I have a bowl of chocolate pudding on my lap. Jenni is sewing a hat beside me. Outside is an Indiana state flag and on the television is Netflix's newest original series, "Stranger Things".
The show takes place in a town called "Hawkins", which is supposedly settled in Indiana. The year is 1983. Ronald Reagan resides in the oval office. Smoking is allowed indoors. Winona Ryder is a mother? What a time to be alive.
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The 80s have become increasingly popular in the media. Fashion has begun to devolve (shoulder pads, political buttons on bags...) and music is beginning to develop a certain mystique (Lady Gaga's newest song "Perfect Illusion" is a great example). The 80s represent a time when the United States was considered the most powerful country in the world and our generation craves that security.
I won't go much into the plot. I've seen the show before but I wanted to get a second opinion from a fellow Hoosier. Jenni is my victim tonight - we've settled into the couch and she's mostly excited about Winona Ryder (a hero in her time).
I ask Jenni how old she is. She replies, "27. Why?"
I tell her it's important that she was born in the 80s but grew up in the 90s. She appreciates the aesthetic. "The age bled into the 90s - you get that with all the other decades." Then she adds, "It takes awhile for that shit to die."
We're halfway into the show when she begins to get quiet - that's when I know someone is interested. So far we've discussed the characters with great enthusiasm. "I love the cast so far," she said themoment we saw them. Maybe it was the obvious similarities between this group and the kids in 80s films like, "The Goonies" or "The Sandlot".
After Will Byers has been abducted I ask Jenni what she thinks so far.
"Good," she says.
What about how they portray Indiana? "I do like that it shows the rural aspect of it - I don't know see anything that screams Indiana, though."
I don't know anything about the producers of the show. Did they grow up in Indiana? I'm not sure. But I know I did. I appreciate that they refused to make our rural state "glamorous" - it's very barren and is never the correct temperature at all which confuses the nature of our leaves, leaving them green the second week of October.
One thing I appreciate is our lack of accent in the show.
I say to Jenni, "I like that they don't portray us with an accent. I feel like a lot of shows I watch that are set in Indiana make us sound like we're from Wisconsin or Minnesota."
She agrees enthusiastically. "Yes! They think of the midwest and they assume Minnesota."
Even though Indiana isn't a huge part of the "Stranger Things" plot, it's fun to find anything that might have been directed towards our way of life. I was expecting a county fair or any reference to corn, to be honest. I'm pleasantly surprised there we none.
Jenni ends our session with, "I...I didn't see anything aside from that one house. And I'm glad they didn't make us sound like we're from Minnesota."
I agree with my faux Minnesotan accent. "Yeah, ya know?! Real glad they didn't!"
