Warning: Spoilers
The latest season of Stranger Things came out a couple of weeks ago and it’s now on its 4th season. I have been a fan of the show since it started. I fell in love with Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven) I wrote a post about my love for her acting with just her facial expressions on her film Enola Holmes. The thing about Stranger Things is the unique story line and having children to be the main characters is very captivating to watch. The balance of horror/suspense with the charm of the kids is quite entertaining plus having a weird and innocent bald little girl have superpowers is fire lol. I don’t really know how to explain the plot of Stranger Things. Every time someone asks me what it’s about I just say that there are monsters and the kids defeat them which sounds like any cartoon show lol. If you have watched the show how would you describe it without overwhelming a person who hasn’t watched it?
Another thing that I loved about Stranger Things is its consistency. Producers and creators has tendency to ruin shows after its successful first season. They try so hard to follow it up that the story feels like it’s forced to progress *cough* Riverdale *cough*. Stranger Things still gives me chills when watching it. I was worried when following seasons were announced. I was like “okay how is this gonna go? They’ve defeated the monsters. They can’t show up again and again.” But the story still ties up from the very beginning and they can still put some twists to it. I also love the characters, how they have their own time to shine and be a hero. There are a lot of main characters in this show and they manage to still add valuable characters without making it feel like just an add-on and also not upstaging old characters.
Okay enough about the background of the show. I am here to talk about the new season and how the show was all about dealing with trauma. I was re-watching Stranger Things season 4 with my boyfriend the other day. I have been asking him to watch the latest season since it was released but he was too hesitant because he wanted to watch it full without waiting for the volume 2. But I convinced him and we watched it until the episode 4.
I get to re-watch episode 4 and appreciate it more. If you guys haven’t watched it yet and don’t want any spoilers just skip this post. There’s a specific scene at the end of the episode where Max was in trance under Vecna’s spell. Before that, at the beginning of the season Max was clearly going through something after witnessing the death of his older brother in the previous season. Max was coming off a bit troubled and distanced even having flashbacks on what happened with her brother. Vecna preys on those who have trauma and guilt. He goes into its victim’s mind and replays their trauma until they give in and surrender to him. The whole season revolves around that and how do you stop a monster who just lives in troubled people’s minds?
Back to Max’s trance, Vecna got into her mind and Max kept running and fighting but Vecna is powerful and got her and almost killed her but one thing that is more powerful is music. Along Max’s fight against Vecna, Max’s friends had a hunch that playing your favorite music can get Vecna’s victims out of the trance and it did. Max’s favorite music (Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush) was played and it created a portal to reality but it wasn’t enough so Max thought of all the wonderful memories that she had in the past, every happy memories that she has. It gave her power to get away from Vecna and ran towards the portal. She kept running until she reached it and she finally woke up.
I’m not really a great story teller but that’s what happened lol. You just have to watched it to feel the intensity of the scene. And what I love about it are the symbolism and metaphors. It’s posing Vecna as the monster in our heads that keeps replaying our past traumas. He’s the initiator of the dark thoughts that’s just lurking in the back of our minds that we want to forget but we can’t because we just keep on pushing it aside. The way the scene played out is haunting, it was so dark. The trance is just like how we give in to our depression, how it feels like there’s no way out and it won’t get better. The music and the portal were so significant as a symbol of hope. Music truly helps us every time we feel something that we can’t express. Just like what was said in the show “music gets to the parts of the brain that words can’t… it’s a lifeline.” Music takes us to another place and let us escape. The way the portal was shown is like the imagery of a light at the end of the tunnel and when Max was running so fast to reach that light gave me chills. The whole scene gave me chills.
Dealing with trauma is not easy. Most people tend to act normal like all Vecna’s victims but deep down everyone has a baggage that they’ve been carrying for so long. It’s important to have an outlet when it comes to your emotions because bottling up can drown you. Others try to deal with it in different ways even if it hurts them physically. Some try to deal with it with liquors, smoking, sex, and etc. unhealthy coping mechanisms that help them forget. Those who deals with trauma has a hard time accepting that something is bothering and hurting them. They want to be seen as strong and “normal” whatever that means but they don’t know that running from it rather than addressing it can haunt them in the long run.
The best way to deal with trauma from my point of view is by talking about it and I know that it is hard to do that, that’s why there are different ways to express yourself without actually having to talk about it. Music is one, singing the songs that represents what you’re going through is by far the greatest outlet in my book. For some people words are hard to find to describe their emotions and what they’re going through and with music it helps them find those words and actually make them feel like they’re not alone. For me I use music and writing, I have talked about music and writing in this blog from the very beginning. They have been my friends for such a long time. They truly helped me throughout my journey with my mental health. But nothing beats by talking about it with the people you trust.
I think I’ve rambled enough in here, I just really love that scene. If you haven’t watched it yet I recommend that you go watch it now.
Anyway, take care always. Reach out to people, hang out with your family and friends, and please know that someone cares about you.
This was written around June 20th and volume 2 is out now! Be right back as I’ll probably cry watching the finale of Stranger Things 4.
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Finding The Moral Of The Story | Enola Holmes
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