In order: Kinda. It depends. Pretty much.
I’ve watched all eight episodes of Netflix’s critically acclaimed serial “Stranger Things,” which was released in July, and has been renewed for a second season. I enjoyed it. It’s not the greatest thing I’ve ever seen, and it’s derivative as all get out, but it was a tidy little suspense piece, with appealing characters, good acting and a fairly satisfying ending.
Basically, it’s a love letter to the ’80s — especially being a kid in 1983, the era of “E.T.,” “The Empire Strikes Back” and John Hughes movies (and it borrows from all these), along with heavy doses of Stephen King-style scares.
Faith isn’t really a factor, unless you count the appearance of Christmas at the end (and one funeral scene). On the other hand, religion is not overtly ridiculed. While there are supernatural happenings and Dungeons and Dragons, there’s no indication of the occult.
As for whether it’s suitable for the whole family — it’s not.
I go into more detail at my other home at Family Theater Productions’ Faith & Family Media Blog. Here’s a taste:
The series is rated PG-13, meaning it’s suitable for teens 14 and up. After having seen the whole thing, I agree — with caveats.
The kids playing the kids (who are about the same age as their characters) had a big advantage over the viewers, in which they definitely knew and saw that it was all movie magic and make-believe. The series works hard to be scary, and it succeeds, so a lot of younger kids might wind up with nightmares. Intensifying this is that the kids are in real peril. Now, they handle it with pluck, guts and resourcefulness, and that’s good, but know your own kids’ tolerance for shock and suspense.
There is some bad language, including the Lord’s name taken in vain, but it’s not out of line with the way a lot of kids talk. What may startle some youngsters — especially those with hyper-involved helicopter parents — is the level of physical freedom the kids of a few decades ago had, as they zoom around the town on their bikes, while their parents seem blissfully ignorant of what they’re doing.
One outgrowth of this freedom is that Nancy goes to a party at Steve’s house — while his parents are away, with no adult present –drinks beer and has sex with Steve. It isn’t shown, but Nancy confirms it to her mother later, although, as we go very quickly into chills and thrills, there is no parent-child discussion about it.
In fact, at the end, Steve is seen with Nancy at her parents’ home at Christmas, seemingly still her boyfriend and not dead at her father’s hand.
Click here to read the rest.
Analyzing every pop-culture reference in the series has become a kind of cottage industry. Click here and here and here and here for some exhaustive lists.
The second season will feature a lot of the main cast and reportedly takes place in 1984. Just to get you prepared, the good folks at HitFix.com have compiled a list of possible references from that year, just in case.
If you haven’t seen it yet, here are a couple of trailers:
https://youtu.be/XWxyRG_tckY
Image: Courtesy Netflix
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