Netflix
A couple of weeks ago on the Post-Credit Podcast, we were discussing what — if anything at all — Netflix could learn from the instant and massive success of their South Korean series Squid Game. Netflix is, after all, a company built on data, algorithms, and quantifying viewing habits — surely they’d be able to glean something from the unprecedented virality of Squid Game.
Does this tell them they should make more South Korean content? Include more gore in their shows? More content about the downfalls of capitalism? Or — and this is my line of thinking — is it possible that Squid Game is unquantifiable? Squid Game is art, and art, other than the prices pieces sell for, is an unquantifiable medium. When the average person goes to a museum, they don’t know *why* a piece of art — whether it be a painting or a sculpture of a photograph — speaks to them, they just know that it does and that’s all that really matters.
And that, basically, is what I think is happening with Squid Game: charts and graphs and data like you’ll see below will be able to put a number on how big it’s become but I doubt anyone will ever be able to truly figure out why.
Ok, I’ll watch Squid Game pic.twitter.com/yzomE7eErA
— Scott Galloway (@profgalloway) October 10, 2021
Just think about how much the culture seemed to be talking about Baby Yoda and Joe Exotic and then try to wrap your head around how much larger the search volume for Squid Game is. As the great Ron Burgundy once said, it truly bottles the mind.
RELATED: The ‘Squid Game’ Closed Captions Are Apparently Mistranslated And Are Therefore Changing The Show
All nine episodes of Squid Game are currently streaming on Netflix.
Subscribe and listen to our pop culture podcast, the Post-Credit Podcast, and follow us on Twitter @PostCredPod
(Apple | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Anchor)