are a number of ways that players were de-humanised, stripped of their individuality, and treated as sub-human. They are each assigned a number, and are referred to by number rather than by name throughout. They are given identical uniforms with those numbers emblazoned on them. (It’s significant when the players, at the instigation of Gi-Hun, share their names with each other, which humanises them).
Also, each player is assigned a “value” – they are each “worth” ₩100,000,000 (about $110,000 AUD), and when they die, that amount of money is added to the prize pool for the survivors. Clearly, the players are being treated as a means to an end, rather than people who have inherent dignity and worth as human beings.
But Squid Game shows that it’s actually those who run the game, rather than the players themselves, who are really de-humanised. Notably, all the guards (and the Frontman) wear masks and speak through filters that make them sound like robots. When one of the guards takes off his mask, it instantly shows his humanness and vulnerability – but the Frontman shoots him dead on the spot for doing so.
This theme is even more pronounced with the VIPs. Not only do they wear masks, but they wear animal masks. They’re presented as brute beasts driven by their instincts. Ironically, to treat others without the human dignity they deserve actually de-humanises us, rather than them.
Leading to Good Conversations
I imagine most secular people in the West will resonate with Squid Game‘s portrayal of the dignity of human beings: it’s not right to bet on people and treat them like animals.
But when you push beneath the surface, our secular culture doesn’t have a good reason for why humans have inherent dignity. What does make us different from other animals? If atheists like Peter Singer are to be believed, it is “species-ism” to treat humans as if they somehow have greater inherent dignity than horses, pigs, or any other animal. After all, according to our secular culture, humans are just primates who happen to be a bit more developed than other animals, but we’re animals like them just the same.
So I reckon it would be worth asking a friend: do you think it’s wrong to treat humans any different from horses? If so, why?
I don’t think our secular culture has a good answer for this question, but the Bible does.
The Bible tells us that people are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), which gives every human intrinsic dignity and worth. It means that a person’s value can’t be reduced to a dollar figure. It means that a person shouldn’t be used as a means to an end by someone else, to be tortured or killed for someone else’s enjoyment (Genesis 9:6).
The Bible tells us that our strong instinct that humans have inherent dignity is right, and it is concretely grounded in the reality of how God has made us.
What’s more, God showed us the enormous value of humanity when he entered into our experience as a man named Jesus, to share in our humanity and save us from all the ways we mistreat and de-humanise others. Jesus showed us what it means to be fully human, to live our lives as God intended.
So next time I’m hanging out with a friend and Squid Game comes up, I might ask, “What do you make of Gi-Hun saying he’s not a horse, he’s a person? What do you reckon is going on there?”
And we’ll see where the conversation goes from there.