an american squid game... really?
torn up over the ultimatum & an american spin-off of 'squid game' is happening for some reason??
pov of the week
And with that, Squid Game is over. Except it’s not, really. (Major spoilers ahead).
The Season 3 finale of Squid Game revealed an American recruiter played by Cate Blanchett, of all people, implying the existence of Squid Game outside of Korea — a clear nod to the recently confirmed spin-off series set in the US. I know, it’s a lot to take in. Take a minute.
The reception to the third season of Squid Game has been a little mixed. The decision to split Season 2 and 3 by creator Hwang Dong-hyuk may have been done with the best of intentions to prevent a season with too many episodes, but the end of Season 2 ended up feeling like an awkwardly-timed break smack bang in the middle of the narrative. The characters and their untimely demises lost a bit of momentum as the titular games came to a dramatic end, and the payoff didn’t quite land for some.
I still liked it, though. Sure, the deaths didn’t hit as hard, but I still very much lost it when Geum-Ja couldn’t bring herself to continue in the games without her son. I’d barely recovered from Hyun-Ju’s death at the hands of Myung-Gi! By the time it was Jun-Hee’s turn, I wondered why I put myself through the torment of watching a series where literally everyone is destined to die. Gi-Hun’s final sacrifice made sense to me, especially considering the bleakness of the premise and the tragic endings I’ve come to expect from Korean dramas tbh.
“I think Korean TV shows talk a lot about life, love… universal themes that resonate with a lot of people,” Park Sung-Hoon, who plays Hyun-Ju, tells me.
“I always thought Korean titles were great at exploring the delicate human condition,” Yim Si-Wan, who plays Myung-Gi, says. “Though I now see that non-Korean media does this very well with its own charm. I’m very grateful that Korean titles are getting so much global attention so we can all experience it.”
It’s a no-brainer why Korean media is resonating so much around the world. I mean, we have shows about violent survival tournaments that pit desperate people against each other using beloved games from their childhood! Squid Game was just insane enough to work.
The charm of Squid Game for me is right in the title. ‘Squid’ is a common playground game depicted in Season 1. When the first season hit our screens in 2021, I asked my mum if she’d ever played squid herself, which of course she had, along with lots of the other games you see through the seasons. It’s a core memory of mine: seeing her eyes light up as she shared her favourite childhood memories playing these games.
It's this kind of charm that I fear may be missing from a US spin-off. Cate Blanchett’s recruiter playing ddakji is a key example of that. Why on earth would they be playing a South Korean children’s game to lure desperate Americans to participate in a series of violent games for a chance to win money? Will the show also be called Squid Game, somehow? Make it make sense.
If a spin-off is necessary, I would’ve loved to see it in a different country. One that hasn’t been explored time and time again in pop culture, where we as an audience can become familiar with the cultural nuances and the specific pressures of living in a country we don’t usually see on screen. It’s not that I don’t think the concept of Squid Game can be done in the US, but for me, so much joy from the series came from seeing the comparatively niche Korean references on a global stage, as well as seeing Korean actors find a whole new fanbase. It kinda sucks that we lose out on that.
— Lia
Hello!! It’s Ky back to share another hot lesson I’ve picked up from this great podcast from the super cool org Teach Us Consent. Because while (unlike what we usually hear) consent isn’t simple, it's a super important and ongoing journey. And it’s actually super hot.
hot lesson #2: “It’s not necessarily about being a healthy man but being a healthy human”
Listen back: Teach Us: How Gender Expectations Can Cause Harm (24:00)
Okay, so this ep really had a strong impact on me. Anthony Stefanos chatted to Daniel Principe, Blake Pavey, Gina Martin, and Brodie Grundy about how gender roles shape our sense of identity and how harmful they can be.
I’m someone who’s grown up in very masculine environments that were at odds with my personal identity. I’ve even felt the need to quit playing some sports because I was worried that my queerness didn’t fit in with the forms of masculinity that seemed to be rewarded in those spaces. So, to hear “traditionally masculine” men having a very open conversation about how damaging it can be to fit the heteronormative mould of the “real man” or “perfect woman”, was incredibly refreshing.
Something clicked for me when Brodie was talking about his experiences playing footy and how he felt conditioned to be a physically strong man with a loud, dominant personality in this environment. I realised that my own experiences in these settings have also led me to place an unfair set of expectations on sportsmen, anticipating them to be aggressive, homophobic, and physically dominant. But in doing that, I’m also reinforcing harmful gender roles.
Being strong, assertive, and stoic aren’t inherently negative things but when that’s the only thing that men are ‘allowed’ to be, it can become a problem. As Brodie says, it’s all about finding ways you can balance these traits with things like emotional intelligence, empathy, and respect.
some things on my radar this week:
So I’ve gone ALL the way down The Ultimatum: Queer Love s2 rabbit hole because I love mess. My thoughts are: Magan should have chosen Haley, Marie has every right to be filthy, and everyone pls check that their Spotify playlists are on private omg.
I’ve never even seen Bridgerton but I can’t look away from this vid of Charithra Chandran outmugging Andrew Garfield at Wimbledon. Diva.
NIMAs nominations are out and so many junkee faves are up for awards. Special mentions to Miss Kaninna (nommed for best new talent!), 3% (four noms!) and Emily Wurramara (also four noms!).
Every time I see promo for the latest season of And Just Like That I sigh. Heavily. It's been over for me since the first movie.
Been playing 'Broken Glass' on repeat in between rewatches of Ky’s vid essay, lorde, virgin and the question of gender. Both hit hard.
aux
songs to add to your playlist rn:
Air Maxes - KETTAMA, Shady Nasty, Fred again..
New cut from KETTAMA, Fred again.. and his “favourite band in the world right now.” Been such a long time coming but worth the wait for this hit of equal parts melancholy and euphoria.Toy Shaw needs to be on everyone’s radar!! She’s delivered nothing but banjo pop perfection all year and her debut album ‘Trinkets’ is out 1 August!
3% making a powerful return to 2025 <3 Such a beautiful tribute to our First Nations legends by the next gen of Indigenous icons. Big Nas ‘I Can’ vibes!
(Save this playlist btw, updating every week!!)
Bottoms (2023) I Ayo Edebiri u will always be famous
TLDW: Just finished watching The Bear Season 4 and I simply need more Ayo! Ky has told me to watch this movie about a million times and I think it’s time. From what I understand, it’s like lesbian fight club and every hot girl ever is in it. And Charli XCX did the soundtrack. Don’t take my word for it, but Ayo rated it 5 stars so…
Thou Shalt Not Steal (2024) I Heartbreak High stans assemble for this one <33
TLDW: Sherry-Lee Watson and Will McDonald are sooooo bloody good in this Dylan River-directed buddy drama. Dylan River is super fucking talented and writes cheeky, complex stories and this is no exception. Sherry-Lee plays a baddie and Will plays her awks accomplice. It’s akin to that series from 2017 called The End of the F***ing World where it’s just two people that never shoulda been in A Situation, but they are. Perfection.
I’m Glad My Mom Died I Jennette McCurdy’s book!! (famously, not something you can actually watch just yet but give me a sec pls)
TLDW: ICYMI, Jennette’s memoir is gonna be an Apple TV+ series starring Jennifer Aniston as the aforementioned mom. It made my list because I read it for the first time on Sunday and I could literally visualise it as I was reading. This is gonna sound rogue but my references for how I see this book coming to life from the page is a mix of Daisy Jones & The Six, Grey’s Anatomy, Tangled and I, Tonya. It’s a very harrowing analysis of mother-daughter relationships, the complexities of grief and the intense mental energy expelled to actively break generational cycles. I can’t wait to see this with my eyeballs and not just knocking around in my head lol.
(More faves on our letterboxd if you wanna follow us there)
Junkee Media acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land where this newsletter was produced, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation.
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