‘Othering’ in Westworld and Squid Game; A Comparative Analysis

'Othering' leads to polarization and creating the "self" and "others" based on wealth, power, and competition. In many media productions and particularly television series, 'othering' becomes integrated with race and culture. 'Othering' is a prominent component in Westworld (2016-) and Squid Game (2021-), two internationally popular TV series produced by American companies in America and South Korea. The primary objective of this paper is to explain and compare the various forms of 'othering' in these television series. The semiotics approach was used in the three-level model of explicit, implicit, and ideological implications to reach this goal. According to the results, while Westworld portrays othering as a continuum that allows moments of reversal and self-expression, Squid Game reveals a rigid center–periphery division that results in the continued passivity and exclusion of the Others. In the Westworld, 'others' with an anti-authoritarian agenda, organize an 'anti-power' led by white, black, and native americans heroes/elites, and the white hero maintains the most significant role in uniting 'others' against 'self'. In the Squid Game, on the contrary, due to the passive characters of the 'others', no rebellion or 'anti-power' community is represented against the whites. In both series, stereotyping is a central strategy to marginalize 'others'.