As October drew to a close, Stranger Things fans everywhere settled down to submerse themselves in the strangely familiar otherness of this throwback phenomenon. When Stranger Things first appeared on our screens last year, the success that followed was, while unexpected, not unwarranted or undeserved. The kids were endearing and entertaining, the plot was thick and mysterious, and the setting was (mostly) bright and fun. While some things about season two seem a little rushed or unevenly resolved, much of what people loved about the first season returns. Eleven is back (spoiler), the Demogorgon has multiplied, and we’re still with the same rag-tag group of young heroes, who are once again trying to save their (almost lost) friend Will. And most importantly, we’re still in that era of big hair and even bigger monsters – the 1980s.
Stranger Things’ 1984 setting is close enough to the present day to feel familiar, yet distant enough to still feel like an escape from modern life. But it’s not the first or only ongoing TV show which dives into the decade – it joins Glow, The Goldbergs, Wet Hot American Summer, The Carrie Diaries and parts of This Is Us and Black Mirror to name just a few.
Pop culture’s obsession with the ‘80s has lasted longer than the ‘80s itself. So what is it about the era that makes it so popular on screen?
Sometimes, the ‘80s are used as a vacuous, brightly coloured front, or an attempt to inject some vivacity and life into a largely two-dimensional plot (looking at you, The Goldbergs). The setting is a particularly recognisable period, and it provides a certain decoration dialogue can’t. In Stranger Things, however, the ‘80s setting makes sense. It’s almost part of the plot itself, acting as both backdrop to and facilitator of distinctive story arcs. It explains the supernatural knowledge of our sci-fi loving trio Dustin, Will and Lucas, for instance (‘Dungeons and Dragons’ hit shelves in 1981), and creates in Hawkins a sense of isolation, but also allows the viewers to identify with its fictional world. In the second season there are nods to similarities between political climates – namely in references to Russia and the Reagan-Bush election – as well as popular culture.
The technology of the ‘80s is also a feature of the series. The lack of technology is somewhat reassuring to a modern audience, offering an escape from constant live updates, likes and comments. The kids use walkie-talkies to contact each other, cycle everywhere and have to look up what Dart (that weird little slug-like thing they find and fondly name) might be in a stack of dusty books from the back of a library. The entire plotline with Nancy and Jonathan needing Murray the reporter’s help to get the truth out about Barb’s death probably wouldn’t have happened at all if the internet existed. It’s all very retro. Very other.
The ‘80s are frequently used in TV to spawn a sense of nostalgia – just look at Everybody Hates Chris or Freaks and Geeks. Stranger Things does this largely through reference to classics such as E.T., The Goonies, Nightmare on Elm Street, Poltergeist, even Pretty in Pink. Not all shows set in or made in the ‘80s, however, are equally nostalgic. Part of what made Stranger Things such a success the first time around is that the nostalgia it created was rooted in the characters and the actors; in the innocence, hilarity and vivacity they exhibited onscreen.
There is always going to be a disparity, however, between a show set and filmed in the ‘80s, and one filmed today. There seems to be a consensus that we can do a better job of recreating it nowadays, that we’re finally distanced enough from the time to use big budgets and better technology to its full advantage. Almost as if we can offer a clearer image of the ‘80s today than the ‘80s could. And for younger, modern audiences, who didn’t experience the ‘80s, it’s very easy to believe that the representations we see onscreen are accurate and fair, even when that’s not necessarily true. Yet even the recent Glow – Netflix’s comedy-drama about an all-female wrestling squad known as the ‘Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling’ – is one show which has been widely criticised for heavily fictionalising the original series which inspired it.
Modern interpretation often threatens to show the ‘80s as a ‘better’ or ‘simpler’ time. Stranger Things does its best to tackle this. Last season, we were embroiled in a conspiracy theory that came from the top. No one could be believed, no one could be trusted – certainly not a better time. This season, the threat comes from within. The mind-flayer occupies Will’s body, “spying” on our team of Demogorgon-battling kids and their parents. Definitely not simpler.
‘80s culture has infused our TV, music, film, and fashion for years. Bands like Guns N’ Roses are still selling out gigs. Film is taking classics like IT and rebooting them. Even that menace of a fashion trend – ruffles – has made a comeback. Stranger Things is another product of this fixation. I don’t know if I would describe it as a revival of the era – the ‘80s have been “back” since 1999, and it doesn’t look like they’re going anywhere anytime soon. Stranger Things has certainly rekindled an interest in this age of VHS tapes, banging tunes, and perms so massive they were essentially sentient, but perhaps the flame of that iconic decade was never all that close to dying out.
Stranger Things 2 is streaming on Netflix now.
Illustration by Jerie Macapagal
