Quids In
為什麼《魷魚遊戲》讓全球為之瘋狂?!
“Squid Game” Becomes Netflix’s Most-Viewed Show Ever
ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR
A TV show about crippling debt is on track to become one of Netflix’s biggest earners. The company says Squid Game is pushing past Bridgerton as its most-watched program ever. Paula Hancocks has more on the South Korean phenomenon.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT
Already hitting number one in 90 different countries on Netflix, Squid Game is a South Korean TV show where 456 debt-ridden contestants compete in childlike games for a prize of nearly $40 million, but the penalty for losing is death. Show creator Hwang Dong-hyuk has [had] wanted to make the show for more than a decade, but studios rejected it.
HWANG DONG-HYUK, CREATOR AND DIRECTOR, “SQUID GAME” (VIA INTERPRETER)
When I showed it to people, a lot of them said that it was unfamiliar. “It’s strange and unfamiliar. What is this? What the hell is this?” They said this in [a] negative way.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT
South Korea already has a strong film industry with deep talent pools and large, profitable studios, but its TV shows were predominantly romantic soap operas until Netflix arrived.
HWANG DONG-HYUK, CREATOR AND DIRECTOR, “SQUID GAME” (VIA INTERPRETER)
I suddenly thought, “Will I be able to bring the show to life as I wanted if Netflix is involved?” I took that script from 10 years ago and showed it to them. Netflix said they loved it.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT
Netflix says it has already invested some $2 billion on Asian content and will invest another half a billion on making new Korean content alone this year.
MINYOUNG KIM, VP OF CONTENT, KOREA/SEA/ANZ, NETFLIX
I think in the past couple of years, we’ve seen Korean content viewing grow four times in the region.
JANE FONDA, ACTRESS
Parasite.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT
This is a golden age of Korean cultural exports. One win after another: music, films, TV shows—dubbed “Hallyu,” or Korean wave, and it’s swept far beyond Asia, where it’s been popular for the past two decades. Hwang says that this show’s message resonates around the world.
HWANG DONG-HYUK, CREATOR AND DIRECTOR, “SQUID GAME” (VIA INTERPRETER)
The world is getting much harder to live in. Even in the last 10 years, wealth disparity is [has been] growing. Nations are facing economic strife, and the added element of the COVID[-19] pandemic has made the wealth gap even worse.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT
Social disparity [was] mirrored in Oscar-winning Korean film Parasite. Film experts say that content from South Korea, with its turbulent history of war and military dictatorship, traditionally carries a strong political message.
HYE SEUNG CHUNG, PROFESSOR OF FILM AND MEDIA STUDIES, COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY
Media is not just [a] means of entertainment, like in the United States or in the West, but media has been always [been] considered a very important tool for political
enlightment [enlightenment] or political resistance.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT
But it’s not all politics.
HYE SEUNG CHUNG, PROFESSOR OF FILM AND MEDIA STUDIES, COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY
It is still relatively cheap to produce dramas in South Korea compared in [to] America. In the Squid Game, the … each episode cost less than $2 million, which is half of the price Netflix invested in each episode of House of Cards.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT
And the younger generation is far more open to foreign-language content.
JASON BECHERVAISE, PROFESSOR OF ENTERTAINMENT, KOREA SOONGSIL CYBER UNIVERSITY
If you look at those who watch Parasite, a big number of the, kind of, audiences, or the audience that went to see Parasite in the United States was younger people, and they were … they’ve been really keen to, kind of, break that one-inch subtitle barrier.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT
The success of Squid Game is already helping other Asian content to trend on Netflix while other streaming platforms are looking to replicate this enormous success.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.
CNN主播 愛麗森.科西克
一部關於令人難以翻身的債務的電視劇即將成為網飛數一數二吸金的節目。該公司表示,《魷魚遊戲》將擠下《柏捷頓家族:名門韻事》,成為該平台史上最多人觀看的節目。寶拉.漢考克斯對這部轟動的韓劇有更多報導。
CNN特派員 寶拉.漢考克斯
已在九十個不同國家登上網飛冠軍寶座的《魷魚遊戲》是一部韓國電視劇,劇中四百五十六名債務纏身的參賽者在孩子玩的遊戲中爭奪近四千萬美元的獎金,不過輸的懲罰是死亡。劇作家黃東赫想做這齣劇十多年了,不過電影公司都拒絕了。
《魷魚遊戲》劇作家暨導演 黃東赫(經由口譯)
我把它拿給大家看,很多人都說這很冷僻。「它很奇怪又很冷僻。這是什麼?這是什麼鬼?」他們都把這個說得很負面。
CNN特派員 寶拉.漢考克斯
韓國已經有強大的電影產業,人才濟濟,還有獲利豐厚的大型電影公司,但是該國的電視劇主要都是浪漫肥皂劇,直到網飛的到來。
《魷魚遊戲》劇作家暨導演 黃東赫(經由口譯)
我突然想到:「如果網飛加入,我會不會能夠照我想要的方式把這齣劇拍出來?」我拿那個十年前的劇本給他們看。網飛說他們很喜歡。
CNN特派員 寶拉.漢考克斯
網飛表示公司已經在亞洲影視內容上投資了約二十億美元,而且光是今年(編按:指二○二一年)就會再投資五億美元製作新的韓國影視內容。
網飛韓國、東南亞、紐澳地區內容部副總 金敏英
我想過去幾年間,我們已經看到韓國影視內容的觀看量在這個地區成長了四倍。
演員 珍.芳達
《寄生上流》。
CNN特派員 寶拉.漢考克斯
這是韓國文化出口的黃金年代。一個接著一個的成功:音樂、電影、電視劇──人稱「韓流」,也就是韓國潮流,而且它橫掃的範圍遠遠超越亞洲,過去二十年來韓流就已在亞洲大受歡迎了。黃東赫說,這齣劇的訊息在全球各地都能引發回響。
《魷魚遊戲》劇作家暨導演 黃東赫(經由口譯)
這個世界變得越來越難生存了。甚至在過去十年間,貧富差距一直在擴大。許多國家面臨著經濟衝突,而新冠病毒疫情大流行的附加因素使得貧富差距更加惡化了。
CNN特派員 寶拉.漢考克斯
社會不平等在奧斯卡獲獎的韓國電影《寄生上流》中被反映出來。電影專家表示,因其戰爭和軍事獨裁的動盪歷史,韓國出品的影視內容傳統上會帶有強烈的政治訊息。
科羅拉多州立大學電影與媒體研究教授 鍾慧勝(音譯)
像是在美國或西方世界,媒體不只是一種娛樂工具,媒體也往往被視為政治啟蒙或政治抗爭一項非常重要的工具。
CNN特派員 寶拉.漢考克斯
不過並非全都是政治。
科羅拉多州立大學電影與媒體研究教授 鍾慧勝(音譯)
和美國相比,在韓國製作戲劇還是相對便宜。在《魷魚遊戲》中,每一集成本不到兩百萬美元,那是網飛在每一集《紙牌屋》投資的價格的一半。
CNN特派員 寶拉.漢考克斯
而且較年輕的這一代遠遠更能接受外語影視內容。
韓國崇實網路大學娛樂業教授 傑森.貝切維斯
如果你研究那些看《寄生上流》的人,在美國去看了《寄生上流》的觀眾很多是比較年輕的人,而他們是……他們非常渴望打破那一英寸寬的字幕隔閡。
CNN特派員 寶拉.漢考克斯
《魷魚遊戲》的成功已經幫助其他亞洲影視內容在網飛上形成風潮,而其他串流平台正在觀望,想要再現這項巨大的成功。
本台記者寶拉.漢考克斯,在首爾的報導。