Director Hwang Dong-hyuk's Next Work Also Explores Capitalism and Stories of Failures

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Seems to Find Clues in 'How to Pretend to Understand a Crazy World'
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Director Hwang Dong-hyuk, who shook the global content market with the Netflix drama 'Squid Game,' mentioned that he is preparing a movie as his next project. According to the American entertainment media Variety on the 4th (local time), Hwang stated at the international video content fair MipTV held in Cannes, France, "The next work is the movie 'Killing Old Men Club'." He said, "I was inspired by the writings of Umberto Eco," and "I have already written a script of twenty-five pages." He added, "It will be a controversial film, more violent than 'Squid Game,'" and "After the movie is released, old people might have to hide."

It seems he found the creative clue in Eco's posthumous essay 'How to Pretend to Understand a Mad World.' This is a collection of columns that Eco had serialized for decades under the title 'Minerva Matchbox' in the Italian magazine 'L'espresso.' Eco pointed out the problem of the precariat (irregular workers, dispatched workers, unemployed, homeless people in unstable employment and labor conditions) spreading among the younger generation and emphasized the need for new solutions. As the easiest method, he suggested eliminating elderly people without children first.

"In the past, the average person died around sixty. Today, people live until ninety. That means receiving pensions and social welfare benefits for 30 years longer. As you know, pensions and social welfare benefits are paid by young people. It means young people work hard to support many elderly people. (...) On the other hand, young people are crying out because they have no jobs, so they cannot afford to pay for the pensions or welfare benefits of the elderly."

Director Hwang seems to have recalled Korea's '880,000 won generation' or Europe's '700 euro generation' in the precariat created by the neoliberal economic system. If you look closely, 'Squid Game' is also a story about capitalism and losers. Hwang wrote the script after seeing the Ssangyong Motor incident on TV news and thinking about the reality where ordinary office workers suddenly fall to the bottom of society. He revealed, "In capitalist society, anyone can suddenly become a loser. As a creator, I often create characters that embody such problems," and "The role born from that is Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae). It reflects actual experiences and points to an unstable and difficult society."

The second season is still in preparation. Hwang said, "I will return to Korea to write the script," and "I hope it will be released on Netflix by the end of 2024." He also shared an anecdote about meeting the American master director Steven Spielberg. Hwang recalled, "At the American Film Institute (AFI) awards luncheon, Spielberg said, 'I watched your drama in three days. I want to steal your brain right now,'" and "It was the greatest compliment of my life."