Hit TV Show, Stranger Things, Highlights A Variety of Human Relationships
Schuyler Kropp, Staff Writer
Stranger Things is a TV Show set in the 1970’s through the 1980’s that was introduced to Netflix in July of 2016. It was made by the Duffer Brothers, as a multi-genre series including science fiction, horror, drama, and action. The show quickly gained a lot of popularity and views, making many of its young actors famous. In the beginning of the show, the character Will Byers, played by actor Noah Schnapp, goes missing in the town of Hawkins. The past of Hawkins is uncertain in the beginning of the film but then, the cause behind tragedies in this town are revealed.
Schuyler Kropp, Staff Writer
Stranger Things is a TV Show set in the 1970’s through the 1980’s that was introduced to Netflix in July of 2016. It was made by the Duffer Brothers, as a multi-genre series including science fiction, horror, drama, and action. The show quickly gained a lot of popularity and views, making many of its young actors famous. In the beginning of the show, the character Will Byers, played by actor Noah Schnapp, goes missing in the town of Hawkins. The past of Hawkins is uncertain in the beginning of the film but then, the cause behind tragedies in this town are revealed.
The show often centers around the character, Eleven. She grew up inside a mysterious lab and eventually made an attempt to run away. She escapes through the underground tunnels leading out into a forest away from the lab. When she escapes, she is found by three boys— Micheal, Dustin, and Lucas— who help her learn about the outside world. As she starts to explore this new world, she starts to learn how to form meaningful relationships and love the people around her. You can learn about love through Eleven’s journey of discovery. She explores different types of relationships in her life. Those types of relationships are friendship, romantic, self, and parental love.
She experiences friendship and love through the relationship she has with Max. At first, Eleven doesn’t like Max because she is jealous over a boy, but when Max asks her about him, they learn about their likes and dislikes. Max gives Eleven relationship advice, and allows her to discover her taste of who she wants to be. This is how she finds happiness with Max. Later on in the show, they understand each other better as their friendship grows. Throughout the show, they support each other through difficult and even violent times as they face issues with both friends and supernatural forces. Their friendship teaches us how we can rely on friends through hard times.
Eleven experiences romantic love in the show with her boyfriend, Mike. Mike and Eleven become friends during her time when she first escaped the laboratory. They become closer as they both struggle with bullies in their lives. Throughout the show, they are both willing to stand up to these bullies for each other. As she defends Mike, Eleven learns that she wants to use her powers for the greater good rather than showing them off or hurting others. As he finds safety in Eleven, he discovers that he can always have someone to rely on through tough times. This relationship teaches us that our partners are supposed to be people who always have our backs.
Eleven learns about self love throughout the show as she tries to figure out who she is. At the beginning of the show, she had been stuck in a lab for her entire life and therefore, had never been able to discover herself. Once she breaks out and is able to explore the world, she starts to gain a sense of independence. She starts to be able to make her own decisions, including who she hangs out with, how she dresses, and what her values are. This teaches her about herself as she is no longer just a tool for someone else. She also takes time to discover her past and meets her sister, Kali and her mom. From her journey of self discovery, we discover that no matter how bad our pasts may be, it is always okay to keep moving forward and make our own decisions about how our futures shape us.
This show also models parental love with the characters Hopper and Eleven. Hopper adopts Eleven when she escapes from the lab and quickly becomes her father figure. The beginning of their father and daughter relationship is a bit tough as Hopper becomes controlling of her. Hopper wants to protect Eleven as she fights the evil in Hawkins, but at one point ends up pushing her away as she tries to find independence. Eleven returns to him once they both open up about how they have lost important people in their lives. Hopper has made mistakes but his relationship with Eleven allows him to reflect on this, move forward, and become a better person. Hopper helps her understand what parental love is and what it means to be unconditionally supported. Their relationship shows us that parents are supposed to love and support us even through disagreements.
Character based storytelling is important because it allows us a new way to learn about ourselves and how to navigate the real world. Stranger Things shows how people love each other and what that is like. I like to relate some of my writing to this show, as I like to tell stories and express different relationships between characters. The beauty of stories is that they can show how everyone deserves to be loved.
The 5th and final season of Stranger Things will premiere later in 2025 on the streaming platform, Netflix.
The Roots of Domestic Violence
Caleigh Montoya, Staff Writer
Domestic violence roots itself in wanting power and control over your partner. Insecurity, childhood trauma, and / or economic hardship are all possible grounds for domestic violence to begin. Signs of abuse include jealousy, cruelty to animals or children, verbal abuse, intense and sudden mood swings, threats of physical punishment, and unrealistic expectations. Warning signs of someone who may become abusive are tight relationship roles, controlling money or housing, verbal abuse, and arguments escalating intensely.
Caleigh Montoya, Staff Writer
Domestic violence roots itself in wanting power and control over your partner. Insecurity, childhood trauma, and / or economic hardship are all possible grounds for domestic violence to begin. Signs of abuse include jealousy, cruelty to animals or children, verbal abuse, intense and sudden mood swings, threats of physical punishment, and unrealistic expectations. Warning signs of someone who may become abusive are tight relationship roles, controlling money or housing, verbal abuse, and arguments escalating intensely.
Victims of domestic violence also present symptoms. Family and friends who may be experiencing domestic violence may become more reserved, depressed, and present other attributes that are unlike themselves. If you have already had suspicions of violence going on with someone you know, these signs could be confirmation.
When wanting to help a victim of domestic violence, make time for them, make them feel heard, lose judgment, validate their feelings, and try to find outside support and resources to strengthen their recovery. If you are finding yourself questioning or fully knowing that you are in an unhealthy and possibly violent relationship, leaving can be challenging. You are not to blame and deserve to be treated with love and respect.
Some tips to handle domestic violence situations would be to come up with safety plans, protect your privacy, talk to a close friend or loved one, and find a safe community to speak about what is happening in your relationship.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please use the following resources, provided by Denver Health:
National Domestic Violence Hotline
800-799-7233
Rose Andom Center in Denver, CO
720-337-4400
PorchLight
720-853-8850
https://www.porchlightfjc.org/
Gateway Domestic Violence Services
303-343-1851
SafeHouse Denver
303-318-9989
Take Yourself Out on a Date
photo credit: Risa Davis
By: Morgan Jacobus, Editor-in-Chief
Ever thought about taking yourself out on a date? In a society where it is so common to put others before yourself, or to wait on other people to invite you to do things, Risa Davis encourages others to take some time for themselves.
Risa started her self-date by putting on a cute outfit and taking a walk around campus to look at the fall colors. Then she took herself to an art gallery, then bought a handmade bracelet for herself because “if I was out with a friend we would probably buy bracelets, or with a guy… they usually get you something, so why can’t I do that for myself?” said Risa Davis. Afterwards, she went to a coffee shop, treated herself by getting her favorite drinks and snacks, then came back to campus and hung out.
Risa continued to point out how she has a boyfriend as well as friends, but she realized that she finds herself often waiting on them to ask her to do things, and it dawned on her that she shouldn’t have to wait for someone to have fun with.
“I think it is a lot easier to support others and want to hang out with them, I think it is harder to find that in yourself… it has been hard for me to find that in myself. It is really easy to make someone else the center of your world… I am so guilty of that, but I don’t want to do that anymore, I want people to be a part of my world, but not be what I am dependent on,” said Risa.
After realizing that she wants to prioritize herself more, Risa expressed reasons why she thinks it is important to be alone with yourself sometimes.
“At the end of the day we are our own people… I think it is great to share your life with other people, but I think we need to focus on our self-relationships more. Especially if you are religious, like you focus on your relationship with God, you focus on your relationship with friends… with family… with your significant other, literally everything and everyone but yourself,” said Risa.
When it comes to how often she is going to take herself on a date, she said that she is going to try to match the pace at which she hands out with others. So, since she and her boyfriend do weekly dates, she is going to try to have weekly self-dates.
“I think it is worthwhile because it is a challenge. Our instinct is to not to go have fun by yourself or treat yourself that way you would treat a friend, we hardly ever share that same level of compassion with ourselves, so I think it is something to try because it is a challenge and it shows that we can grow. I want to mature and I am going into my twenties, who do I want to be, how do I want to be, and I think at the end of the day I want to be someone who is comfortable with myself and I want to be who I am. And I don’t think I can find that by constantly hanging out with others or a boyfriend or something. I need to spend time alone, as challenging as that is. That is what I would tell others, that it is good growth and it is a good challenge, it’s hard, which means it is worthwhile I think,” said Risa.
Self-dates can be a great way to “self-bond” and take some time to be comfortable with who you are when you aren’t around other people. It can also be very individual, and anyone can do it in their own way. Risa went to an art museum because she is an art major, and loves art, but anyone can tailor their own date to what they like.
“If you are a history major, go to a history museum, or if you are a movie person stay in bed and watch shows and have your own popcorn and treats. I think it is such an individual thing that we could all be going on our fun dates and we could share the ideas with each other too, like ‘oh wow you painted your own nails and did this or that, I'll do that too.’ I think it would be cool if a lot of people did it, to then think about how we can all have fun,” said Risa.