Stranger Things Essay #2

What meanings are created in the sequence you have studied and what do they tell us about narrative, character development and genre?  1000 words

Using appropriate technical terminology, and with some reflection on the meaning their use creates, you will annotate when we see different technical elements in the sequence. 

To complete this successfully you will need to:

As you play through the sequence, annotate when you see examples of different camera, editing, sound and mise-en-scène features. In your annotated analysis you must identify:

a.              which technical elements are used (using correct terminology)
b.             when they are used (give a time code)
c.              what meanings they create and what they tell us about the sequence in terms of:
       i.              plot development/narrative/genre
       ii.              the characters
       iii.              how we should respond to the sequence at that moment as a viewer.
      You must identify AT LEAST FOUR examples FROM EACH TECHNICAL AREA.

Your standard long form tv drama follows a set of conventions which entice an audience to continue watching through long periods of time. To do this, these dramas, like the one I have studied, continue many multi-stranded narrative structures which interlink and cross over bringing in many developed relatable characters to conjoin and help us follow the narrative easier. To keep audiences engaged and left wanting more without getting bored, the dramas include many plot twists, cliff hangers and lots of creativity when characters and themes change and develop to keep audiences invested in the programme. Stranger Things does this particularly using the 80s nostalgia using intertextuality whilst having engaging characters which are easy to relate to for younger audiences. 

Throughout the sequence I have studied, we see the fragmented narrative through the use of multiple parallel plot lines such as the boys looking for their friend Will, Nancy and Steve's relationship and Eleven's escape from the government. This structure of narrative helps create enigmas for the audience who have to figure out connections by piecing the story together and seeing how they all crossover eventually. This is answered slightly in the end of the sequence where we see two of the narratives crossover with the 3 shot of the boys looking for Will shining their torches into Eleven's face whilst she is running away from the government. Non-diegetic sci-fi music is added over the top of the scene which increases in volume as the scene closes suggesting that this is the end that it had=s been building up to therefore is an important part of the narrative. This cues the open ending of the episode leaving the audience with even more enigmas as they wonder how these two narratives crossover further in the future. This ensures greater audience engagement to the series as a whole. The sequence contains many features of a long form tv drama with the start showing an idealistic world between Benny and Eleven eating together looking happy but is quickly interrupted by a loud off screen diegetic knocking at the door creating a disruption in the narrative as this leads to Benny, who is represented as innocent and compassionate, being shot by the 'social worker,' leaving us shocked at the plot twist creating many unanswered questions which we hope to be answered as why would an innocent business owner be shot by a social worker. Later in the sequence, it is clear that the social worker is linked in with the government as we see Brenner, the lead antagonist, by her side. This is a clear sign of the disruption in the narrative which helps the audience engage more to the story. 

Stranger Things has a diverse range of characters within its omnipresent narrative, allowing us to watch the plot unfold through many points of view instead of us just following a single protagonist. This lets the audience empathise with certain characters which they find relatable. For example, the younger viewers may identify with Will or Eleven whilst older viewers may find Joyce more relatable. This allows a diverse following of the show with audiences watching the development of their favourite characters. Within the sequence we see many eye level shots with the younger characters connoting equality among them and the audience directly showing that we can relate to them as we follow the story. Teenagers are a main representation within Stranger Things showing two groups; the pre-teens (I.e. Mike's group) and the older teenagers (I.e. Nancy and Steve). We see the group of boys develop over the sequence as in the beginning they are portrayed as typical nerdy type boys playing dungeons and dragons but develop in the end to be brave. This is shown when they head out to look for their friend Will in the dark woods where we hear diegetic rain and thunder showing pathetic fallacy that danger might be ahead but the boys still walk in there. We also see a change in the older teens where we see in the beginning of the episode where Nancy is shown to be studious with her geeky friend Barb whilst Steve is portrayed as the stereotypical arrogant jock. Nearer the end we see a development as Steve is shown to be caring as he helps Nancy study but we see that Nancy has become rebellious as she gets distracted from studying to be intimate with Steve as we hear the contrapuntal song 'Africa by Toto' connoting the romantic mood with the pace of the shots  and jump cuts quickening as they get closer in proximity. This not only shows the development of the characters individually but their relationship as it blossoms in the sequence. 

Within the sequence, we see a mixture of many genres such as sci-fi, thriller, romance and family values. A reoccurring theme throughout is the 80s since that is when the tv drama is set. To begin with, when Benny answers the door to Connie, the social worker, we see a high angle from Benny's point of view looking down on Connie which could signify the patriarchy of the time period however, this is ironic as we soon find out that it is in fact Connie who has the most power as she is part of the government. We see many representations of the 80s cultural zeitgeist for example, the use of the choppers by the boys connotes freedom and youth. Also the yellow chorded phone within the Byers house which contrasts with the brown tones of the house represents the time era. Within the sequence, we see that the phone also shows the sci-fi genre of the programme as nearer the end we hear on screen diegetic sound of a supernatural being on the phone with Joyce followed by a sound effect of an electric bang when the phone cuts out which suggests that Will could be in danger. The use of many different genres means that the show can cater to many different tastes, therefore drawing in a variety of audiences. 

Overall, within the sequence I have studied, there are many examples instances of character, narrative and genre development which all contribute in making Stranger Things a very successful Long form Tv drama as it keeps audiences engaged through the ever-twisting multi stranded storyline, the stories of character development and the variety of genres catering many audiences.