Stranger Things

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Multicolored holiday lights spell out messages on living room walls, residents of a small community begin to vanish without a trace, a government lab conceals a malevolent secret, and a creature from a fractured dimension emerges to carry out a deadly agenda. Welcome to the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana – the setting for the events of the Netflix original series Stranger Things. The mostly word-of-mouth hit of the summer, Stranger Things brings together elements from horror and science-fiction movies reminiscent of days gone by while simultaneously incorporating a storyline that feels as familiar as it does different. On the surface, the series is enjoyable for its compelling plot, characters, and drama – but as it is explored deeper, …show more content…
Bearing elements reminiscent of the MK-Ultra Cold War experiments and other government conspiracy theories, the series finds a foothold in uncertainty and mystery. The storyline will be vaguely familiar to many, with its science-fiction roots obviously identifiable in most films produced around the 1980s, a source that producers Ross and Matt Duffer have cited as an inspiration for some of the proceedings in the series. With visual and remotely plot-based ties to such classics as E.T.: The Extraterrestrial, The Goonies, and Alien, among others, it would be hard to misinterpret the origins of Stranger Things. However, the show has succeeded arguably due to its ability to build a unique world despite the obvious influences from past sources – a feat that many shows fail to accomplish, and one that perhaps has played a large role in why the series has been billed for a sophomore season. Tied closely to an alleged government experiment known as “Project Montauk” – in which it is widely theorized that subjects were said to have gained supernatural powers, including those which could manifest or transport objects simply by thought – the series posits a unique explanation for the development of its plot. From the beginning, audiences are swept up in the small-town discomfort that arises when …show more content…
Whether or not it was designed to be a stark contrast to today’s society is largely reliant on viewer opinion, but the time period in which Stranger Things is set certainly does not go unnoticed. The Byers family drives multiple cars made prior to 1977, rotary-based telephones are still connected to long landline wires, and cameras necessitate dark-rooms for photo development – yet it would be inaccurate to say that Hawkins fails to emulate in several respects modern society as well as that of 1983. As Emily Nussbaum writes for The New Yorker, “Still, “Stranger Things” might feel like a mere retro roller coaster were it not for that slow drip of sorrow and trauma, the residue of Reagan-era anxiety about the nuclear family. As the old P.S.A. used to put it, “Do you know where your children are?” (Nussbaum). Post-Cold War attitudes about the ideal family lifestyle – and those things that could threaten it – bleed through to create a world that nearly feels as modern as it does nostalgic. Governmental distrust and fear as well as a trend back towards single-parent households and split families are several key factors that are alive and well today, a remnant of the world put before us in Stranger Things. Viewers get a taste of normalcy and perhaps even self-awareness, before ultimately these underlying messages are torn away in favor of the show’s

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