The series Stranger Things is a Netflix original consisting of 2 seasons in which

characters from a small town experience various seemingly apocalyptic or supernatural events.

The pilot episode opens with the gruesome death of a scientist, whom we later find out was

working on a government project gone rogue. This secret government project tests and stretches

the supernatural abilities of Eleven, a strange little girl who has telepathic like powers, of which

the origins and limitations are unknown. The project, however, goes horribly wrong when

Eleven, Elle for short, unleashes horrible creatures from the upside down. We quickly find out

that these creatures are responsible for much of the destruction that the town has endured. With

its vibrant and mysterious plot, the series Stranger Things clearly contains many apocalyptic

elements, and can therefore, be classified as a Supernatural Apocalypse.

The series takes place in the 1980s, and as these strange events happen, it follows a

group of young boys, the towns police squad, and various other characters as they cope, and try

to figure out the origin of these strange occurrences. This setting resembles the verbiage of

early apocalyptic writings written as ex eventu prophecies, or prophecies after the event has

occurred. Broadly interpreted, setting the series in the past allows the writers a quality of

intelligence and credibility as this type of writing also provided the writers of early apocalypse.

There exists a large amount of literature on the historical pop-culture references from the 1980s

present in Stranger Things which provides the deep historical accuracy and connection that we

see in so many early apocalypses because it adds this credibility factor.

Also, the layout of the plot adds to this quality as we watch events happen from multiple

angles. Viewers watch Will Byers get abducted, and taken into the upside down, then see the

aftermath of the town trying to figure out what happened to him. This perspective is not

something that we see in early ex eventu apocalypses like The Apocalypse of Weeks or Daniel.
In fact, the stories of Daniel read very narratively, and chronological. But, this particular

structure of the series adds to that same quality that the writers of Daniel attempted with

prophecy ex eventu. It adds an aspect of knowledge beyond the commoner.

While the story caries more elements from classical apocalypses rather than patristic,

there are still some evident themes from these later, more religious apocalypses such as the

contrast of good and evil. The most obvious example of this is the upside down itself. The idea

of it immediately resembles a traditional interpretation of hell, a concept that is present in most,

later Christian apocalypses. The place is a slimy, dark, and generally awful setting. Even the

diction of its name, the upside down is suggestive of a modern interpretation of the concept that

hell is below us, that it is the opposite of everything good. Where hell and the upside down

differ is the idea that hell is a place for the punishment of those who sin, or bad humans. This

does not seem to be the case with the upside down as those who are sent there seem to be

chosen at random. In fact, it seems as though these are victims of a greater tragedy, and not

necessarily the villains of the story. This however, may be a difference in modern rhetoric, rather

than a difference in the modern interpretation of hell. It seems as if the writers receive more

emotional response from the viewer from victimizing the innocent in hell, than terrorizing the

evil. The concept of punishment feels more real if it could be applied to anyone, and we would

all like to think of ourselves as good people. In other words, the wrongdoing in Stranger Things

might be that of the people as a whole rather than the specific individuals that are taken into the

upside down This all suggests that while the traditional concepts of good versus bad, and hell

are taken from patristic and Christian apocalypses, the idea of an individualized story, or

individualized punishment is not carried over.

 The theme of good versus evil is also depicted in a much more general sense, and is

threaded throughout the entire series. The cinematic effects of music and lighting are used to

further exemplify this theme in an artistic light. For example, the main cast of boys, Wills

friends, are always lighted much more than their surroundings giving the sense of angelic

innocence and physical lightness. While, the government agents, who are generally evil in their

conquest to trap Eleven and experiment with her supernatural powers, are depicted in a much

darker lighting scheme. The government agents are seen wearing simple and bland clothing as

well, while in contrast, the boys are dressed in colorful, and vibrant threads. While these details

are sometimes difficult to convey through writings like John or Revelations, they are very

present in many of the artworks from this time period depicting these famous apocalypses. For

example, we often see angels with a white shape around their head, or demons painted in very

plain black colors. All of these artistic elements are used to further the concepts of good versus

evil in both Stranger Things and many ancient apocalypses.

It would be remiss to talk about apocalypses with stark good versus evil contrast, without

talking about the sin, or the inevitable wrongdoing that causes the revelation or the end of the

world. In the case of Stranger Things the sin is one of abuse of knowledge. While it is not as

flashy of a sin as some of the more popular ones (adultery, murder, theft), the idea of abuse of

knowledge, or knowing too much is not an uncommon sin. The sin first appears with Adam and

Eve. They eat from the tree of life, gain some wisdom, and God punishes them. It appears again

in The Book of Watchers. The Watchers teach the humans about makeup and beauty, they share

the knowledge of war, and the secrets of the heavens with the humans. The humans then take this

knowledge and become vain, they fight each other, and great wars break out over the earth. The

humans, and the watchers, are equally to blame for this egregious sin, and both are punished
uniquely. In Stranger Things, the initial sinners are the government. The government forces

knowledge about the celestial from Eleven, and as a result, they open the upside down which

begins a series of apocalyptic events or punishments for the surrounding area. The common

thread here is knowledge of Godly or supernatural things that are not meant to be known by mere

mortals.

With a surface interpretation of Stranger Things, one could compare Eleven with Jesus

himself because she is clearly more than the ordinary human, but not immortal, as she makes the

ultimate sacrifice of life, for the boys at the end of the second season. However, with a deeper

understanding, Elle is actually more similar to Daniel or Merlin someone with mystical power,

who is used by the government, and persecuted throughout. This is consistent with the idea that

Stranger Things draws more on older apocalyptic concepts than newer, Christian ones.

So, what does this mean? What are the implications of this modern piece that draws so

heavily on this mix of classical apocalyptic ideas? It can be inferred that the reasons that

Stranger Things is intriguing today, are the same reasons that The Book of Daniel was intriguing

back then. Apocalypse literature is often written in times of distress. It appeals to the masses who

feel powerless, and need to believe that there is someone who knows, that there is more than

what is currently happening to them. It is believed that Daniel was written in the Maccabean era,

during the reign of King Antiochus IV, and the people were being persecuted. It is possible that

Stranger Things is a response to a feeling of persecution by the US Government. There is a lot of

concern about the governments invasion of citizens right to privacy, and people feel as though

the government is over-stepping. It is possible that Netflixs response is an apocalypse where the

government is punished for snooping into things it shouldnt, an apocalypse where the good guys

will be rewarded. Any interpretation, it is clear that the existing apocalyptic themes in Stranger
Things are a response to something in the modern world, and reflect the ideas present in a

textbook Supernatural Apocalypse.