ST fandom

Stranger Things Fandom

Examples of merchendise:
mug
t shirt
hoodie
bday card
lego
candle holder
key chain
socks
soundtrack
ruck sack
recipe book

Deutchland'83 Context

Deutschland'83

ST scene by scene screengrabs

https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vTZk4_sDM5VQVITdt7DNe4iB6nFKBm8vgEIt680UkXZhbNsR8FqfIEOxl_yjY9fF5lCEPx9ZIkT3PD-/pub

Stranger Things scene by scene reps

https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSjGGdcsXSzM8EDm4QCCa4BY0xV3cz1iiG-0RD4ORcym5v_h1B_wT4saiBQGUHXYZzyaRKn9H-jsT3x/pub

Stranger Things industry

Stranger things representation

Stranger Things Representation

Teenagers:

Difference in ages = 13, 17/18 (Will, Dustin, Mike, Lucas, Eleven) (Jonathon, Nancy, Steve) 

Into paragraphs:

Teenagers

The teenagers represented in stranger things are shown as strong-willed and adventurous which goes against the stereotypical teenager – someone who is lazy or self-centred. There are four boys in Stranger things: Will, Mike, Dustin, Lucas (around 12/13 years old). They emphasise how upset they are when their friend goes missing and are proactive to find Will. Mike’s sister Nancy is an older teenager (around 17/18); she is less worried that mike is missing because she priorities seeing her friends and a boy, she is seeing named Steve. She goes against the stereotypical girl, because she studies and cares about her schoolwork – shown through her revising for an exam with flashcards. Steve is attracted to Nancy because he prioritises girls and his appearance over academics.

Family life and relationships

In the first episode of Stranger things, Mike’s household presents a close family unit which is presented when they all eat round the same table for dinner. However, the closeness is contradicted when they begin to argue about different things, which shows they have underlining issues. The father is shown to be distant and unaffectionate towards the children, in comparison to the mother; but is hardworking and exhausted from his profession due to the lack of expression and enthusiasm in his voice tone. The family is a perfect example of a 1980s white suburban middle-class household. Overall, Will and Mike’s family are given the most screen time which means they are the most important in episode one.

 fortunate, suggested by their large house and clothes.

Mothers

Joyce isn’t shown as the stereotypical mother, as she is overworked and attentive. She cares about her children, Jonathon and Will - which can be shown through her reaction when Will goes missing. Her frantic movements and yelled expressions represent her caring and worried nature. She is committed to her role as a mother, despite not being able to handle the workload, which is why Johnathon has taken over to support the family – by doing house duties.

Absent fathers

Jim Hopper, who’s role is the main policeman, is seen as an absent father when it is known that his daughter died but doesn’t like to mention his previous family. Will’s father can also be shown as an absent father because he doesn’t live with his children and Joyce is acting as the stereotypical fatherly role – which subverts the ideologies.

Police

Hopper is lonely, lazy and relaxed, so he appears to not take his policeman role too seriously – because nothing terrible ever seems to happen in the area. Therefore, the police is more of a community service for the town, as opposed to saving lives, because the worst thing that has happened is a resident being attacked by a bird – as the bird thought the lady’s hair was a bird’s nest. He tends to block out his feelings by drinking excessively and smoking cigarettes, which presents him as someone who has a boring life, to the audience. He comes across lazy at the beginning but subverts this when he helps find evidence for will’s disappearance – showing he cares because he has experienced the loss of a child.

Government

The government is represented as mysterious as there are only small glimpses of the government in the first episode – it isn’t clear to the audience who they are or what their intentions are. They are seen listening to conversations which could link to the location of Eleven, their aim is to find her, and they don’t have any emotions towards innocent people who may get in their way, such as Benny Hammond. Connie Fraser comes to Benny’s café acting as a someone from social services, then kills Benny – someone who was being kind and caring towards Eleven (almost protective). This emphasises the government fear the unknown, which is implied through the experiments and science research. Connie Fraser subverts female role because she has a high-up job in the government hierarchy for a 1980s woman.

Supernatural

·      Small community life

·      Bullied/outsiders/underdog

Supernatural powers are shown in the first episode when we first meet Eleven. She is seen stopping a rattling fan from spinning just through her eye connection with the object. The lights also flicker, which is uneasy for humans. Eerie noises and soundtracks are used to build the tension of the unknown that society tries to block out – pretending it doesn’t exist. The supernatural is seen again when a weird phone call to Joyce leads to the telephone exploding in her ear – giving her an electric shock.

Subversions

Nancy – being studious with her schoolwork, whilst dating a stereotypical popular boy who distracts her.

Steve – showing an interest in Nancy despite him being popular, it isn’t typical for groups to mix.

Hopper – surprises the audience when he becomes softer and more pro-active to find Will after he disappears.

Mike – he is mature for his age and acts as a leader amongst his friendship group. He is sensible, adventurous and cares about Will, which is shown when they go on a search in night whilst it’s raining.

Government – they’re supposed to keep the people safe, which they aren’t doing when they lie to protect their cover and kill people who get in their way.

Stranger Things Intro

Stranger Things

Trailer consists of:

- Hybrid genres; crime, sci-fi, teenage drama, 80's, action 

- Promotes tv drama 

- Their branding comes from the Netflix logo at the beginning of the episode

- Low key lighting connotes mystery and suspense - Enigma 

- Dialogue reveals investigative narrative and crime conventions plus eerie non-diegetic sound 

- Mise en scene e.g. chopper bikes identity 1980's time period 

- Iconography of science-fiction (suits, lab)

- The paranormal as a convention of sci-fi (realism and non-realism) 

- Lightbulb and torches *significant 

- Audiences first interaction with Eleven 

- Storyline follows Todorov's narrative-theory, suggesting that all narratives follow a three-part structure where everything is balanced, progress as something comes along to disrupt the peace, then reach a solution, when equilibrium is restored

- Takes place on November 6th 1983 in Hawkins, Indiana

- Children as central protagonists and individuals' identities: Mike, Dustin, Will, Lucas

The first 8 minutes:

- The eerie non diegetic sound (horror convention) 

- Camera tilts down (a common camera movement in stranger things) (department of energy; possible science fiction enigma) 

- Lighting malfunction 

- Cuts to suburban lawn - sprinklers and house have connotations of middle-class neighbourhood (todorovian) disruption.

- First major characters suggests diversity (three children who would be stereotypically seen as eccentric outsiders e.g. obsession with a board game)

- Objects and props anchor 1980's time period e.g. choppers.

TV drama

TV Drama

Industry

- US networks broadcasters must satisfy their advertisers and hold market share.

- Impact of this is on content - is a reliance on formal media convention.

Cable television

- Launched in the 1970's. HBO was the first US national subscription cable TV channel.

- Takes more risks - allows for more explicit content.

UK drama 

- UK have failed to meet the challenge of the US cable channels.

- BBC + ITV 90's - they relied on genre-based, formula drama. Heritage and crime drama are prime examples. (UK are very behind in comparison to the US)

- Channel 4 and BBC4 have identical foreign language/subtitled long form shows are rating's winners. (ABC1 Audience)

- Use of time-shift is increasing (on demand, catch up)
- Content viewing via TV still dominates the UK
- Netflix and Amazon usuage is increasing
- Binge watching began in late 1990's - using DVD box sets
- US uses long mid-season breaks to entice the audience when the following season is released

LFTVD definition - Long form TV drama
innovative
high quality
time shifting
easily accessible
multiple episodes
different platforms
content can be dark, but creative
long term narratives
mature
streaming services

Stranger things exam Q

Stranger Things Exam Question

In the first episode of Stranger Things, there are a many social groups represented. This includes American teenagers (a range of ages) and class. The typical lazy teenager stereotype is opposed when Jonathon Byers is introduced. The scene shows him cooking breakfast, which emphasises his mature, responsible role. This isn’t usual for a 17-year-old boy. A boy of that age group wouldn’t usually be taking up parent duties such as housework, as their mum is often shown distant because she is working hard for the children to live comfortably. The mum can also be unorganised, as she is rushing around and loses her temper quickly, despite this being the case – we can tell that she cares about her children.

The teenage social group is under-represented in stranger things and surprises the audience as they are shown in a positive light. The teenagers wore basic clothes whilst living in an 80’s style home, with technology that would have been used in this time period. Jonathon is shown as the caring sibling who supports the family when he is needed – he is dependable. His character is contrasted when he is with Nancy, a girl that he fancies. We can see him change and become shy and innocent which identifies that he feels nervous around her. Long and medium shots are used around this scene to show his caring nature; following onto fast moving close ups to see the characters emotions clearer – identifying how something is making them feel. For example, we a more emotional side of Jonathon when he is with his family compared to with his friends – when he feels more like a teenager another side comes out – presenting him as a stereotypical teenager. High key lighting is also used which suggests how his life is brighter and a weight is lifted when he is away from the house – where his family heavily rely on him. Consequently, making him aligned with the other teenagers, representing him as a normal American teen.

 Lucas, Dustin, Mike and Will are represented as geeky and unpopular. The media language is vital when it comes to attracting the audience and is used to show the representations of the boys in stranger things through mise-en-scene. The younger teenager boys are also shown wearing the stereotypical 80’s clothing. The audience also see their personalities when they all play together, for instance when they ride their bikes, (choppers being popular during the 80s). It presents their love and passion for the games they play.