NY schools ban ‘Squid Game’

NEW YORK: A school district in New York state said on Thursday it had banned children from wearing Halloween costumes from Netflix sensation "Squid Game" over concerns they might glorify violence.

The dystopian South Korean thriller sees hundreds of cash-strapped individuals pitted against each other in traditional children’s games. The victor can earn millions, but losing players are killed.

Games include marbles, tug of war, and red light, green light.

Fayetteville-Manlius school district, some 400-km north of New York City, wrote to parents saying outfits from the show, which include masks and green tracksuits and pink jumpsuits, would not be welcome at its six schools.

"Our principals wanted to make sure our families are aware that it would be inappropriate for any student to wear to school a Halloween costume from this show because of the potential violent messages aligned with the costume," district superintendent Craig Tice said in a statement emailed to AFP.

He said that schools guidelines meant "costumes should not be too gory or scary so as not to scare our younger students." Tice added that some students had been "mimicking" games from the series. The district oversees three elementary schools for children aged 5 to 10.