when i watched “Strange things“with my son, I could never have expected that he would be attracted to Billy Hargrove, who is not exactly a good boy. My son is now 10, going into fifth grade, and his admiration for Billy continues.
This led to an obsession with hair metal, weight liftingand wants to have the exact same Camaro when he grows up. I tried to explain to him that Billy wasn’t the best role model, but I can actually see why he gravitated to the character.
Heroes, like people, are rarely just good or bad
While Billy is the bully, he also has a moment of redemption when we see another side of him as a child with his mother on the beach. In addition to this memory humanizing Billy for viewers, he also sacrifices himself in the end to save everyone else, which is a terribly selfless move to be. the bad one.
So even though I sometimes struggle with my son’s desire to be a miniature Billy Hargrove, I get it. A good story should have characters like Billy because people are complex and no one is all good or all bad.
Billy Hargrove is a complex character. Netflix
Complex characters provide opportunities for critical thinking
Like middle and high school English teacherI’ve witnessed the impact of having characters in stories that aren’t easy to write off. To me, there is nothing better than having material that makes students think critically or disagree with each other.
So is Billy a bad guy? The short answer is that it’s not that simple. Billy does a lot of things that are undeniably wrong, from speeding to mistreating his younger stepsister. In fiction, everything is written intentionally, from the actions of the characters to their appearance, and I always have my students examine both carefully.
Billy’s skinny jeans and slicked-back hair show us that he cares about being attractive or looking cool. We know that Billy is serious about dating and sees his appearance as a means to that end. While having relationships is healthy and dating has its place in our lives, talking about the character’s approach to his appearance opened up a deeper conversation with my son.
A conversation with him about why he sees Billy as cool turned into a deep discussion about right and wrong and what things in life we should value most. Often, analyzing a story’s antagonist can lead to much deeper conversations than simply saying, “They’re just the bad guy.”
A story can be more impactful than any lesson or lecture
As a teacher and a mother, I have seen that we take time for careful reflection together afterwards experiencing history through a book, show, or movie can be more impactful than any lesson or lecture I could ever give to my students or my son.
The best thing about Billy Hargrove is that he shows the ability to transform. He transforms from a stereotypical bad boy to a hero. And he’s not the only transformation we see on the show; Steve Harington is another character from “Stranger Things” who undergoes a major evolution, from a bully in a cute babysitter.
Heroes like these, who show that not only is it possible to change, but that it doesn’t have to be hard, are important role models — especially for young people who are still figuring out what kind of people they want to be.
I think about my own role models growing up
There are times when I become less optimistic about my son who looks up to characters like Billy Hargrove, such as when I worry that he is too busy working out. Sometimes my worries about him going down the wrong path cloud my vision and I wonder if I’m pointing him in the right direction.
But then I remind myself that he’s 10. When I was 10, I thought I wanted to be Ginger Spice, and I remember my own dad getting upset about it. Growing up, I tried on all kinds of identities until I figured out who I was. Plus, with maturity came seeing the caricature in characters, especially those in the public eye.
I like getting to know my son through his interests
I know I need to let my son understand why he thinks he wants to be like Billy without getting too excited about it. But I also know that what he cares about provides each of us with an opportunity to learn. I can try to teach him what I know about his interests, but I also learn what he likes and why. Instead of shutting it down out of fear or my own opinion, I would prefer get to know him by talking to him about what he likes.
As a parent it can be hard not wanting to control who my son grows up to be, but I know he is his own person. As his mother, all I can do is try to always be there for him until he figures out who he wants to be.