Axiological Analysis on Netflix Series "Squid Game" as an Effort to Increase Awareness of Social Issues Among Generation Z

Abstract

The internet is one of the impacts of new technology development, which can be used to find out the culture that exists in certain regional areas. The swift enlargement of information and communication technology has affected the public culture, both in the form of positive and negative impacts. Improvements and technological advances offered in this era make it easier for the community to access many things, one of which is entertainment media such as Netflix. Netflix's new series entitled “Squid Game” is being watched by millions of people around the world because of its unique storyline; it tells the story of a group of adults who are deeply in debt, who struggle to get a prize worth billions of Won (the official currency of South Korea) with their lives at stake. Unfortunately, the young generation nowadays is only a drama connoisseur who just follows trends, without exploring the messages and values contained in them. Therefore, the author analyzes the Netflix series "Squid Game" using an axiological approach as an effort to increase awareness of social issues among generation Z. This study uses a qualitative method with google form as an observation instrument and relevant literature sources. Academically, this research is hoped to contribute to science development which is related to the philosophy of science, and axiology in particular. Practically, it is hoped that it can be useful for readers, especially as a stimulant in the practice of axiological thinking in everyday life. This research shows that Generation Z at first was not aware of the social issues contained in the Squid Game. However, after getting a little stimulant, they can identify social issues that occur in the Squid Game, compare them with social issues in Indonesia, and consider Squid Game as a way to increase awareness of Generation Z on social issues.

Reflections Of Squid Game on Children's Games and Viewers; An Example of Twitter Sentiment Analysis and Qualitative Research

“…Considering the results obtained from this research and the research conducted on the subject in the literature (Mukarromah et al, 2022;Kermode, 2021;Cho, 2021;Sparks, 2021;Horn, 2021), the virality of social media is seen to have a great influence on the rapid spread and popularization of Squid Game. Based on Charles Darwin's classical theory of evolution, the message of "natural selection", that is, the termination of the existence of weak rings with the idea that the best takes its place in life is active in the series.…”

“…It has managed to occupy the top positions on the lists in more than 90 countries (The Guardian, 2021). This unprecedented viral shot presents the audience with an eerie world in which marginalized individuals are engaged in a battle of life against each other by plating traditional children's games (Mukarromah et al, 2022). It also reflected how debt-ridden individuals put their lives on the line to earn money and the story of how innocent games got blood-soaked they played as children, to society with a combination of all human emotions (Arkananta et al, 2021;Witera et al, 2021).…”

“…It is impossible to ignore the fact that these series, which affect psychological well-being and cause the adoption of negative behaviors such as anxiety, aggression, and depression, can impair the mental health of all segments of society (Hoge et al, 2017;Anderson et al, 2003). Individuals of all ages, who cannot discover the desired messages and values only when following the current trends, freely express their feelings directly or indirectly through social media (Mukarromah et al, 2022;Licoppe, 2004). Twitter, one of the most popular microblogging platforms that provide this freedom of expression, is of interest to many researchers because it provides an opportunity to collect data and conduct their analysis (Giachanou and Crestani, 2016).…”