In the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana in 1983, 12-year-old Will Byers mysteriously vanishes on the way home from his friend Mike’s house. Will's frantic mother, Joyce, searches for him while washed up Police Chief Jim Hopper launches his own investigation. Fearing for their friend’s life, in sort of a “The Hobbit” type journey Will's friends Dustin, Mike, and Lucas stumble upon a psychokinetic girl whom they nickname “El” who claims to know Will's location. As they uncover the truth and learn more about themselves, a sinister government agency under the guise of the US Department of Energy tries to cover it up, while a more fearful force lurks below the surface. So, here are 5 things to love about Stranger Things:
1. The Homages
The two directors of the show, The Duffer Brothers, have confessed to aesthetically modeling Stranger Things after the works of Stephen King, Rob Reiner, Steven Spielberg, John Carpenter, and George Lucas, and the viewers could not be happier! The similarities bring back a nostalgia that even people who were not alive during the 80s can relate to.
2. The Characters
The crazy lovable characters have found their way into our hearts by tapping into that nostalgic spot to bring out the kid in all of us.The mainly child-based cast has a dynamic that is heartwarming to the viewers. The cast allows kids to relate to their adventures, and adults to reminisce about their past.
3. The Soundtrack
The Stranger Things original soundtrack was composed by Michael Stein and Kyle Dixon who utilize their fair share of synthesizers to create the ominous, eerie feel that the show has become so popular for. On August 10, 2016, the Stranger Things producers announced the Vol. 1 which released the original soundtrack. Despite the fan-favorite track being professionally released, fans are still hungry the complementing, nostalgic music from artists such as The Clash, Joy Division, and Foreigner all in one place. To have this, certain people have made playlists on popular music streaming services such as Spotify. My personal favorite playlist is created by Spotify user “aspoole."
4. The Relationships
Not only does Stranger Things delve into the relationships between the kids on the show, it also ventures into the vast wilderness of teenage relationships. One dynamic relationship that the show discusses is the budding romance between Nancy (Natalia Dyer), the sister of the missing Will's best friend Mike and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) the brother of Will. In a spoiler free summary:
When the two meet, Jonathan is a typical outcast who loves photography and the alternative music of the time, while Nancy is a nerdy girl-turned-popular by her new popular boyfriend, with fabulous hair, Steve (Joe Keery). When Will goes missing, everything changes as the two are brought together to figure out what had taken Jonathan's brother. Their relationship has more than a few "awww" moments, but will keep you guessing until the very last moment.
5. The Actors
The real life actors (from left to right) Gaten Matarazzo, Noah Schnapp, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Millie Bobby Brown, and Finn Wolfhard, play their part in keeping up with public appearances by appearing on several late night talk shows, and even meeting the President! The kids are luckily real life best friends and support each other's film and television endeavors on social media. Speaking of social media, each one of them are avid users of many social media platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat posting about their lives and about the show! The kids are charming and have a pretty impressive following on social media that adores each one of them. Many fans have even posted about interacting with their favorite characters, most commonly Schnapp and Brown, as they tend to respond to the loving messages they get from fans.
