Squid pro quo: using Squid Game to engage economics students

Economics is notorious for its continued reliance on “chalk and talk” lectures. Despite the variety of teaching resources now available, and the ability to integrate innovative teaching practices into curricula more easily, the vast majority continue to teach using a traditional lecture format. The only meaningful difference in the way economics was taught 20 years ago compared to today is that the majority of lecturers have introduced presentation software such as PowerPoint.

The problem is compounded by the fact that economics is often primarily taught through the medium of mathematics, and not everyone naturally thinks in terms of mathematical concepts. Rather, for many, visualisation provides a far better key to understanding. This has been highlighted in economics education, where teaching material has drawn on visual examples from pop culture to demonstrate economics concepts in a non-technical, jargon-free manner.

• Using films to encourage reflection and critical thinking in your teaching
• Making online content relevant and fun for Gen Z students
• Studying sustainability by applying systems thinking to news stories

Netflix’s dystopian drama Squid Game has now joined the growing pop-culture toolkit available to economics educators. The series has proved a global sensation. Squid Game revolves around 456 players, all heavily indebted, who, in the hope of winning a large monetary prize, risk their lives to play a series of children’s games. Yet lying hidden within the award-winning saga is a gold mine of material for those who seek to teach economics from a more intuitive and visual perspective. This opportunity arises because the actions of players in Squid Game find close parallels in the strategies embraced by modern companies operating in highly competitive and interactive environments.

To give a taste of how the series can be used to teach economics, consider here examples of how its content illustrates concepts such as how context shapes whether cooperation is strategically rational or not.

Red Light, Green Light: lessons in cooperation

In the Red Light, Green Light game, the players line up at the edge of a pitch while a mannequin stands on the opposite side of the field. The players’ goal is to cross the field in five minutes. They are allowed to move forward while the mannequin sings, but must stop and remain motionless when the mannequin turns around and stops singing. If movement is detected, they are eliminated from the game: shot dead on the spot. When the game begins, the players don’t realise this – and the lack of information hinders their ability to think strategically.

If the players behaved strategically (cooperated or colluded), they would have a better chance at survival, but when the first player is shot, panic overcomes most players, and those who try to flee – 255 players – are eliminated. Towards the end of the game, we see a few players begin to act strategically by signalling, hiding behind and helping other players.  Gi-Hun (Player #456) is saved by Ali (Player #199) who prevents him from falling after the players have been ordered to stop.

In class, I’d recommend starting with a warm-up activity (what are the general rules of the Red Light, Green Light game played across the world?), then break the students into small groups of four to consider a question such as: “Why don’t we see many instances of strategic interaction in this game?”

You can then watch the relevant scene (2:52 to 3:48) from the series, where Player #199 saves Player #456 to illustrate the benefits of cooperation. In my class, I would then present a simple 2 x 2 pay-off matrix showing possible outcomes based on each player’s behaviour and ask students to answer questions in their groups such as:

1. What is each player’s dominant strategy?
2. What is the Nash equilibrium?

Yet, like much in life, a cooperative strategy does not always work. In some contexts, there can only be winners and losers. In the language of game theory, such win-lose relationships are called zero-sum games.

The Marbles: zero-sum games

The Marble Game is a perfect illustration of a two-person zero-sum game. Players are told to pair up before they know the rules. Players believe they will be competing against other teams so choose their friends or allies, hoping to work cooperatively and survive together.

They soon discover that instead of working collectively, they will have to play against their partner in a marble-based game. Each player is given a bag containing 10 marbles. Whoever acquires all their partner’s marbles within 30 minutes is the winner.

The players realise that this is a zero-sum game. Cooperation is not possible: only one member of the team can survive. If neither player wins the game, both are eliminated – a negative-sum game (although we see no instances of this in Squid Game). They must play to win or must sacrifice themselves to allow their partner to win. Their strategy shifts from close cooperation to ruthless competition.

It’s important that students understand the concept of a zero-sum game before you show them scenes from the Marble Game. As a warm-up activity, break students into pairs and get them to play five rounds of Rock, Paper, Scissors, then record the results. Before playing the scene, it is worth providing background information: in a game of odds and evens, it is Player #199’s turn to hide marbles. Player #218 must guess how many marbles he has hidden in his closed fist. You can watch the scene here (3:24 to 4:40).

We can model the possible strategies and pay-offs in a 2 x 2 pay-off matrix then split student into small groups. Ask them to fill in the pay-off matrix with numbers based on the scene and then prove that this game is a zero-sum game.

Pop culture to break down barriers to understanding

Many associate the teaching of economics with dry, highly abstract lectures replete with seemingly unintelligible equations. As a result, understanding the intuition of economic theory, especially related to strategic behaviour, can be daunting. It need not be. Recent research and teaching practice has shown that using examples from pop culture, such as from Squid Game, can break down these barriers to understanding economics by showing, in a cognitively and visually appealing manner, relatable and practical applications of key concepts.

The activities described above can be adapted to any type of class: face-to-face, hybrid or online. With minor adjustments, an instructor could adapt the questions to be answered with a classroom response system, such as iClicker or Poll Everywhere, or played as an in-class game, such as Kahoot! or Quizizz. The materials could be put forward as part of an assessment; discussed in class; used to introduce a concept; employed to provide a refresher; or presented in a recitation or tutorial.

We need to keep in mind that the millennial generation is different from previous generations of students; learning and behavioural habits have evolved, and they are more tech-savvy. As educators, we need to continue to innovate in our teaching practices; Squid Game is just one great example of how we can do that. The future of teaching economics will include, among other things, simulations, experiments, case studies and interactive games. The days of the boring economics lecture may be coming to an end.

Wayne Geerling is an associate professor in the department of economics at Monash Business School, Monash University.

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