ArteFact

We are hardwired to long for happiness. But is happiness something that wells up from within us or is it sourced externally, and if so, what are its terms? More to the point, who sets those terms, and what does the answer say about our ability to engineer our own happiness? Such are the questions I found myself asking as I watched the first season of Takehiro Kubota’s anime series My Happy Marriage.

Last summer, Netflix released the fourth and penultimate season of the sci-fi horror drama Stranger Things to widespread rave reviews. Many fans saw this latest installment as a return to the exceptional storytelling of the show’s first season. For those of us with an interest in theology, it provided a compelling exploration of the age-old battle between good and evil that resonates with Catholic spirituality.