“The 8 Show” The almost new Squid Game?

It’s been a long time since we’ve presented an analysis of a Korean drama. The one we present in this article comes from a Netflix production and is called “The 8 Show”. This is not an independent South Korean production. At first glance, when I saw the trailer, I found the same graphic and narrative spirit as in ” Squid Game “. However, although this program works with the same narrative mechanisms, by the end of the second episode, we see that it criticizes and highlights other shortcomings of Korean society.

These systems of denunciation have become over-exploited in Korean productions, and since the popularization of the Korean genre, denunciation of the same shortcomings of Korean society has become commonplace. In this article, we offer a sociological and philosophical analysis, as well as a study of the group behavior in “The 8 Show”.

Inspiration and theme

“The 8 Show” is inspired by the series “Money Game” and “Pie Game” by Jin Soo Bae (배진수). Once again, a recurring theme emerges: a Korean production talks to us again about money, the problems of inequality and the usurers who are very present in Korean society. The problems of inequality have been excessively denounced in recent audiovisual productions. From this point of view, the drama breaks no new ground. It’s clear that this is a Netflix production, which has adapted the codes initially present in Korean dramas. Netflix productions have brought Korean productions to the fore!

Dividing the winnings

The series uses a Fibonacci sequence to distribute the participants’ winnings over the different floors. But what is a Fibonacci sequence, and how does it work?

The Fibonacci sequence is a sequence of whole numbers in which each number is the sum of the two preceding numbers . It begins with the numbers 0 and 1, then continues with 1 (as the sum of 0 and 1), 2 (as the sum of 1 and 1), 3 (as the sum of 1 and 2), 5 (as the sum of 2 and 3), 8 (as the sum of 3 and 5), and so on . The terms of this sequence, known as Fibonacci numbers, are related to the golden ratio, denoted φ (phi), which is used to express the general term of the sequence . Conversely, the Fibonacci sequence is involved in writing the reducts of the expression of φ as a continued fraction: the quotients of two consecutive terms of the Fibonacci sequence are the best approximations of the golden number .

How is the Fibonacci sequence applied and implemented in the series? It is used in the distribution of the players’ winnings per minute…

• 1st floor: 10,000 won
• 2nd floor: 20,000 Won
• 1st floor + 2nd floor = 3rd floor (30,000 Won)
• 2nd floor + 3rd floor = 4th floor (50,000 Wons)
• 3rd floor + 4th floor = 5th floor (80,000 Wons)
• 4th floor + 5th floor = 6th floor (130,000 Won)
• 5th floor + 6th floor = 7th floor (210,000 Wons)
• 6th floor + 7th floor = 8th floor (340,000 Wons)

A Class Slap

Right from the start of the second episode, player number 8 highlights an interesting realization. She earns 340,000 won per minute, while the other floors earn much less, on a sliding scale per floor. Her behavior is in line with her earnings, and perfectly illustrates what can happen in real life between the wealthy and modest classes. She doesn’t understand when her classmates tell her how much they earn.

She feels she doesn’t have to work because she naturally earns a lot, and expects others to be perfectly subservient to her.

Since food arrives first on her floor, she eats all the food without embarrassment, both her own and that of others. And thanks to her high earnings, she deprives herself of nothing by creating a very luxurious bedroom interior for herself. The others are of little or no importance to her.

The 8th floor, in episode 4, is the perfect illustration of the rich man’s place and concerns in society. She’s completely indifferent to whether the others below her eat or not. In other words, her Maslow pyramid is full. We see the 8th floor always dressed differently from the others, she always wears nice clothes, while the others are dressed in the show’s default clothes.

money will replace her need for sociability. In other words, she could isolate herself perfectly from others on her ^8th floor, and it wouldn’t change a thing for her. The character on the eighth floor is the perfect representation of the rich man’s place and concerns in society.

Reflections on society

The phenomenon observed in “The 8 Show” can be put into perspective with the heads of very large companies, such as some of the richest men in the world, when he is interviewed by a France TV crew and pretends not to understand how difficult it is for the lower classes to make ends meet. This understanding is not immediately possible, as the protagonists do not live in the same financial universe.

Roles and the Company

“When everyone really fulfills their role, society finally begins to function in a stable way.” The series shows that everyone needs a role in society. Number 7 seems to be the brains of the adventure. He’s the one who finds every important element and discovers that going up and down the stairs increases the game’s time. However, this method doesn’t work to increase time. In fact, they are a bit like influencers in this adventure, and their aim is to entertain the viewers, about whom we know nothing at the moment. There’s a good analysis of the situation in the episode dedicated to the third floor. One important piece of information we learn is that when viewers are entertained, the participants gain time.

A company of images

“Viewers… We have to entertain them…” We live more and more in a society of images and entertainment, and this sentence from the narrator is proof of that.

Visual References and Influences

We can feel the visual influences of “Squid Game”: aesthetics, lighting, polished and sanitized images, very international. There’s also a strong reference to “Clockwork Orange”, particularly in episodes 7 and 8, whether in the principle of torture or the use of classical music during moments of extreme violence.

At the start of the series, we can see that the image format is square. When they enter the show, the image suddenly switches to 16:9, no doubt a reference to Xavier Dolan’s film “Mommy”, where the change of format shows a form of liberation. In “The 8 Show”, it’s a question of financial liberation, as the participants no longer have to worry about money once they’re in the show.

Social Experiences

Solomon Asch’s 1951 group conformity experiment is a classic study in social psychology, demonstrating the power of conformity to influence an individual’s decisions within a group.

The Protocol

1. Participants: A group of students was invited to take part in a so-called vision test.
2. Task: Participants had to judge the length of several lines drawn on posters and identify which of the three lines on the right was the same length as the “control” line on the left.
3. Accomplices: All but one of the participants were accomplices of the experimenter. Their role was to give the wrong answer every time.
4. Subject: The last participant, who was the subject of the study, had to give his answer after hearing those of his accomplices.

Results

1. Conformity: The experiment showed that 33% of subjects ended up conforming to the wrong answers supported unanimously by accomplices, even if this went against their own visual judgment.
2. Group influence: When accomplices gave a unanimous response, subjects were more likely to conform. However, if an accomplice gave a correct answer, subjects were more likely to defend their own judgment.
3. Variations: The experiment was repeated with variations, such as having the subject answer first, asking an accomplice to give correct answers, or reducing the group to two participants. The results showed that subjects answered correctly in most situations, except when they had to support answers that went against the unanimous opinion of the group.

Interpretation

1. Social pressure: Conformity is motivated by the need to avoid appearing different or risking possible sanction by the majority.
2. Culture: Collectivist cultures, where the importance of the group is emphasized, tend to encourage conformity, while individualist cultures, which value personal initiative, discourage it.
3. Gender: Women tend to conform slightly more than men.

Applications

1. Group management: Understanding conformism helps to create conditions conducive to fruitful exchanges and innovation in work groups.
2. Decision-making: It’s important to take account of group influences to avoid errors of judgment and promote creativity.

In episode 4, the players decide to play the King’s game, and agree on a penalty if one of the players refuses to do what he has to do. It’s the same experience as the Stanford prison game. This hierarchy is established according to what the players win, but what is considered the norm changes.

Episode 7 is particularly strong graphically, showing that sadism and suffering are no longer a means to an end. Players create rules that can contribute to their own discomfort and suffering.

Group Experiences

The group experiments in “The 8 show” feature many visual references, as well as references to psychology, the study of crowd behavior, and of individuals under duress or suffering. There’s also a nice reference to Milgram’s experiment.

The Milgram experiment is a famous study conducted by American psychologist Stanley Milgram in the 1960s. Its aim was to study the degree to which an individual will obey an authority figure, even if the orders given conflict with his or her moral values. Experience put into practice during the Stanford prison experiment.

Stanford Prison

The Stanford Prison Experiment, also known as the Lucifer Effect, is a famous social psychology study conducted by Philip Zimbardo in 1971. Its aim was to explore the effects of prison confinement on prisoners and their captors. Key points of this experiment:

Background and methodology

• Recruitment and Roles: Twenty Stanford University students, selected from 75 applications, took part in the experiment. They were divided into two groups: ten prisoners and ten guards. Participants were chosen for their good physical and mental health, as well as for their lack of legal problems.
• Prison simulation: The simulation took place in the basement of Stanford University’s psychology building. The prisoners wore blouses with no underwear and chains on their feet, while the guards wore military garb and sunglasses. The experiment was initially scheduled to last two weeks.

Course and results

• Rapid deterioration: The experiment quickly took an unexpected turn. The guards began to behave in an authoritarian and humiliating manner towards the prisoners, who reacted by developing depressive states and rebellious behavior. The guards even used fire extinguishers to subdue the prisoners during a revolt.
• Early termination: The experiment was terminated on the sixth day due to the rapid deterioration of the situation. The prisoners showed symptoms of depression and anxiety, while the guards became increasingly aggressive.

Reviews and controversies

• Lies and Bias: Zimbardo has been criticized for lying about several aspects of the experiment, including the claim that the guards invented their own rules when they had been given precise instructions. In addition, the experiment was carried out only once, making it statistically unrepresentative.
• Activist act: Some have accused Zimbardo of conducting an activist act rather than a scientific study, as he already had a preconceived hypothesis about the influence of the situation on individual behavior.

In episode 4, the players decide to play the King’s game and agree on a penalty if one of the players refuses to do what he has to do. The same experiment as the one at Stanford Prison takes shape.

The Stanford prison experiment is put into practice in episode 5, where a hierarchy is established according to how much the players earn. There is no longer equality between the status of each participant. If we draw a parallel between Stanford prison and The 8 Show, then the top 4 floors are the police, and the bottom 4 are the prisoners forced into hard labor.

“The smallest of hopes can keep us going. Telling ourselves that today is better than yesterday, that tomorrow will be better than today, and just thinking about a better future is enough to keep us going.” This is what the main character says to himself in episode 5, but these thoughts already existed in the Stanford experiment.

Social differentiation

Episodes 5 and 6 apply another group experiment conducted on rats by Yann Lefranc. A hierarchy quickly takes over within a group. In animals, roles are decided “naturally”, whereas in the group of players in the series, roles are decided on the basis of each person’s earnings per minute.

The Power of Imagination

In episode 6, the power of imagination is strong when comfort is needed. The second floor feeds the imaginations of the other participants by creating a dish of noodles and broth. This dish, though imaginary, comforts everyone and gives the impression of nourishing not only the body but also the spirit.

Conclusion and End of Series

In episode 8, we discover that “The 8 Show” has become a series written by the seventh floor. This justifies all the visual and even narrative choices. At the start of the series, we ask ourselves why this choice to deliberately cram in visual and graphic references to cinema. The answer is given at the end: it was a social experiment that led to the writing of the series. However, the ending leaves us in doubt: is the seventh floor the organizer of the show, or did he simply use his life experience to write a success story?

Analysis perspectives

“The 8 Show” reflects on social inequality and the power of money, recurring themes in Korean dramas but treated here with notable depth and originality. Visual and narrative references to iconic works such as “Squid Game” and “Clockwork Orange” enrich the viewer’s experience, while highlighting the dysfunctions and power dynamics in society. The series is a powerful illustration of how individuals can be influenced by their environment and economic conditions, and prompts deeper reflection on our own society and the mechanisms at work within it.