Stranger Things – some reflections

This isn’t exactly a review. I’ve watched two series of Stranger Things now, and there are aspects of it that I’m really impressed with.

One is that the emotional lives of the teenage characters are taken seriously – by the adults in the story, and also by the writers. I’ve never liked things that treat the feelings of young humans as silly, insubstantial or trivial. The feelings and experiences we have in our teens can have a huge impact on our lives in all kinds of ways. For most people it is a time of finding out who you are, with all the implications that brings.

The second thing I’ve really appreciated is the vulnerability and emotional honesty of the characters. They’re all flawed and messy and they get things wrong. There have been a few instances of this turning violent – especially with the teenage boys. However, there’s a stunning amount of people owning their shit, apologising, and explaining where they are coming from. These are characters who want to understand each other, want to make sense to each other, and want to work through their problems and do better. I love that.

My third big source of delight is the impact of horror in this story. Characters who have been through terrible things together do not become jaded or more violent or convinced that the world is a terrible place. They become kinder to each other. They try harder to fix things. 

We’re a storytelling species, and the kinds of stories we tell each other matter greatly.