If you have a Netflix subscription or have been on the Internet within the past few months, chances are high that you've at least heard of the epitome of eighties nostalgia that is Netflix's latest- and arguably buzziest- original series, STRANGER THINGS.
The eight-episode Netflix-original series follows the lives of the family, friends, and neighbors of twelve-year-old Will Byers, who goes missing one night under mysterious circumstances, as they attempt to piece together who- or what- is responsible for the boy's sudden disappearance. Throw in a girl- curiously named Eleven, of whom this post is the namesake- with telekinetic abilities, a most secretive and villainous laboratory, and a fateful game of Dungeons and Dragons, and you've got STRANGER THINGS.
With the setting being a small Indiana town in 1983 and the cause of Will's disappearance being linked to sightings of an alien-like monster, critics are calling this one the perfect combination of Stephen Spielberg and Stephen King, and rightfully so.
If you aren't intrigued enough already, here are eleven reasons why you should be watching STRANGER THINGS:
1. It's the eighties sci-fi story you didn't know you were waiting for
You're lying if you say you don't have at least some sort of nostalgic appreciation for the sci-fi classics that came out of the eighties, whether you lived through them yourself or not. Every decade in film history has its own feeling, its own mood, and the tragic thing about it is that once that decade is left in the past, film has already progressed far enough for a new mood, a new set of genres and original ideas to shape its next generation. For those of us who love films like The Goonies and E.T., we must come to acknowledge that there are only so many movies and TV shows from that generation that we can love and watch over and over again before we run out. Sure, there are wannabe eighties nostalgic films and TV shows, but nothing that's really harnessed the spirit of the Spielberg sci-fi genre and brought forth a worthy film or show. Until now. Stranger Things does just this and more in its eight short episodes, and is the piece of eighties nostalgia you've been waiting for, whether you realized you were or not.
2. Star Winona Ryder, whose lead role bridges the gap from the eighties generation to now
Many are calling Stranger Things Winona Ryder at her best, drawing audiences who are familiar with the seasoned actress toward the show even more. Who would play the adult lead in the show was a huge casting decision for the Duffer brothers, who directed the series. The role required an actress with the ability to handle the emotionally unstable character of a mother potentially on the verge of losing it after her son goes missing. Choosing to cast Ryder bridges the eighties generation, familiar with the actress and intrigued to see her playing such a different role, to the present one, thus making the full circle of eighties nostalgia complete.
3. The rest of the characters are fresh faces who are superbly cast
While Ryder has become the face of the show because of her star status, the show has an equally talented batch of fresh, new faces that make up the younger portion of the cast. No matter your thoughts on the show going into it, five minutes or so into the first scene and you cannot deny the chemistry radiating among the middle-grade boys who drive the show. The kids are first seen roleplaying a battle scene in a ten-hour game of Dungeons and Dragons, their eyes wide and sparkling with the thrills of youth and the hope that they might make it out alive against the beast about to strike. Once the game is broken up, two of the boys race each other home, the prize at stake? One of Dustin's prized X-Men comic books. They laugh and shout on their way like any two twelve-year olds would, which brings me to...
4. The setting, characters, and story- it all feels real
A few weeks after finishing Stranger Things, I tried out a new show, whose name I will refrain from mentioning on this post, from a favorite genre of mine. For some reason I couldn't quite explain, I found myself incredibly disinterested in the entire show halfway through the second episode. This was a genre that, ninety-nine times out of a hundred, I enjoyed. What made this show that one off-chance exception? After spending that episode and a half trying to figure it out, I came to the following conclusion: all the actors in the show were idealized. Everyone's teeth were white and straightened to perfection; the love interest was a completely flawless character with gorgeous skin, perfect posture, and a wonderfully warm voice. You could feel the out-of-sight fan blowing the female characters' hair to supermodel status. While television and Hollywood and any sort of filmmaking in general seems to call for attractive actors who are pleasing to see and hear on the big screen, I hadn't been so consciously aware of how inaccurately it represented people until after having seen Stranger Things. Take one look at the cast and you see the kind of people who you know from work, school, or the grocery store. And while idealized people can make sense in the context of the show or film, the concept has the ability to essentially disallow viewers from relating to the characters. The characters of Stranger Things are different from other shows out there in that they feel uniquely real and present, like you could see them going to your school or walking down your street.
5. Plot twists and a suspense-driven storyline drive the show
Stranger Things is expertly driven by suspense. Oh, the spine-tingling plot-twists I could tell you. But I won't. I promise. Because it's the suspense generated by these twists and turns that drive the show forward, that lure you into letting
Netflix play the next episode. One of my favorite parts of watching the show for the first time was the extent to which it could keep me on the edge of my seat without it turning into a bloodbath of a horror flick. The Duffer brothers knew they didn't need violence and gore to frighten their audience, and, instead, they rely on suspense similar to the way low-budget eighties sci-fi films had to rely on it. Those movies often couldn't afford to show the monster terrorizing a village, and instead had to rely on scaring the audience with a beast that couldn't be seen, but that could scare you just as much from its place in the shadows, if not more.
6. The characters range in age and gender, giving everyone someone to relate to
The various protagonists of Stranger Things range from twelve-year olds to high schoolers to adults, and each of these subsets of characters receives similar amounts of not only screen time, but character development. It isn't like the kids get all the attention and they're the only ones whose characters are fully developed, and the parents are just typecast actors there to fill in a blank. All of the characters are so obviously equally loved by their writers and feel just as real and complex as the rest of them, giving every member of the audience someone to relate to. You might find yourself sympathizing with Nancy, a straight-A high school student who struggles with giving in to peer-pressure, or Hopper, the town sheriff who lost his lust for life the day he lost his daughter.
7. The cinematography is spectacular, filled with ready-to-become iconic scenes
I could go on for paragraphs about the cinematography of this show. Essays, even. The overall aesthetic of Stranger Things, need I remind you for the hundredth time, is nostalgic eighties in the best possible way. Doing this with a show could result in one of two possible outcomes. One: it could feel too eighties. And by that I mean it could feel like everyone was trying too hard to copy the eighties aesthetic that they ended up producing just that: a copy. Or two: it could use the eighties aesthetic as a base, and then branch off into something uniquely brilliant and original. The latter being the much more challenging thing to do- and yet, Stranger Things manages to do just that. While the show is a glorious combination of every piece of eighties nostalgia you could name, the writers also know what makes an iconic scene, and were able to bring that into the show time and time again. The Christmas lights scenes, specifically, one of which is pictured below, have become almost instantly iconic and signature to the show.
8. The story takes the best aspects of every genre to become the best of all worlds
Stranger Things has a way of incorporating everything you want in a film or show into one, condensed series in the most compact and well-thought-out way I've seen in a long time. You want sci-fi? Try alien-type monster hunting people in a small town plus more eighties sci-fi references than you can count. You want romance? Try the cutest, most innocent middle-school crush you could imagine plus some high school sweetheart drama. You want horror? Try a monster that lures its victims through electric lights plus a lab-accident gone wrong. You want action? Try teenagers hunting a monster in the woods plus telekinetic girl fighting off villains with her mind. You want drama? Try a single mom and her son coping with the disappearance of her son/his brother plus teenagers dealing with peer-pressure. You want comedy? Try perfectly timed one-liners from a twelve-year-old plus an ever-loyal
Science teacher. It's all there, folks!
9. It fits the both the Halloween and upcoming Holiday Season moods
There's no doubt that Stranger Things was the hit of the summer, but just because you missed it then doesn't mean you've missed your chance to enjoy it in an appropriate seasonal aesthetic. In fact, the current late-October, Halloween season is entirely fitting for the show, whose haunting plot makes it a sublime suggestion for a weekend that just demands to be spent with candy corn and a mystery marathon. And if you don't get around to it then, the Christmas lights scenes serve as a good enough excuse to sneak in the show this Holiday Season, similar to the way Gremlins can work in both October and November. Stranger Things is to Christmas lights as Gremlins is to Christmas trees in this way: they clash horror with the holidays in the best possible of ways.
10. All eight episodes are available on Netflix
When it comes to TV show watching, a common excuse I hear from peers as to why they haven't seen any given show is that they're "just waiting for it to be on Netflix." That way, they reason, they can have all the episodes available at once, ready to marathon without the wait in between episodes. Recall, my friends, that Stranger Things is a Netflix original series. In other words: all eight episodes are right there, just waiting for you to binge-watch this weekend. Your excuses are running out the deeper you get into this blog post, and in case you need one more reason...
11. There's going to be a second season!
That's right. On August 31,
Netflix announced that the highly anticipated sequel season has been confirmed to air in 2017. In other words, this isn't a one-time fad that's going away any time soon; its popularity and fan-base will only continue to grow as word gets out and anticipation is built for the second season. Now is the time to jump on the bandwagon if you haven't yet done so.
Parental Note: Don't brush aside the TV-14 rating of this one due to its young protagonists. Stranger Things is deservedly a TV-14 rated show for older teens and up due to language, frightening images/scenarios, smoking, alcohol, and sexual content.
Images courtesy of Netflix.
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