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| Stranger Things |
Stranger Things took me back to a simpler time that I had almost forgotten existed. It’s a fading memory brought back to life by this show in a way. Maybe I’m romanticizing the time itself. It wasn't that it was simpler. Life was still life and art was still, for the most part, art. It just wasn't as competitively pretentious back then.
Story telling nowadays has the soul crushing burden of having to set itself apart in jarringly bold ways from the obscene amount of narrative noise permeating our culture. So many stories are being told through so many media each and every second, that for a single story to be heard or appreciated it has to be different somehow. More often than not, this means too many bells and whistles added to the material or format, in misguided and invariably futile attempts to earn the classifications of ‘radically novel’ or ‘gritty and edgy’.
These are the phrases and terms that seem to pop up for every top rated, fan favorite show’s critical tag lines today. This is what the audience craves, this what the audience gets.
Stranger Things though did something refreshing and courageous. It did set itself apart, but by stripping away the embellishments and pretension.
This charming little show created by the Duffer Brothers, with a first season of just 8 episodes was so elegantly conceived and executed that it leaves no room for boredom or idle analysis which inevitably results in nit picking for its own sake.
It is tightly packed and swift in its pace as far as the plot and narration goes, and its very talented cast and efficient direction handled by veterans pack a solid punch of jaw dropping and gut wrenching entertainment not seen in some time on mainstream television.
This show, which came out of nowhere, brings the ‘feels’ and the kind of wonder and excitement that we seem to have abandoned years ago in favor of whatever it is that passes for good story telling these days.
From the very first shot of the series it knows what it is, and it never loses sight of its core vision, which one assumes must have been Holy Scripture to its creators.
One thing that stands out to me when thinking about Stranger Things is the intended and unintended use of contrast.
This is a sci-fi horror adventure (and that seems like crude cataloging) set in 1983, but brought to you on perhaps the most modern phenomenon in the television industry – Netflix.
The story is set in a quaint little town in near rural America, but its premise and plot has galactic implications. This macro scale story is told, however, through the touching emotional tales of a few individuals, all of them connected to one another through sincere and well-crafted bonds of family, friendship and love. A science fiction saga which hits its mark by organically enveloping itself in universal human themes like betrayal, loss, grief, faith and attachment.
You can’t help but be immersed in this rich tapestry of characters, setting and plot woven by the Duffer Brothers right from the first few minutes of the first episode.
Now to cast a little light on the story itself. Don’t worry, there will not be any spoilers. I will not commit that sacrilege. Not for this show.
Hawkins, Indiana is a sleepy semi urban town with its close knit community, muddling along through the 1980s. On the outskirts of this town is a shady Government facility, unknown to most, with unknown motivations.
The show begins with something and someone escaping from here, completely disrupting the pleasant ambiance of the unsuspecting Hawkins which lives in ignorant bliss. A group of young children are caught in the middle of what turns out to be a spectacular series of events, when one of their friends vanishes in to what seems like thin air.
Horror, adventure and excitement ensues when a grieving parent, determined teenagers, a reluctant police chief and a band of kids set upon dismantling the nature of this mystery on their own separate trajectories – with the help of a very surprising certain someone who is at the heart of all of it.
This is a very simplistic synopsis of the show to say the least, because it doesn't do it nearly enough justice. Stranger Things is so much more and in all the right ways.
There are a few familiar faces in the cast, none more so than Winona Ryder, who plays the mother of the boy who disappears. It has been a while since we've seen her in anything so powerful as this role and it has to be said that she does an admirable job.
The acting chops of the whole cast though is just marvelous. They essentially make sure that you’re invested in their lives and struggles from episode one, and one by one you will find yourself falling in love with many of their characters.
The central figures, however, are the children in the story. Their charisma, personalities and charm bring the magic here, no doubt.
Also going back to the fact that the show is set in 1983, it has to be said that this show serves almost as a time capsule of what life was like back then. Everything, and I mean just everything, is authentic in design and depiction. That includes an amazing soundtrack of perfectly chosen music from the 80s scene.
It is funny to think that in a way this story could only have been set in that time period. It can’t be any later than that because it becomes much harder to envision the group dynamics and the relationships between the children especially being functional in today’s uber-digital, selfie obsessed, social networking oriented world.
The Duffer Brothers are apparently not even eighties kids, but more a product of the nineties. In an interview they mentioned that growing up they had access to a large collection of VHS tapes of movies and television shows from the seventies and eighties. That, they say, was their point of reference.
And what a fantastic job they did with that. Kudos to them, and shame on the many networks who rejected this show before Netflix finally grabbed it to their credit.
In a world obsessed with bells and whistles and dragons and thrones, it seems no network executive could see the wisdom in making a show starring mainly children but aimed at an adult audience.
Thankfully, the world has made their folly known to them by now. Stranger Things is a runaway hit on Netflix.
And it is truly your loss if you still haven’t sat down and given this magnificent piece of television a chance yet. Seriously folks… get on it already.
You won’t regret it.
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