Lectures on Tap- "Squid Game: When Anti-Capitalism Becomes a Brand"

📍 Location: Exact address given in confirmation email

🧠 Lecture: "Squid Game: When Anti-Capitalism Becomes a Brand"

🎤 Speaker: Dr. Jason Abbott

Join us for a sharp, eye-opening dive into the world of Squid Game and what happens when anti-capitalism becomes a global brand.

Squid Game began as a brutal critique of Korean debt, class, and disposability. Then Netflix turned it into a worldwide franchise and merchandising machine: official tracksuits and hoodies, bootleg Halloween costumes flooding Amazon, and pink guard masks all over TikTok. The series didn’t escape the system it depicted—it thrived inside it.

Dr. Jason Abbott will unpack how one of the world’s fiercest critiques of inequality gets algorithmically repackaged and sold back to its audience, sometimes officially by Netflix, sometimes by the internet doing its marketing for free. He’ll also explore why Korea keeps exporting its rage so effectively through pop culture.

Jason Abbott is Professor of Political Science and International Relations at Montclair State University, specializing in East Asian politics and international relations, with a passion for Asian pop culture that has electrified the Lectures on Tap stage more than once.

Get a drink, connect, and learn at Lectures on Tap! 🙌

Agenda

6:30 PM – Doors open: find a seat (open seating!), order food & drinks, and expect a bar line—arriving early is key.

6:55 PM – Host introduction

7:00 PM – Lecture begins

7:45 PM – Audience Q&A

8:00 PM – Have 1:1 time with the speaker, mingle with fellow guests, and order another round

8:30 PM – Wrap up.