Squid Game is a poignant South Korean Netflix series that everyone should see. Jeffrey Bezos (founder and former CEO of Amazon) has some important lessons from the dystopian tale about late-stage capitalism's cruel rat race.
Bezos tweeted praise for Netflix's international strategy, which helped the Korean series take off worldwide. He called this "impressive" and "inspiring." A parenthetical clarified that Bezos might not be aware that Squid Game's depiction of Jeff Bezos of the world is not favorable.
Bezos wrote, "I can't wait for the show." And honestly, Jeff, we too would love to know your thoughts once you actually watch this Parasite-meets-Hunger Games critique of the class inequality created by the very exploitative, predatory capitalist systems you gamed at the expense of your workers' basic human rights and decency.
For anyone who needs to be reminded: Bezos owes much of his initial net worth to employees who reportedly had to resort at times to drinking in bottles and carrying bags in order to meet the demands of their employers and work environment.
It is also accused of failing to protect workers during the deadly pandemic. The lack of safety protocols and hellish working conditions combined with a lack transparency about pandemic protocols led to more than 20,000 people contracting COVID-19, along with unknown deaths. Bezos earned more money than ever, even though Amazon refused to pay sick leave for its workers during the pandemic.
The company was so concerned about workers' lives that it ran a series of disturbingly cheerful ads praising them for being "essential." Amazon isn't willing to spend a lot of money protecting workers but it seems willing to invest a lot in a PR strategy to counter all the negative media coverage surrounding reports about abusive working conditions.
Squid Game is a fictional concept. It's not real, but it has a reason. Eat The Rich sentiments are mainstream enough to end up at the Met Gala.
You'll be able to see the irony in Bezos's decision to ignore the main point of the disturbing series while simultaneously marveling at Netflix's profitability if you've seen the first episode. It's easy to understand why the show's message is so strong. Global viewers can easily relate to the metaphor of how the one percent trap everyone else in a capitalist game they can never win (at least not without losing everything).
Twitter users tried to warn Bezos about what they were up to.
Another clarified the role of Bezos in the fictional world, and it's not the hero.
Others suggested that he write down the lessons he learns from it.
Many saw the tweet as an opportunity for us to collectively detest it.
Let's talk to Jeff after he watches Squid Game or after people start making guillotines for the super rich. We hope that they can get Netflix in space for his sake!
