Truthiverse with Brendan D. Murphy

Episode 26: Gnostic Myth in Stranger Things: Symbolism of the Mind Flayer and Eleven

February 25th, 2021  |  Season 2  |  18 mins 16 secs

brendan d murphy, gnostic, gnosticism, metaphysics, mythology, podcast, religion, spirituality

Netflix show Stranger Things has proved enormously resonant with viewers worldwide, but why so much so? Beloved characters like Eleven, Mike and Will (the “Wizard”) stand defiantly between an encroaching darkness dubbed the Mind Flayer and human civilisation as we know it. The malevolent dark being seeks global domination and destruction—total conquest and annihilation of humanity, but innocent little Eleven and her friends prove to be stubbornly pesky obstacles. What do Eleven and the Mind Flayer represent—is there an ancient Gnostic theme to be uncovered here in 1980s Hawkins’ secret war?