Is "Stranger Things" Really Strange?
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| Stranger Things (2016) |
This article will contain spoilers for the series Stranger Things. Read it at your own discretion, and feel free to skip it altogether if you're yet to finish the series and would prefer to go into it without knowing certain events in advance.
Nostalgia for the 80's is an epidemic which has plagued artwork (particularly in film and music) as of late. It was only a matter of time before all of those warm feelings for a time with Dungeons and Dragons, bright poppy synthesizers, and wood paneling culminated and resulted in what is essentially a love letter to the single decade which everyone seems to have collectively decided they're nostalgic for. However, this raises the question, is there more to Stranger Things than nostalgia? Is Stranger Things really the strange and unique series that it advertises itself to be?
Naturally, there are some endearing qualities to Stranger Things, its characters for instance are fantastic child actors who masterfully present real children dealing with very intense supernatural situations. The soundtrack is fantastic as well, with its dark and looming synths and ominous tone. Unfortunately, this is where the magic of Stranger Things comes to an end and is overshadowed by the worship of 80's culture and some failed efforts at horror.
Horror, as I have explained in previous articles, is an extremely deep and meaningful genre. It explores the deepest fears of humanity, and it twists these fears into something so ominous and exaggerated that they seem too horrifying for the protagonist to overcome. This is hardly the case in Stranger Things. The enemy in Stranger Things is not a representation of the children's fears of adulthood culminating into one horrifying creature, it's not even creative in its plant-like design, instead it just exists for the sole purpose of being a villain.
While the film works hard to land every possible horror cliche, it makes an effort at dashing one entirely. The traditional trope of the virgin being the 'final girl' and the teenage girl who has sex being the first to die is completely spun on its head, which would be fine if the series were making an effort at being something entirely original, but given the case that it thrives entirely off of society's current longing for Reagan era America and the movies which came with it, this effort at originality only falls flat as a single attempt to prove Stranger Things is more than just a mere nostalgia fest.
I have many issues with Stranger Things, but my biggest is Eleven's "fate" (because, realistically, we all know she will be returning in season two to complete her arc as a strange Christ-like figure). The entire purpose of Eleven was to depict a young girl who has been tortured, brutalized, and objectified for her whole life and is still searching desperately for some semblance of humanity in herself. She wants to be viewed as a person and not an object, she longs to be pretty, she wears a wig in a desperate attempt at matching the beauty standards which she cannot fulfill because of her head being shaved against her will. So, what happens to her? Does she find passions and goals which make her finally view herself as a person? Does she break free from her trauma and start figuring out who she is? Of course not! Instead, the script has her take the easy way out and sacrifice herself, thus completing her arc as an object used to propel the plot and protect the group of boys she has befriended.
I feel the need to reiterate the fact that I am by no means saying that I despise the series. Stranger Things certainly has its charming aspects, it has moments which make it endearing and instances which breathe life into it despite the nostalgia that breath has to push past. However, I feel the need to correct the worship and obsessiveness I've seen toward it, to clear my throat and say "actually, it's alright, but it's not really that great." Stranger Things is decent, the children are phenomenal actors and the soundtrack is fantastic, but don't view it through rose colored glasses just because it reminds you of E.T. or The Goonies.
Nostalgia for the 80's is an epidemic which has plagued artwork (particularly in film and music) as of late. It was only a matter of time before all of those warm feelings for a time with Dungeons and Dragons, bright poppy synthesizers, and wood paneling culminated and resulted in what is essentially a love letter to the single decade which everyone seems to have collectively decided they're nostalgic for. However, this raises the question, is there more to Stranger Things than nostalgia? Is Stranger Things really the strange and unique series that it advertises itself to be?
Naturally, there are some endearing qualities to Stranger Things, its characters for instance are fantastic child actors who masterfully present real children dealing with very intense supernatural situations. The soundtrack is fantastic as well, with its dark and looming synths and ominous tone. Unfortunately, this is where the magic of Stranger Things comes to an end and is overshadowed by the worship of 80's culture and some failed efforts at horror.
Horror, as I have explained in previous articles, is an extremely deep and meaningful genre. It explores the deepest fears of humanity, and it twists these fears into something so ominous and exaggerated that they seem too horrifying for the protagonist to overcome. This is hardly the case in Stranger Things. The enemy in Stranger Things is not a representation of the children's fears of adulthood culminating into one horrifying creature, it's not even creative in its plant-like design, instead it just exists for the sole purpose of being a villain.
While the film works hard to land every possible horror cliche, it makes an effort at dashing one entirely. The traditional trope of the virgin being the 'final girl' and the teenage girl who has sex being the first to die is completely spun on its head, which would be fine if the series were making an effort at being something entirely original, but given the case that it thrives entirely off of society's current longing for Reagan era America and the movies which came with it, this effort at originality only falls flat as a single attempt to prove Stranger Things is more than just a mere nostalgia fest.
I have many issues with Stranger Things, but my biggest is Eleven's "fate" (because, realistically, we all know she will be returning in season two to complete her arc as a strange Christ-like figure). The entire purpose of Eleven was to depict a young girl who has been tortured, brutalized, and objectified for her whole life and is still searching desperately for some semblance of humanity in herself. She wants to be viewed as a person and not an object, she longs to be pretty, she wears a wig in a desperate attempt at matching the beauty standards which she cannot fulfill because of her head being shaved against her will. So, what happens to her? Does she find passions and goals which make her finally view herself as a person? Does she break free from her trauma and start figuring out who she is? Of course not! Instead, the script has her take the easy way out and sacrifice herself, thus completing her arc as an object used to propel the plot and protect the group of boys she has befriended.
I feel the need to reiterate the fact that I am by no means saying that I despise the series. Stranger Things certainly has its charming aspects, it has moments which make it endearing and instances which breathe life into it despite the nostalgia that breath has to push past. However, I feel the need to correct the worship and obsessiveness I've seen toward it, to clear my throat and say "actually, it's alright, but it's not really that great." Stranger Things is decent, the children are phenomenal actors and the soundtrack is fantastic, but don't view it through rose colored glasses just because it reminds you of E.T. or The Goonies.
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