Review: Shiny, Happy People Season 2 is Garbage (Spoilers)

Back in 2023, I did a post talking about the first season of the Amazon Prime docuseries Shiny, Happy People which spread a light on the cult ran by Bill Gothard. My overall opinion of the show was that while I respected it for shining a light on the stories of those who survived the IBLP, I didn’t like how it seemed to paint all Christians and homeschoolers as being religious zealots who are abusive towards everyone. Fast forward two years later, and Prime released a second season of Shiny, Happy People in response to the swarms of people who had escaped abusive pseudo-Christian cults or toxic churches demanding a second season. However, this season was not about Bill Gothard, or any offshoots of his cult. Instead, it focused on a guy named Ron Luce and his cult, Teen Mania. However, though it has the potential to be a good show, it focused less on the survivors’ stories and felt like it was made in response to Trump being in office.

#1: Teen Mania and the NAR

When I started watching this documentary, I almost immediately recognized Ron Luce’s teachings as being part of the NAR (New Apostolic Reformation), which I’ve talked a bit about here on the blog, but plan to do a more in-depth post about on Wednesday. His goal in getting all these kids into the different levels of Teen Mania and getting them politically active was all part of something called the Seven Mountain Mandate, which is a heretical teaching that Christians must take over all mountains (or spheres, as they’re now being called) of influence ranging from media to government to usher in the second coming of Christ and bring Heaven to Earth. This is not an idea that’s promoted by the Bible as no one knows the day or the hour of Christ’s return and we can’t make God go any faster, but it’s a good way to set up a cult, especially when most of your following is biblically illiterate.

While I would generally have no problem with a documentary showing how toxic this teaching is and what happens when you mix it with people who believe the ends justify the means, the problem is that Shiny, Happy People does its best to portray all Christians (or anyone who seems Christian-adjacent or conservative) as this type of psycho. There is no nuance at all or any recognition that many Christians are not on board with the Seven Mountain Mandate, nor is there any acknowledgment that most Christians (including those in the cult of the NAR) do not condone the actions of Ron Luce. Instead, this documentary is dead set to have you believe that Christians are all evil fascists and are conspiring against anyone who doesn’t believe in Jesus.

#2: Christian Nationalism and the Convention of States

The entire point of Season 2 is to show how all Christians are evil “Christian Nationalists” (whatever those are), who are trying to take over the government, rewrite the Constitution, usher in a fascistic theocracy, and take away your rights.

While there is a tiny bit of truth to this, the documentary brushes over much of what’s really going on. Starting with the ounce of truth in all of this, unfortunately the NAR has become very influential in politics, both on the state and federal level. You have no further to look than Trump’s spiritual advisors (most notably Paula White-Cain) to see this, as all of them are either part of the NAR or are associated with it. Another example is Redding, California, a small town that’s basically been completely taken over by Bethel church.

However, this is not representative of all Christians and to say that we’re all trying to usher in a fascist theocracy (which I don’t even think the NAR is necessarily trying to do) is stupid beyond belief. It’s an argument built on quicksand. The only “proof” of this that the documentary really has is that the later Teen Mania events would use red and black in their shows’ color schemes. That’s it. That’s somehow supposed to be proof of fascism.

The truth is that conservatives – Christian or otherwise – would like the government to go back to its job of keeping the country safe and stable. We would like it to keep criminals out of the country. We would like it to not spend so much. We would like it to preserve life, born and unborn. We would like it to promote the family values that kept civilizations stable throughout history. We would like everyone to have a voice instead of one side trying to silence the other through intimidation. That’s not fascist.

The docuseries also brings up the Convention of States and the directors must’ve been peeing themselves in fear every time it was brought up. They’re petrified that conservatives (particularly Christian conservatives) might be able to have a Convention of States. So, I googled what the Convention of States is and what its goals are, and it’s far from fascism. What they want is to curb federal spending (which, as we’ve seen thanks to DOGE, is out of hand) and shrink the government so it stops infringing on our rights. That’s it. An actual fascist movement would want to grow the government to ridiculous levels to exercise more control over people.

Even more damning for this propaganda series is that while it paints all Christians as being part of an evil conspiracy, it ignores that us Christians can’t even agree on some basic morals and doctrines thanks to our departure from Biblical Christianity. Because of this, how could we even get together to conspire to take over anything? It makes no sense. And, as the cherry on top, they even included a clip of Ben Shapiro, a Jew, in their slideshow showing how (supposedly) widespread this “conspiracy” is. Must I explain why this is stupid?

#3: Teenage Holy War

Season 2 is called Shiny, Happy People: A Teenage Holy War. I pretty much laughed when I saw this title because even with Ron Luce’s abusive bootcamp and constant allusions to war, it’s not a teenage holy war. It’s a cult doing abusive cult things in the name of God but not actually waging a war. If you want to see what a teenage holy war looks like, look at the 13-19-year-old jihadis waging an actual holy war in places like Gaza, Afghanistan, Iran, Congo, etc. Even at their worst, Ron Luce’s followers were never waging anything close to a holy war.

#4: Random Anti-Christian Slander

From claims ranging from “Christians created corporal punishment,” to claims about there never being a bigger brainwashing and political activation of youth in history, this documentary is rife with false claims about Christians, many of which are historically inaccurate. The best example of this (other than the corporal punishment one) is the one about the brainwashing and political activation of the youth. Apparently, we’re going to forget all about the Hitler Youth and things like that happened before the early 2000s.

#5: So. Much. Hypocrisy.

Throughout the documentary, we’re treated to people getting angry about Ron Luce’s us-versus-them mentality, how he got kids into politics, how the “Christian Nationalists” are trying to take over the government, etc. and yet we see the Leftists doing the exact same thing. In fact, at the very end of the documentary, the closing words are essentially a command to be afraid of Christians, conservatives, and Trump because they’re coming after you. How is that not a fearmongering us-versus-them mentality?

And remind me again about how the Left hasn’t been grooming kids into voting Democrat for the past several decades, or how the recent L.A. riots didn’t make Los Angeles look like a warzone. Also remind me how the Left totally hasn’t been acting like a fascist echo-chamber as they try to silence anyone with dissenting views in the name of “acceptance” and how many of their policies are reminiscent of the Nazis’, who were socialists. Oh! And remind me how the Left totally hasn’t been fearmongering in a similar manner via public schools, colleges, and the media for decades. I’ll wait.

Conclusion

Though this had the potential to be a good documentary, Shiny, Happy People: A Teenage Holy War turned into a Leftist propaganda piece that reeked of anti-Christian bigotry and fear. Fear that Gen Z is beginning to rebel against the Left and is becoming increasingly conservative. Fear that Gen Z is no longer as atheist as their Millennial predecessors and is beginning to turn to religion. That fear is the only reason why I believe they made this docuseries. It wasn’t out of care for the survivors. It was always about a political agenda and it’s disgusting, as it turns these survivors’ experiences into a way to fearmonger.

Until next time,

M.J.