‘Stranger Things’ Cast Calls Out Trump at SAG Awards: We Will ‘Punch Some People in the Face’ (Video)
David Harbour of Netflix’s ”Stranger Things“ referred to show’s SAG Awards win ”a call to arms“ to use acting ”to cultivate a more empathetic and understanding society“
David Harbour delivered the acceptance speech for the cast of “Stranger Things” for its win for Best Ensemble Cast Sunday at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, and called the award “a call to arms” to stand against policies that “seek to destroy the weak, and the disenfranchised, and the marginalized.” A not-so-thinly-veiled jab at Donald Trump.
Like that of Mahershala Ali, Harbour’s speech was an answer to Trump’s executive order barring immigrants from seven Middle Eastern countries from traveling to the U.S. The order was derided as a de facto ban on Muslim immigrants, including those who already have green cards and visas. The SAG Awards came at the end of a weekend of protests against the ban at airports across the country. You can view Harbour’s speech above.
“I would just like to say that in light of everything that’s going on in the world today, it’s hard to celebrate the already celebrated ‘Stranger Things,'” said Harbour, who played Chief Jim Harper in the show, while surrounded by the rest of the cast on stage. “But this award from you, who take your craft seriously, and earnestly believe, like me, that great acting can change the world, is a call to arms from our fellow craftsmen and women to go deeper, and through our art to battle against fear, self-centeredness and exclusivity of our predominantly narcissistic culture, and through our craft to cultivate a more empathetic and understanding society by revealing intimate truths that serve as a forceful reminder to folks that when they feel broken, and afraid, and tired, they are not alone. We are united in that we are all human beings, and we are all together on this horrible, painful, joyous, exciting and mysterious ride that is being alive.”
Harbour continued, stating the cast would treat “Stranger Things” as an opportunity to “repel bullies” and “hunt monsters.”
“Now as we act in the continuing narrative of ‘Stranger Things,’ we 1983 Midwesterners will repel bullies. We will shelter freaks and outcasts, those who have no home. We will get past the lies. We will hunt monsters. And when we are at a loss amidst the hypocrisy and the casual violence of certain individuals and institutions, we will, as per Chief Jim Hopper, punch some people in the face when they seek to destroy the weak, and the disenfranchised, and the marginalized. And we will do it all with soul, with heart, and with joy. We thank you for this responsibility. Thank you.”
11 'Stranger Things' Fan Theories About Season 2
Season 1 of Netflix's "Stranger Things" left fans with a lot of questions. Now that information is finally trickling out for Season 2, fans are formulating all-new theories to make guesses about everything from what the Upside Down is to who Nancy Wheeler will end up dating. Here are nine of the most interesting.
1. Eleven is alive, but she's in serious trouble The Super Bowl 51 trailer confirmed what everyone suspected: Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) survived her encounter with the Demogorgon creature in Season 1, and she'll be coming back in Season 2. Show creators Matt and Ross Duffer said we'll see more of Elle's background and origins. It seems very likely that finding and saving Eleven will be another element that looms large in Season 2.
2. Eleven is inextricably tied to the Upside Down She said it herself in an early episode -- that she's the monster. We discover more toward the end of Season 1 during a flashback, when Elle touches the faceless creature for the first time through a sensory tank at a government lab. It's that contact with the Demogorgon that has fans thinking that's when she was infiltrated by its darkness. The idea that there's more to her relationship with the monsters is gaining some traction in Season 2.
3. The Thessalhydra from 'D&D' is Season 2's monster Fans paid very close attention to the final "Dungeons & Dragons" game of Season 1, in which Will defeated a creature called the "Thessalhydra." Like the hydra of Greek myth, the Thessalhydra has several heads. The giant creature shown in the Super Bowl teaser looks an awful lot like it could be a multi-headed hydra monster.
4. Nancy Wheeler may ultimately wind up with Jonathan Byers Sure, the show ends with Nancy (Natalia Dyer) in Steve Harrington's arms, but one observant fan noted her distant stare. Just seconds prior, she had given Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) a still camera to replace the one that Steve (Joe Keery) broke in an earlier episode. Jonathan and Nancy were the ones to team up against the monster and Steve only barged in on their plot unwittingly at the last minute. The two have a strong connection.
5. Barb's disappearance will be a major problem The small amount of information trickling out about Season 2 has confirmed one thing: Barb's dead. Bummer. The Duffer Brothers said Barb will get justice in Season 2. But Barb's disappearance sounds like it looms large over Hawkins. It also sounds like Sheriff Hopper (David Harbour) has been covering up the circumstances of Barb's death and Will's disappearance to protect the Byers family.
6. Will Byers is part monster now We see Will cough up one of those slimy things from the Upside Down world in which he resided for nearly the entire season. Then the bathroom in which he's standing flickers, bringing the world's creepy darkness into view momentarily. If the above fan theory No. 2 is true, it stands to reason that since Will was in contact with the faceless monster, that he too has a touch of its evil inside of him. Clips from the teaser suggest to fans that Will has some connection with the giant Season 2 monster shown there.
7. Hopper works for the government now He's spotted stepping into a car with a couple of the bad guys from the lab. Earlier on Hopper cut a deal with them to keep their nefarious secrets under wraps in exchange for Will. Some fans think he's infiltrating the organization in attempts of taking it down while others think he's rejoining the team after a long absence as a federal agent. The Duffers have suggested Hopper is helping cover up the events of Season 1, and that seems to add more credence to this theory.
8. The Upside Down is Hawkins' future Fans are still trying to figure out what the Upside Down actually is. One suggestion: it's not another dimensions, its Hawkins' future. The supposition is that, somehow, Eleven tore a hole in the space-time continuum, allowing bits of a potential future to flow into Hawkins to create a time loop. The future she's seeing? It's Hawkins after the site has been nuked by the U.S. government to stop the giant mutant creature from the teaser, and the Upside Down.
9. The Upside Down isn't an evil dimension, it was attacked An even better theory to explain the Upside Down is that it's an alternate dimension, but not a necessarily malignant one. The Upside Down looks like Hawkins because it's just an alternate version of the town where people live. The gross tentacles, the creatures, the slugs, and the toxic atmosphere are symptoms of an invasion from a third dimension. This invader destroys life. Eleven attracted the invasion, but it's still in the early stages of taking over Earth -- until Season 2.
10. Hopper's daughter is actually Eleven This theory takes a little heavy lifting to get to, but YouTuber Planet Calvin lays out a fairly compelling case for it. It centers hints in Season 1 that maybe Hopper's memory of his daughter Sarah's death from cancer isn't really what happened, but a lie he tells himself. The timeline of what happened to Hopper's daughter also matches fairly well with the timeline of what happens to Terry Ives, Eleven's mother, if you look for some clues. Planet Calvin does a good job of breaking it down in two complementary theory videos you can watch here. At the very least, Planet Calvin has probably picked up on some minor details that might actually be pretty significant in the future.
11. The only one who can stop Monster Will is Eleven This one just makes some thematic sense from a narrative standpoint, but it stands to reason that if Will has been taken in by the monster-ness of the Upside Down, Eleven is the only person equipped to deal with it. A showdown is one way it could go; another is the pair of them trying to figure out how to deal with their dark, conflicted natures together.
Explore guesses around the demogorgan’s fate, those mystery Eggos and Nancy Wheeler’s true love
Season 1 of Netflix's "Stranger Things" left fans with a lot of questions. Now that information is finally trickling out for Season 2, fans are formulating all-new theories to make guesses about everything from what the Upside Down is to who Nancy Wheeler will end up dating. Here are nine of the most interesting.
