Whether it’s the one-two-three wooden man with a weird voice or the candy game that’s caused a heated discussion on the Internet, it’s really hard to ignore the existence of this Netflix drama. Its visual design, metaphor of reality, and cruel test of human nature undoubtedly make it an excellent material for film and television analysis. So what kind of psychological knowledge and applications are hidden in this human battle in “Squid Game”? In this article let’s talk about it.

The game itself is designed to “Dehumanization”

456 losers in life came to an isolated island with a gambler’s mentality eager to turn their lives around and thus began a life-and-death game full of temptations and extremely costly. Everyone was stripped of their clothes, and their mobile phones and personal belongings were confiscated. Then they were put into uniform game costumes and labeled with independent digital codes. From No. 1 to No. 456, each person’s unique name and identity were erased one by one. Who they were in the past, what auras they had, and what their past life experiences were were not important. What was important was that they were now participants in the game.

In the next few days, they will participate in 6 games. Those who successfully pass the level will successfully enter the next round of the game. Those who fail to follow the rules will be killed. Each person’s life is priced at 100 million won, and the final survivor will take away the bonuses of all eliminated people.

In this carefully constructed game world, not only have the players had their identities taken away, but the game staff also wear pink uniforms, with their faces obscured by thick masks. They strictly obeyed their superiors. Although they were in a real pool of death and blood, they were so cold-blooded that they killed people and cleaned up the corpses as if they were executing procedures. He can’t speak when he doesn’t have to, and he will be shot mercilessly once his true face is seen.

Uniform clothing and treatment are to classify people more clearly, thereby establishing order in the game. Then all the strict regulations and implementation related to it are designed based on the purpose of “dehumanization”.

Dehumanization refers to the full denial of human nature by belittling, objectifying, and demonizing others (Bandura, 1975). To put it simply and crudely, dehumanization means not treating people as human beings.

Looking at the entire game, we can see that dehumanization has been implemented long before the game starts. At the very beginning of the plot, the man in a suit challenged the male protagonist to participate in a game of cartoons and agreed that the losing party would give the other party 100,000 won. After losing the first set, the penniless male protagonist was unable to fulfill his promise with money, so the man in the suit slapped the male protagonist without hesitation. Since you can’t use money, then use your own body to repay. This is the beginning of dehumanization. The first slap is nothing more than a test of whether the male protagonist will give up his dignity for money.

The male protagonist also fits the expectations of the game. Despite his feelings of dissatisfaction and pain, he was willing to treat his body as a tool. As long as he can get another chance to play, he can always turn around. In this scene, the male protagonist is willing to accept being beaten in public, give up his dignity, and gamble again and again to get 100,000 won. This is an act of “self-dehumanization.”

Self-dehumanization refers to the behavior of devaluing, objectifying, and denying one’s humanity due to persecution or unfair treatment by others (Bastian, & Crimston, 2014).

That’s right, not only the game organizers, but the players themselves also chose to use themselves as tools and pawns after accepting the rules and costs of the game. Even if failure means losing their lives, they are willing to take risks for the huge bonus of 45.6 billion. After all, games, kidnapping, and imprisonment are called “opportunities”, and the sacrifice of companions symbolizes more “bonuses”, and those who are killed are just “eliminated” for not following the rules of the game.

Players are slowly brainwashed by the values and rules established by players, and they use limited resources to plot against each other. From the initial panic when seeing other people’s corpses, it gradually evolved into a series of insidious operations such as actively killing people and even betraying companions who trusted them to win the game. In this game, they forgot the value of life, the sense of morality that people should abide by, and the beautiful side of human nature.

All the manipulations by the competition organizers are constantly challenging the emergence of the dark side of human nature. The piggy bank hanging above the dormitory is like the sun, the only hope to illuminate the darkness of their lives. Unfortunately, the only bright symbol is the blood of the eliminated and their greed.

Under the rules of the game world, the staff will not feel any guilt when filming “Elimination”. Instead, they will view killing as “on a mission” and the person killed will become a pawn for a fee, thus justifying the cruelty.

Dehumanization is by no means limited to this film and television series. Throughout human history, dehumanization has been a powerful means of inciting violence, war, and genocide. It treats specific groups cruelly, labeling them as “subhuman”, such as torture, killing, enslavement, confiscation of property, denial of voting rights, and other corresponding human rights.

Dehumanization is also common in our current social context. Any definition of a person based on a single characteristic, especially a negative characteristic, is inherently dehumanizing (Hamby, 2018). For example, labeling others as “idiots”, “addicts”, “mentally ill” and other negative labels, and then criticizing and suppressing them for non-human reasons, or even depriving them of their basic rights. Isn’t this an act of ignoring and denying human nature?

The game is equal enough, but not “fair”

Fairness is also a theme worth exploring in this play. Game organizers have repeatedly emphasized that every contestant is equal, will not be subject to any discrimination, and is given the same opportunity to compete fairly. So everyone was given the same share of food, shared accommodation of the same conditions, and followed the same rules of the game. But is this game really fair? Obviously not.

The fact is that some players have their death-free gold medals, and their movements will not be detected in the “One Two Three Wooden Man”. Some players knew the game title in advance because they secretly colluded with the staff to trade living organs. Some contestants can judge the difference between tempered glass and ordinary glass by their knowledge reserves. In a tug-of-war game that tests strength, being a male and having a strong physique is undoubtedly an innate advantage. In the game of walking on the glass bridge, you can win directly by just getting the last serial number, because all the wrong paths have been tried by predecessors.

Even if they are given the same opportunities and treatment, fairness is still difficult to achieve because everyone’s gender, age, physical condition, intelligence, and many other factors are difficult to balance. This is a classic presentation of the equality vs. fairness issue.

The same situation is not uncommon in our reality. Much of what we think of as “equality” is actually a rule that applies to most people, but ignores marginalized and disadvantaged groups. Fairness is the recognition of differences between people and the special needs of each person. If fairness is to be achieved, equal distribution will no longer be reasonable. Instead, people with too many innate advantages will be required to give up part of their cake to make up for the shortcomings of those with no innate advantages (Cook, & Hegtvedt, 1983 ). Therefore, when we discuss fair competition in reality, we may need to seriously reflect on what exactly the “fairness” we advocate. Can fairness really be achieved?

Have games completely erased the beauty of human nature?

The most touching part of this drama is that it allows us to see that even in a cruel game environment, some people will still choose to be kind. Although the male protagonist in the play has accomplished nothing, has huge debts, has no serious job, and can only rely on gambling to gain some money and hope, in the game he is a very warm person who has the courage to protect the vulnerable. Many of his heartwarming actions are key ways to regain his humanity.

The most important thing is to ask everyone’s name, because the name is the first to be erased by the players, but the most unique symbol for everyone. Sincerely building trust with peers, and taking turns to protect the team after lights out at night are all manifestations of the best humanity. In the tug-of-war game, they were able to win the game with Wu Yinan’s strategy because they did not have the advantage in physical strength. This was also because the hero encouraged the old man to share his experience instead of despising the old and frail old man.

In the pinball game, the conversation between Zhiying and Jiang Xiao is also the most tearful moment in the whole drama. Knowing that they were in a game of life or death, they did not choose to compete fiercely or calculate, but agreed to decide the outcome in one round. The two girls sat side by side on the steps like best friends and shared their respective miserable life experiences. The more you share, the more opportunity I have to see the real you. In the end, Zhiying deliberately loses to Jiang Xiao in the marble-throwing game because she can no longer find the meaning of living without any worries. But Zhiying didn’t participate in the game for the bonus. The warmth she experienced before her death may be more precious than the bonus.

If “Squid Game” is an extreme human experiment, what is its conclusion? If careful calculation, shrewd calculation, and cruelty are the means of survival that best adapt to the rules of the game, why is the last survivor the male protagonist who seems to be warm and kind, but is cowardly and timid, play a little clever, and will not hesitate at critical moments? What about the self-interested ones? Maybe it’s because he has the aura of the protagonist, maybe he’s lucky enough, or maybe he’s disguised himself well. Many of his actions and decisions do not follow common sense, but they are all true expressions of his logic.

Although human nature is not bright enough, it is not completely dark either. Human nature is the result of different environments and life experiences. Human nature can look like anything, but it is absolutely real.