When Death Dictates Life: Poetics and Politics of Death in the Web series Death’s Game

Abstract

Death's Game is a South Korean fantasy mystery thriller web series written and directed by Ha Byung-hoon that premiered on December 15, 2023, and is available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video. The series produced by SLL, Studio N consists of 8 episodes and features a blend of drama and fantasy elements. The storyline follows Choi Yee-jae, a young man who commits suicide after enduring years of unemployment and despair but is confronted by Death. Due to his indifference to life and the trivialization of death, he is tasked by Death with navigating twelve different lives and deaths, with the potential to earn a fresh start if he manages to survive in one of those reincarnations. The series delves into themes of reincarnation, the value of existence, and the repercussions of choices. The paper intertwines classical mythological interpretations of Thanatos with Achille Mbembe's contemporary theoretical framework of necropolitics to scrutinize the character of Death and its deviation from traditional representations in mythology and literature. Furthermore, it delves into cultural attitudes toward life and death and how societal structures dictate the value of individual lives. By integrating thanatology into the analysis, the paper illustrates how Death's Game reflects broader societal concerns surrounding mortality and the human experience, serving as a stark commentary on the challenges of contemporary life.