(S2, E27) Deadly Games and Dubious Victories

This week on Pop Culture Boner we’re looking at the the global phenomenon that is Squid Game. We’re examining the comparisons between Battle Royale and The Hunger Games, and what it is about murder for fun and recreation that makes it such an enduring sub-genre.

You can find some references here:

• Sahoko Kaji (2015, Financial Times) - The unseen casualties of Japan’s lost decades suffer in silence

• Full Story (2021) - Squid Game

• This American Lie (2008) - The giant pool of money

• Clarisse Loughrey (2020, Independent) - Why Battle Royale is a world away from The Hunger Games

You can download a full transcript here.