My last post sent me on a frenzy, and I think this also should just be mentioned. Following up on what I said about how this show refused to actually explore the systemic problems the 1980s era had just made me think about how season 1 was so good because it was the only season that felt like it was critiquing 80s society in a meaningful way.
Part of what made Joyce’s arc in finding her son so impactful and tragic was how the town reacted and how her own family responded to it. Of course, there’s the aspect of the whole supernatural and how that is hard to believe, but the supernatural part is used to further a critique of 80s society that was made through her story.
Example 1: the majority of people in the town don’t refer to Will as Joyce’s kid or just Will. A lot of people in town refer to Will as “Lonnie’s boy” or “Lonnie’s kid.” It’s subtle, but it’s a callout to the misogynistic views people had. Joyce is not only a single mom—which is already shunned by people—but she’s a lower-class single mom whose father of her kids is still alive.
If Lonnie was dead, people would be more sympathetic towards her. But he’s not. So in the small town’s eyes, they believe Lonnie not being around is still her fault. Not the fact that Lonnie was abusive and an awful parent in general. He doesn’t even show up for his missing/dead son until he knows he can get something out of it. He is a deadbeat.
But everyone will still call Will, “Lonnie’s kid.”
Example 2: How everyone completely disregards her mental health because she is a woman. Despite the fact that we are supposed to be the “emotional” gender, people don’t like when we express them in any way. Like yes, there’s the factor of the fact that nobody knows about the Upside Down so yes, she does look like she’s going through some form of psychosis. But it’s, once again, the lack of empathy people have for her for reacting like that.
They judge her for having any sense of hope as if accepting her son being dead/missing (and possibly hate crimed btw) is something she has to immediately get over. No parent that loves their kid is the same after losing a child like that. Even though she knows that her son is alive. But everyone expects her to just give up. Not offering any help or actual assistance (Johnathan and Hopper get credit for trying to help her but at the same time they also kinda disregarded her too. We understand why, but it makes you wonder if people would react this if Joyce was a man).
Restating before, Joyce’s arc of season 1 would not work if she was a father and not a mother. A lower-class single mother, I’ll add. That’s how you explore the societal dynamics and cultural attitudes of the 80s. Not making silly little references to it that in the grand scheme of things, don’t mean anything.
What made Stranger Things so strong as a first season was how while it made a great mystery show, the whole supernatural plot was more of a backdrop for the character arcs and themes.
This is why Vecna took away how intriguing and threatening the Upside Down was. Him being a human, comprehensible horror not only takes away the incomprehensible horror of the Upside Down, but he took away an important juxtaposition that the Mind Flayer had as a villain. Our heroes represent humanity and human emotion. The Mind Flayer represents the opposite; it is a being that does not care about morals or impactful relationships. It just wants to feed until there is nothing left.
This is why the Upside Down was a good backdrop for the show’s mystery. When the show started getting into “lore” and centered around the Upside Down completely, it’s not a surprise that this show’s characters and dynamics fell flat and it became a typical good guy vs. bad guy marvel series. It’s why the show stopped feeling an authentic portrayal of the 80s, and more of a nostalgia cashcow that uses an 80s aesthetic. By season 5, you really could just place the show in any other time period. And why all of the relationships in the show start to feel so fucking empty.
I think making Will’s queer journey essentially a copy of Robin’s is a great example of how this show was just built around an 80s aesthetic rather than building around an actual setting. Because not only the whole Tammy thing diminishing the love Will had for Mike, but it’s the fact that we are trying to act like Lesbians and Gay men have the exact same experience.
Both are oppressed in different ways even if the oppression revolves around the fact that they are queer. Unlike Will, Robin can at least be affectionate with Vickie in public because women are allowed to be physically affectionate with their girl friends. Robin is able to hide more because while she doesn’t necessarily completely conform to women’s gender expression, she still passes and is feminine enough to be considered straight. Will can’t be affectionate, he can’t be emotionally vulnerable, and he can’t be himself without getting called the f-slur.
People saw lesbians as confused little girls who don’t know what they want and will find a man someday. People saw gay men as predators and thought mlm was a result of child molestation at a young age.
Again, not downplaying either struggles because both are still awful. What I’m trying to point out is that the show doesn’t understand that while yes, Robin and Will can relate to each other and show solidarity, their experiences with homophobia in the 80s are still very different. A good show would explore that. But these straight men clearly think we are all the fucking same and our stories stop at self-acceptance (even though that’s like the first step for a lot of us).
It just hurts me to see how much this show used to have an actual message and good worldbuilding only for it all to completely be scrubbed off and lose its edge.
