A massive Brazilian influencer with tens of millions of followers and her reality TV husband launched a new “show” recently that features their nannies, cooks and cleaners competing against each other in games eerily reminiscent of the dystopian South Korean television hit “Squid Game.”
Journalist Glenn Greenwald, who lives in Brazil, went nuclear:
According to Greenwald, the workers can earn cash prizes equivalent to $200, a free massage, a dinner, or a get-out-of-jail-free card that allows them to show up to work an hour late. The grand prize for winning the entire show is $4,000. The first episode features the workers searching for hidden plastic balls, some of which are in garbage cans and toilets.
Greenwald frames it as a class war type of situation, though it’s quite possible the workers are happy to play along with their influencer bosses. Maybe that money is really good money in their eyes. Maybe they enjoy the fact that they can take a break from work, goof around and go viral on social media. Maybe they also want to be influencers. Who knows.
But if I were in their shoes, I would be absolutely mortified, and unless I were in truly desperate financial straits, had no other options available to me, and needed the work to support my family, I would call it quits.
There’s also a very high chance they really do not have a choice in the matter, and like the characters on “Squid Game,” are forced into it because they are suffering serious financial hardship and are deep in debt. At least, unlike “Squid Game,” they will not be killed if they lose the demeaning childlike game.
Not only is it reminiscent of this dystopian show, but it also brings to mind the American YouTuber MrBeast, who became famous for making game show-esque videos featuring stunts and challenges, and giveaway competitions. He might be the most popular internet celebrity of all time. He is certainly fabulously wealthy.
But do this new Brazilian domestic servant show, “Squid Game,” and MrBeast’s YouTube videos give us a glimpse into the dystopian future of the West? Are we already living in that future? If we are, in fact, living in that future, is there any possible escape?
John Gray, the British writer, philosopher, and trenchant observer of human nature, has an answer that can be found in his 2002 book, “Straw Dogs: Thoughts on Humans and Other Animals.”