Shiny Happy People Season 2 Review: In the second season of Shiny Happy People, we follow the rise and fall of Teen Mania, and how a generation of millennial children were captivated by the
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Shiny Happy People Season 2 Directors
Nicole Newnham, Cori Shepherd
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Shiny Happy People 2 Executive Produced By
Blye Faust, Cori Shepherd, Nicole Newnham, Lauren Andrade, Olivia Crist, Eric Cook
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AKA
Shiny Happy People: A Teenage Holy War
The series has 3 episodes, each with a runtime of around 45 minutes.
Shiny Happy People Season 2 Review
After the immense success of the first season, Shiny Happy People is back with another season, this time focusing on Teen Mania, an Evangelical Christian youth organisation and the controversies surrounding it. The three-part documentary is a riveting watch but one that is probably not as disturbing as the first season. Somehow, you expect these culty religious groups to have completely disturbing stuff taking place in them, and this one, thus, fits the bill so perfectly that it doesn’t shock you.
The really disturbing part, however, comes in from the second episode, where we see the actual footage from Teen Mania’s different subsections, including Honor Academy, and the series gets into a more serious route that will creep up on you. I found the second and the third episodes somewhat traumatising simply because of how sincere the alumni are in reciting their experiences. Everyone feels genuinely remorseful of the person they were, but also heartbroken for their teenage selves, who were being abused at the hands of a person they trusted with all of their hearts.
The third episode goes a bit more pan-American while focusing on Teen Mania’s campus shift from Green Valley to Dallas, Texas. The pan-American angle hits a bit close to home because you see this happening in real time. I like how the documentary links these two parts of the story together, however briefly, showcasing the real-life consequences of Teen Mania’s conservative and militant views. It’s shocking to see how narrow-minded people can be and how they can take away your right as a human in the blink of an eye. I would say I am fearful for Americans, especially for anyone who is not a white, heterosexual, cisgender man, but honestly, the rest of the world isn’t doing any better either.
But, I digress.
The series really gets you by the end of it, and it makes you feel incensed even if you didn’t feel that at first. It’s a great show, and although, as mentioned previously, it’s not as disturbing as season 1, I feel like we are yet to see the ramifications of this ministry’s deeds. And when that happens, things are going to get a whole lot worse.
Final Thoughts
Shiny Happy People: A Teenage Holy War creeps up on you in a way that will catch viewers by surprise. It’s done well and coupled with the actual footage and the interviews, it’s one helluva ride.
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