By Danielle Bettendorf, Living & arts editor
While I try to keep up-todate on the latest pop culture, recently I’ve found myself falling behind here and there.
One of the things I never got around to was the TV show “Stranger Things,” which was released in July of 2016. Despite the hype, I never found myself interested enough in scifi, horror or the 80s to check it out. After watching the pilot, “The Vanishing of Will Byers,” I’m now semi-qualified to comment on the series.
The show takes place in the early 80s in the small town of Hawkins, Indiana. The show opens with an unknown scientist fruitlessly trying to escape an unseen monster, which spells trouble when the show immediately transitions to a group of middle schoolers playing Dungeons & Dragons.
While the friends all leave intact, one, Will, is chased by a monster on the way home and disappears that night.
Will’s family and the rest of the town begin to search for him and while he is missing, a young girl shows up mysteriously.
While the girl, dubbed Eleven for a tattooed number on her arm, is initially welcomed by a local restaurant owner, he is killed by “Social Services” when they come to take her away.
Eleven then uses telekinetic powers to escape and runs into the group of friends while they search for Will in the woods.
The pilot of the series is not necessarily reflective of all that has been released so far, but I found both strengths and weaknesses in the first episode.
My favorite parts relied on emotion: I’m such a sucker for foreshadowing and lovable characters, which was used with Will. Prior to leaving for home, he admits to the group’s dungeon master, Mike, that an unseen roll of the dice resulted in his character’s death – something he either could have prevented by playing it safe or by lying.
The group later reflects on Will’s character, which makes his disappearance all the more tragic as we discover him after he is gone.
Just in the first episode, however, I think a lot is lost on the fact that I don’t have nostalgia for the 80s. While I’ve played D&D and I know a lot about the decade, some references, like the opening of the episode being modeled after the film “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.” I’ve never seen “E.T.” and I never plan to, which I think made the episode less enjoyable for me than someone who has more knowledge of the pop culture of the time.
I don’t think works should be dependent on their homages in order to be enjoyable, so in this sense, “Stranger Things” seemed only like another modern show set 30 years ago.
Other TV shows I’ve enjoyed set in the era, like “Freaks and Geeks,” “The Goldbergs” and “Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp” had strong enough writing that they didn’t have to rely on the nostalgia factor, rather, it added to what they already had.
I don’t think “Stranger Things” is doomed to a montage of references and I wouldn’t say that prior to watching the rest of the series, but for a modern show set in vintage times, the show emulates the problems of the past quite often.
The main female characters: Eleven, Will’s mom, Joyce, Mike’s sister, Nancy and Nancy’s friend Barb rarely interact with each other on screen, while most of the cast is dominated by men. There is also only one character of color: Lucas, one of the middle schoolers.
Even outside of the show, “Stranger Things” has been suspectable to problematic accusations. Allegations of verbal abuse came out in March against the creators, the Duffer brothers. Peyton Brown, who worked crew, accused the two of verbally abusing multiple women on set and said she would not return to work on the show.
While the two refuted the claim, “Stranger Things” is no better than its predecessors if it does not reflect the social progress of the modern day in its writing, casting and actions. It can never do better for its fans if it only tries to cater to straight white men: something genre fiction has always struggled with.