A Christian perspective on the Netflix series,"Stranger Things."

[StarryEyedShoeGazer]

So I watched most of season 1 for the first time today.Had been holding off because as a rule I don't watch horror movies and indeed try to limit my media consumption to things which will edify my spirituallly.

Having said that ,I can certainly see the appeal of this show.
For anyone raised in the 80's ,it has a nostalgic charm as well as the ability to draw you in to its small town drama.
It also touches on some relevant themes such as covert operations, a parallel universe and good vs.evil.

However ,I read some reviews and watched some vlogs on the series and it appears that there is also a layer of subliminal symbolism to look out for.
s a result I am in two minds as to proceed to season 2.

Have you seen this series and what are your thoughts?

 

[Petros2015]

Enjoy the show. I see that people are propagating ideas of subliminal symbolism in the show relating to MKULTRA conspiracy mind control stuff. That's all nonsense. Unless you are a David Icke follower or David Icke follower follower, which I hope you are not. If you are, you have bigger problems than Stranger Things.

On the other hand, there are elements of possession in season 2. If season 1 drew on some classic scenes and feel from poltergeist, season 2 has a pretty intense exorcism-like scene which I could see some people being uncomfortable with or frightened by or not want to see. Personally I think the kid deserves an Oscar.

There's also a lot of family interplay between Eleven and the Sheriff, real life stuff and challenges which was good. A solo adventure for Eleven. The series has a lot of heart but no overt spirituality, characters don't rely on God or prayer anymore or less than you might find in a Speilberg movie (generally not at all). They are struggling with a mix of both real life and extra-dimensional problems and are generally good characters, not anti-heros. They struggle to do the right thing and interact in the right ways. I would say that acting wrongly isn't glorified. Psychic abilities and training them like Eleven has and does might be something you don't want your kids exposed to in a fantasy show or something you would want to talk to them about first from a Christian perspective. She is considerably more powerful in season 2 and has to make some choices about taking revenge or not on her captors.

 

[StarryEyedShoeGazer]

Thanks for a great response.

 

[SkyWriting]

So I watched most of season 1 for the first time today.Had been holding off because as a rule I don't watch horror movies and indeed try to limit my media consumption to things which will edify my spirituallly.

Having said that ,I can certainly see the appeal of this show.
For anyone raised in the 80's ,it has a nostalgic charm as well as the ability to draw you in to its small town drama.
It also touches on some relevant themes such as covert operations, a parallel universe and good vs.evil.

However ,I read some reviews and watched some vlogs on the series and it appears that there is also a layer of subliminal symbolism to look out for.
s a result I am in two minds as to proceed to season 2.

Have you seen this series and what are your thoughts?

Wife and I enjoy the show.
While they still use the old, smart kids/dumb adults formula they managed to modify it so everyone seems on an even playing field with similar maturity at all ages.