New York school district bans Halloween costumes inspired from South Korean series 'Squid Game'

As the festival of Halloween is just around the corner, children in many parts of the world, especially the US, are gearing up to celebrate the spooky festival with a lot of fun costumes. However, in the state of New York, a school district has forbidden children from dressing up as characters from the hit Netflix show Squid Game. The Fayetteville-Manlius School District in the state, which oversees three elementary schools, has prohibited students from wearing costumes from the South Korean dystopian drama. According to district superintendent Craig Tice, any costume from Squid Game would be “inappropriate”, due to the violent messages associated with the series. He added that the costume guidelines of the educational institute forbid attire that can be gory or scary. Costumes which include items like toy guns or swords, which can be interpreted as weapons, are also not allowed by the school, according to Tice. He mentioned that some students had been “mimicking” the games shown in Squid Game. The move has divided parents, with many slamming the move as “overbearing”. Other schools around the world have also faced issues with the South Korean series, with schools in Ireland, Spain and the United Kingdom also expressing discontent over children watching Squid Game. Recently, the Central Integrated Primary School in the UK warned parents over the suitability of the show for kids, saying it was “most definitely not appropriate” for children in primary school to be watching the violent show. Squid Game has become the biggest show on Netflix since its launch in mid-September, with over 142 million households watching the series. The black masks and pink and green jumpsuits worn in the series have gained popularity worldwide. The show features a group of people facing crushing debt and financial despair, participating in a series of deadly children’s games in order to win the grand prize of $38 million. The show has been rated for mature audiences on Netflix due to the violence, sex, nudity, smoking, suicide and language in the series.