Another con of the weird right is that all crime is in 'the big cities' <cue the horror>. Here in PA, they just had a huge meth lab bust in the center of the state. No big city. No liberal elites ignoring the problem. Just rural folks ignoring what they want to ignore.
As for disappearing children, we have our own fantasies about them. We teach 'stranger danger' when most (more than 70%) abuse against children is by someone who knows the child. Coach, religious person, uncle, etc. And as they age, there is human trafficing. And it is everywhere, urban and rural.
Southern writers like William Faulkner knew long before the 1980s that there were rotten apples in rural areas that were allowed to go unimpeded, and depicted their cruelty. Unlike real life, however, they did make sure they were punished in some way.
Great article...cops are still all about their power against everyone except rich white guys! In my experience they terrorize black and brown community's and make women feel useless unless they have sex with them.
InSpoiler Alert : In Season 4, it's David Harbour that needs rescuing from Winona Ryder. Big time.
Yes. ALL violent programming extracts from and exploits the very real dangers, violence and fears of our society. Including our fears of what can happen to kids. And most of our programming is violent. So I wonder why we keep choosing to put this inside our imaginations by participating in it. As within, so without. It doesn't take much focus to notice the increasing violence of our society. And yet I watched the whole series knowing this? We all need to take a step back, and be mindful of what we are consuming. What we are being drawn into. Because it's all manufactured in order to draw us in to being influenced by ads. We are being fed crap. And it's made us sick.
All for the almighty bottom line. It's sociopathic, really.
Gotta be honest... I hadn't thought of Stranger Things as a form of small town copaganda, but yes, this all tracks.
Also, I like him now. But when Harbour was coming up as a bit part character actor, there was a long while where, every time he popped up onscreen, I would see him and say, "I don't trust this man."
I think part of that is that he's an exceptional actor. He can switch between being suspicious and trustworthy. There was a scene in one of the early episodes where he was just slouched in a chair in a way I thought was very interesting. He's got a unique physicality and it makes him a compelling actor.
Agreed, and I like him very much. But he definitely came up the pipeline playing some scuzzballs. I remember seeing him in a few early virtuous roles, and the whole movie I'm thinking, "Here comes the heel turn..."
I, too, grew up an hour+ away from the Wetterlings - I’m a little bit older than you, but trust me when I say my experience was similar - and the threat of child abduction was just as present. Your points about how rural communities ignore what they refuse to confront is spot on - even to the point of electing (disastrous) Michelle Bachman over Patty Wetterling - WTAF?!
I hear you about the trauma of the 80s, since that was the era of my childhood, too. But I think you might be pleasantly surprised by how the series evolves. Be warned, it gets progressively darker, but more and more misfits come into the picture to play important - and I would argue, positive - roles. Personally, I'm a fan, and waiting for the finale to be aired.
Of course, I'm not an American, so perhaps my two cents is not terribly relevant to you in this case. On the other hand, as a lifelong misfit and outcast, I'm very sensitive to how outcasts and misfits are portrayed on screen, and so found much to relate to in the show.
“And yet we do nothing”. So true. It is why we need a new generation of leadership, not the same old same old.
Doing nothing doesn't work, that's the main thing we've learned.
Another con of the weird right is that all crime is in 'the big cities' <cue the horror>. Here in PA, they just had a huge meth lab bust in the center of the state. No big city. No liberal elites ignoring the problem. Just rural folks ignoring what they want to ignore.
As for disappearing children, we have our own fantasies about them. We teach 'stranger danger' when most (more than 70%) abuse against children is by someone who knows the child. Coach, religious person, uncle, etc. And as they age, there is human trafficing. And it is everywhere, urban and rural.
Sometimes all one can do is cry.
Southern writers like William Faulkner knew long before the 1980s that there were rotten apples in rural areas that were allowed to go unimpeded, and depicted their cruelty. Unlike real life, however, they did make sure they were punished in some way.
I should read more of his work. I know I was exposed to some of it in college, but I can't remember any of it.
Great article...cops are still all about their power against everyone except rich white guys! In my experience they terrorize black and brown community's and make women feel useless unless they have sex with them.
Yup. It happens too often and we’re trained not to talk about it.
InSpoiler Alert : In Season 4, it's David Harbour that needs rescuing from Winona Ryder. Big time.
Yes. ALL violent programming extracts from and exploits the very real dangers, violence and fears of our society. Including our fears of what can happen to kids. And most of our programming is violent. So I wonder why we keep choosing to put this inside our imaginations by participating in it. As within, so without. It doesn't take much focus to notice the increasing violence of our society. And yet I watched the whole series knowing this? We all need to take a step back, and be mindful of what we are consuming. What we are being drawn into. Because it's all manufactured in order to draw us in to being influenced by ads. We are being fed crap. And it's made us sick.
All for the almighty bottom line. It's sociopathic, really.
well that’s good! I’m glad they figured it out!
Gotta be honest... I hadn't thought of Stranger Things as a form of small town copaganda, but yes, this all tracks.
Also, I like him now. But when Harbour was coming up as a bit part character actor, there was a long while where, every time he popped up onscreen, I would see him and say, "I don't trust this man."
Fromtheyardtothearthouse.substack.com
I think part of that is that he's an exceptional actor. He can switch between being suspicious and trustworthy. There was a scene in one of the early episodes where he was just slouched in a chair in a way I thought was very interesting. He's got a unique physicality and it makes him a compelling actor.
Agreed, and I like him very much. But he definitely came up the pipeline playing some scuzzballs. I remember seeing him in a few early virtuous roles, and the whole movie I'm thinking, "Here comes the heel turn..."
Fromtheyardtothearthouse.substack.com
I, too, grew up an hour+ away from the Wetterlings - I’m a little bit older than you, but trust me when I say my experience was similar - and the threat of child abduction was just as present. Your points about how rural communities ignore what they refuse to confront is spot on - even to the point of electing (disastrous) Michelle Bachman over Patty Wetterling - WTAF?!
Great piece, well articulating the feeling I had after season 1 ... explaining why I didn't watch any season after that!
I expect there’s a whole generation that felt that way. I haven’t gone back and I wrote this about a year ago.
Great piece. "All we get from them is book bans, the anti-vaxxer movement, and threats of civil war." Indeed. They are the party of no ideas.
It's never been more clear than during the last presidential debate.
Hilarious to think your entire worldview stems from being bullied by conservatives LOL
I hear you about the trauma of the 80s, since that was the era of my childhood, too. But I think you might be pleasantly surprised by how the series evolves. Be warned, it gets progressively darker, but more and more misfits come into the picture to play important - and I would argue, positive - roles. Personally, I'm a fan, and waiting for the finale to be aired.
Of course, I'm not an American, so perhaps my two cents is not terribly relevant to you in this case. On the other hand, as a lifelong misfit and outcast, I'm very sensitive to how outcasts and misfits are portrayed on screen, and so found much to relate to in the show.