While Squid Game might be Netflix’s most-viewed show of all time, not everyone is loving the show’s massive surge in popularity — especially elementary school teachers. According to The New York Post, three elementary schools in upstate New York are now banning students from wearing Squid Game costumes to school for Halloween, citing the show’s “violent message” and “potential violent nature of the game” as the reason. The announcement came in the form of an email sent to the parents of Syracuse-area Fayetteville-Manlius schools’ students, and stated that sending children to school in Squid Game apparel would violate “school costume guidelines.”
“Due to concerns about the potential violent nature of the game, it is inappropriate for recess play or discussion at school. Additionally, a Halloween costume from this show does not meet our school costume guidelines due to the potential violent message aligned with the costume.”
For those keeping score, Squid Game now joins iconic horror franchises Friday the 13th and Scream in being at the top of the New York school district’s ban list, with the series’ signature tracksuits and masks now just as susceptible to being taken away as Jason’s iconic hockey mask. In addition, the school is forbidding students dressing in any costumes deemed “too gory or scary” for their younger students, or bringing in any items “that can be interpreted as weapons” to schools, such as toy swords and guns.
With such short notice, the email might frustrate some parents who had already taken care of their Halloween costume shopping and perhaps landed on letting their kid come to school as a miniature-yet-just-as-ruthless red soldier. However, a casual reminder that the costumes are not off-limit for parents, and Netflix is making it easier than ever to pick one up.
