We’ve been celebrating spooky season and pop culture leading into Halloween, today RCR gives you a preview of a new psychology book connecting our own human experiences to the fantastic world of Netflix’s Stranger Things.
Edited and co-authored by Dr. Travis Langely Stranger Things Psychology: Life Upside Down brings together several experts in the field of mental health who happen to be Hawkins nerds themselves. Through the book’s 200 pages, these experts examine real-world issues such as racism, gender identity, depression, and more through the lens of the world of Stranger Things.
One of the most poignant chapters in the book deals with the mental impact of missing children on their loved ones. Dr.Shelley Clevenger writes about how the abductions of Will and Barbara sent their loved ones into spirals that mirrored the five stages of grief (bargaining, anger, denial, depression, and acceptance). While a lot of people in the real world go through traumatic loss, not everyone has. The book has a unique platform of being able to introduce complex psychology ideas such as boundary ambiguity and counterfactual thinking through something easily digestible as Stranger Things. Clevenger’s connecting of Winnona Ryder’s character creating the alphabet Christmas light communication system with Will to parents who cling to their innermost fears and ideas when their child goes missing is powerful. It’s not hard to empathize with a parent who’s lost their child but the ideas presented her illicit a fuller picture of the emotional state of people who have had to endure this suffering in. She even talks about the different challenges presented when a missing loved one returns.
Over the past decade, mental health has been a popular topic at comic cons all over the country. Experts such as Dr. Langley and Andrea Letamendi have used their own passions for fandom to erase the barriers many have to mental health through discussions and talks at conventions. Stranger Things Psychology: Life Upside Down brings a slice of this through a specific property full of deep layers demonstrating the power of trauma bonds, coping, and triumph.
Stranger Things Psychology: Life Upside Down will be available February 21, 2023 from Turner Publishing.
While you can’t pick up his new book just yet, it’s worth following Dr. Langley on social media where you can find his appearance schedule and superhero psychology tidbits.
