Netflix's Squid Game has taken audiences around the world by storm. The survival drama has already seen huge viewership numbers worldwide, but those statistics probably don't reflect the true scale of its popularity, seeing as how the show, thought banned in China, has seemingly been viewed by millions of Chinese viewers.
The illegal distribution of Squid Game in China has grown such that the South Korean ambassador to China, Jang Ha-sung, suggested that the series was being illegally streamed on over 60 different Chinese websites. In addition, users have been openly discussing the show, using the hashtag #SquidGame on the Chinese social media app Weibo. Posts and comments have reportedly been viewed over 2 million times.
All this, despite the fact that Chinese authorities and censors have banned Squid Game and its like from media. Netflix itself is not currently available in the territory and Squid Game has not been made available beyond the platform. Given the level of violence in the show, as well as many of its themes, it is unlikely it will ever be made available on screens. With regard to the possibility of a Chinese censor-friendly version, Wang Xiaohui, chief content officer of streaming platform iQiyi, stated, "this type of relatively dark subject matter that reflects the particularly dark side of human nature definitely won’t be produced in China... Regarding content production, we must follow ideology and social trends, including the enthusiasm and unity of the Chinese people."
It is important to note that, while graphic violence and certain themes have been banned from TV, film and other forms of entertainment in China for decades, the Chinese Communist Party-ruled government have been cracking down more heavily on entertainment over the course of 2021-- the centennial of the CCP. The state has introduced new guidelines for films, television and video games, all of which are now prohibited from exhibiting LGBTQ+ storylines, fictionalized historical settings -- to an extent-- and much more.
When it comes to foreign media, such as Squid Game, or any number of the major western films released this year, the impact the CCP-ruled government's crackdown has had a more pronounced impact on Disney and Marvel Studios', whose films, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and upcoming Eternals, have not screened in Chinese theaters, despite being passed by censors. Though neither overtly infringe on the ideologies or general preferences of the government censors, both have been hit by some measure of controversy in China, for a number of different reasons.
Created, written and directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk, all nine episodes of Squid Game are available for streaming now on Netflix.
Source: SCMP