Who’re You Calling a Nerd?: How Identity, Marketability, and Nostalgia Impact Depictions of the 1980s in Stranger Things
Percevile Forester (Bath Spa University) | July 2023
The video essay portion of this article is a close reading of the Netflix TV show Stranger Things (2016-present), utilizing key scenes from the series to conduct a textual analysis of the treatment of nerd identities in the show, as opposed to the treatment of marginal identities of race, sexuality and disability. Whilst, the accompanying essay draws from research in the fields of popular culture studies, fan studies, cultural studies, and media studies in order to examine the significance of the nerd identities present within the series, and how material experiences of oppression are offset via a nostalgic vision of 1980s popular culture. Ultimately, the text concludes that nerd identities are emphasised when exploring the characters’ marginalization as a means of preserving a nostalgic view of the 1980s in the US in order to successfully market the Netflix series to contemporary streaming audiences.
Key Words: Stranger Things, 1980s nostalgia, nerd culture, geek culture, Netflix, nostalgic marketing, transmedia storytelling.
The Netflix original series Stranger Things (2016-present) is one of the most popular ongoing shows today,[1] and conversations are already occurring in the Pop Culture Studies field on how it treats nostalgia, race, and queerness.[2] This research adds to, and complicates, these conversations by drawing links between these three elements. Their interplay demonstrates how the show’s nostalgic vision evades the political realities for marginalized people of the time period, in favor of placing these characters’ status as nerds as pivotal to their marginality.
Written and directed by the Duffer brothers, the cross-genre show follows an ensemble cast staving off the monsters that haunt their town, and the corrupt government agencies whose experimentation opened a gate to the “Upside Down” dimension. Despite Stranger Things’ fantastical elements, its primary setting is a small fictional town in 1980s Indiana, in the Midwest of the United States. The series attempts to cast the period in a nostalgic light—a task made difficult by the fact that the show’s cast contains characters who are discriminated against for their race, sexuality, and dis/ability.
The article, and accompanying video essay, focuses on close textual analysis across all four seasons of Stranger Things, with the objective of examining the ways that Lucas (the most prominent Black character in the show), Will (a character who is heavily implied to be queer), Eddie (a queercoded character), Dustin (the only character with a confirmed disability), and Robin (a character confirmed to be a lesbian) were portrayed. The research also paid close attention to the portrayal of the bullies in the show—Troy and James in season one, Billy Hargrove in seasons two and three, and Jason Carver in season four—along with any instances where marginality is discussed. Research on the historical socio-political realities for people of color, queer people, and disabled people in America, with particular attention to the 1980s and Indiana when possible was drawn upon. Notably including, but not limited to, the documentary United in Anger: A History of Act Up (2012),[3] Ball State University’s article “Resurgence of the KKK in Indiana”,[4] and discussions with and lessons from Dr. Y Howard, whose work is invested in queer contexts in the United States. Finally, the article surveyed the published literature on Stranger Things, nostalgia, race, and queerness. In the video above, I detail my preliminary findings and begin to hint at their significance. Below, I provide some answers to questions of why the patterns observed in the show arise. Namely, the desire to maintain the nostalgia for the 1980s in the broadest audience possible.
Existing literature on Stranger Things has a variety of ideas as to what purpose nostalgia serves within the series, with scholars such as Heather Freeman arguing that it functions as a regressive nostalgia—longing for a more restrictive past.[5] Whilst other writers, such as Myke Bartlett, propose that it is a progressive nostalgia—a (perhaps obscuringly revisionist) wish that the past was better,[6] or a reminder that the present needs fixing.[7] In comparison, authors such as Ryan Twomey, Antonella Mascio, and Novella Troaniello, respectively, contend that the nostalgia is solely aesthetic, to evoke feelings of childhood,[8] or serving as a tool to make the show more profitable.[9] More generally speaking on Netflix’s “nostalgia strategy.” The media studies researcher Phillipe Gauthier positions nostalgia as a “problematic cultural space”, and argues that progressive and regressive forms of nostalgia are not incompatible, and are in fact often employed at once by the same piece of media, leaving the ultimate meaning open to viewer interpretation.[10] The sheer variety of interpretations of the function of nostalgia in Stranger Things seem to support Gauthier’s ideas, so while this text will be primarily speaking on nostalgia’s use as a marketing tool in the show, I don’t, by any means, seek to argue that that is the only purpose that nostalgia serves (or can serve) in the narrative. Instead, the research acknowledges the sociologist Antonella Mascio’s strong argument that nostalgia has enhanced the profitability of the show,[11] and build this study’s thesis on the inference that this profitability provides financial incentive to make that nostalgia accessible to the largest group possible.
At the heart of Stranger Things’ nostalgia is its connection to geek and nerd culture. These connections have been noted before, by researchers such as Kayla McCarthy and Tracy Mollet,[12] but they have not been considered in terms of how nerdiness is positioned as a marginalized identity within the show. What stands out most about this positioning is the way that nerdiness is, at times, used as a stand-in for other forms of marginality in Stranger Things. Nerdiness, as an identity, is a complex topic, as when speaking of nerdiness as its own distinct identity, what uniquely positions it as separate from other (much more deeply) marginalized identities are the clothing choices, technological proficiency, and nerdy media consumption habits, all three of which have become much more socially acceptable in recent years.[13] Other factors that contribute to nerdy identities, such as being “overly” intelligent, lacking athleticism, or lacking social or heteroromantic proficiency, are not exclusive to nerdiness and can be tied to other forms of discrimination, such as racism (i.e: the model minority myth), ableism (both when it comes to discrimination against differences in social behavior and differences in mobility, strength, and stamina), sizeism, and heterosexism. Stranger Things’ aestheticization of nerdiness is, in many ways, contingent upon its focus on the aspects of nerdiness that are exclusive to nerdiness, especially when pointing to driving factors for marginalization. Even in season four, when Lucas begins to pursue basketball, noting that this is in order to distance himself from his nerdy identity and avoid bullying, the lack of athletic engagement from the other nerdy characters is portrayed purely as a personal choice. Instead of portraying this choice as a result of embodied difference, it is heavily tied to their stronger interest in “nerdy” activities, like Dungeons and Dragons.[14] The obfuscation throughout the series downplays the intensity of racist, heterosexist, and ableist marginalization at the time, arguably in order to make the nostalgia in the show accessible to the largest group of consumers possible. This is important because, if Mascio is to be believed, this nostalgia is pivotal to the profitability of the show.[15]
The vision of the 1980s portrayed in Stranger Things is deeply rooted in references to the pop culture and consumer objects of the time, creating a view of the past that is generally more uniformly intelligible and widely palatable to modern audiences. This is in line with observations on nostalgia made by writers such as Anita Huslin, who has noted that stories about the past tend to misdirect and camouflage, whitewashing the past in order to invoke nostalgia.[16] Indeed, if the show focused more on the social and political realities of 1980s America for people of color, disabled people, and queer people, marginalized audiences would be implicitly excluded from this nostalgic reminiscing by reminders of how unkind these contexts would likely be to them. On one hand, it would draw the validity of nostalgia for this time into question, prompting viewers to wonder why the show would ask them to be nostalgic for a time before hard-won social and political progress.[17] On the other, it might serve as a sour reminder of some of the origins of problems that still impact marginalized communities to this day.[18] Traits exclusive to nerdiness were never persecuted on a systemic level, and it has become far more acceptable,[19] and even trendy,[20] to identify with nerdiness, (so long as you don’t occupy any marginal identities that may contribute to your nerdy behavior). For these reasons, looking back on a time when nerdiness was scorned does not have the same bitter bite as looking back on a time when still-ongoing systemic marginalization was, in some ways, even more intense, and in others, just beginning to get worse.
Even for viewers who did experience bullying specifically for their geekiness or nerdiness during this era, the nostalgia can be maintained. This is because the show balances the frustrations of persecution with the use of the objects of nerdy interest as symbols of pride and victory, creating a sense of catharsis. The characters’ status as nerds is key to conceiving of, and executing the majority of, the plans that lead them to victory throughout the series. American Studies scholar Kayla McCarthy notes this phenomenon specifically as it relates to the use of geeky consumer items, stating that “Stranger Things’s central protagonists … are only able to solve the mystery of their missing friend through their geeky characteristics, particularly their knowledge of radio technology, Dungeons & Dragons, and other science fiction/fantasy media.”[21] However, the empowerment of nerdiness extends beyond consumer objects related to nerd culture and identity, as characters’ interest in science and connection to fellow nerds also plays a pivotal role in the facilitation of the plot. Take, for instance, Dustin’s knowledge of magnetic fields, which is crucial to locating the gates to the Upside Down in both seasons one and four. Thus, any persecution that arises directly from the characters’ status as nerds is well-balanced with the victories that arise as a direct consequence of their nerdiness.
The show does not afford the same empowerment to symbols of Blackness, queerness, or disability. Thus, making it more difficult to accurately portray the depth of the negative attitudes towards these identities in the 1980s while also evoking nostalgia for the time. Notably, the show seems to actively avoid this empowerment at times. Most notably in season three, episode four, when Dustin is encouraged to enter a vent system to gain access to a restricted area, citing his lack of collarbones as a reason why he should be able to fit. If Dustin had been able to enter, this would have been a perfect example of a play in the boundary lines between ability and disability, an instance in which the very same thing that sparks persecution in Dustin’s day-to-day life can also empower him. However, instead, Dustin is unable to access the space, unlike his nerd status, his disability is not permitted to be part of the group’s success, solidifying the surface-level nature of the show’s representation of disability.[22]
Further complicating the representation in the show, issues such as race and queerness are still incredibly divisive topics. In America, movements have been arising recently seeking to ban books. An overwhelming amount of these bans occur, or are attempted, because the books contain content written by “diverse” authors, or dealing with topics such as race, sexuality, or “themes of rights or activism”.[23] There is a clear and marked discomfort surrounding those issues, making it difficult to discuss them at length while still retaining viewership. However, in recent years calls for representation for women, queer people, people of color, and disabled people have grown stronger.[24] As it specifically relates to Stranger Things, one example of this call for representation can be seen in the #JusticeforBarb, which protested the death of a character that many fans interpreted as queer.[25] A balance between these two competing tasks is struck when shows include representation, but keep depictions of topics surrounding these identities brief and, in some cases, subtle.
However, Stranger Things clearly isn’t unaware of its neglect towards these aspects of the characters’ identities, as they are expanded upon in the official YA books that exist based on the show. One such book, Lucas on the Line (2022), takes place between season 3 and 4, and considers Lucas’ experiences as a Black person, and his journey to slowly making friends with other Black students in his high school.[26] Another, Rebel Robin (2022), centers Robin’s experiences as a queer person, and her realization that she doesn’t have interest in heterosexual dating like her peers do.[27] In these books, gaps in the characterization in the show regarding race and sexuality are filled in. These books are a revealing example of what the audience studies theorist, Henry Jenkins refers to as “transmedia storytelling”, and their existence align with his assertion that “transmedia storytelling practices may expand the potential market for a property by creating different points of entry for different audience segments.”[28] From a marketing standpoint, this is ostensibly a profitable model, it might draw viewers in by providing a point of entry to Young Adult viewers, or viewers of color, as, even from the paratext, Lucas on The Line makes it clear that the story will center the experiences of a Black boy, with its summary stating “after connecting with one of the few other Black students at school, Lucas starts to learn more about himself apart from his friend group”. Rebel Robin, as well, makes it clear that its story is a queer one, with the summary clearly announcing that “Robin likes girls.” However, in this instance, this transmedia storytelling may also serve the purpose of comfortably relegating themes of queer and Black identity to the sidelines while still capturing and maintaining queer and Black audiences. By relegating extended explorations of these facets of identity to books, subtext, and sprinkles of textual explorations here and there, it’s easier to appease and maintain a broader range of viewers.
Viewers are always going to be co-creators of meaning, and purposefully writing in ambiguity is one way to take advantage of this fact. Fans have made note of this fact as it pertains to queerness in media. In fact, the term “queerbaiting” is used in fan circles to note when queerness has been implied in characterization, especially when done in a way that is subtle enough to only be intelligible to viewers who are attentive to queer realities and experiences. Fandom and sexualities researcher, Joseph Brennan characterizes queerbaiting “as a form of ‘covert courting’ of queer followings” and links this ambiguity to the concept of “purposeful polysemy”, a strategy used in advertisements to subtly appeal to marginal consumers.[29] This idea of purposeful polysemy aligns with the vagueness that sometimes arises in Stranger Things when the topic of marginal identity is in danger of being broached too deeply. In instances such as Billy’s focus on Lucas in season two, not elaborating on why Billy bullies Lucas allows viewers to decide for themselves if they would like to interpret this as related to his identity as a Black person or as a nerd. Many white people are uncomfortable ruminating on race, but for people of color, the lens of race is not easily removed.[30] Maintaining that ambiguity gives viewers of color the opportunity to read depth into Lucas’ experiences, while simultaneously allowing white viewers to keep the topic of race at a comfortable arm’s length.
There are many reasons why the Duffer Brothers might have chosen to focus on the characters’ statuses as nerds, rather than other aspects of their identity, when depicting marginalization in the show. In all likelihood, these characterizations were the result of a combination of factors—chiefly the centrality of nerdiness to the narrative, and the need to form a more inclusive definition of nerdiness for contemporary streaming audiences. However, having a more diverse cast embodying this identity clashes with the need to maintain a nostalgic feel of 1980s America, a time marked by anti-Black racism and homophobia, and the need to appease viewers who might balk at in-depth representations of minority identities.
Footnotes
[1] Selome Hailu, “Netflix Top 10: ‘Stranger Things 4’ Becomes Second Title Ever to Cross 1 Billion Hours Viewed ,” Variety, 2022. Accessed March 2023.
[2 See: Kathryn Pallister, Netflix Nostalgia: Streaming the Past on Demand, (Lanham : Lexington Books, 2019), and Kevin Wetmore, Uncovering Stranger Things: Essays on Eighties Nostalgia, Cynicism and Innocence in the Series, (Jefferson: McFarland and Company, 2018).
[3] Jim Hubbard, United in Anger: A History of ACT UP, (USA, 2012).
[4] “Resurgence of the KKK in Indiana ,” Digital Civil Rights Museum. Accessed December 2022. https://digitalresearch.bsu.edu/digitalcivilrightsmuseum/items/show/112.
[5] Heather Freeman, “Shifting Nostalgic Boundaries: Archetypes and Queer Representation in Stranger Things, GLOW, and One Day at a Time”, in Netflix Nostalgia, ed Kathryn Pallister (Lanham : Lexington Books, 2019): pp 91-107.
[6] Antonia MacKay, “Stranger Things in Strange Times: Nostalgia, Survellaince and Temporality”, ineen Education, no. 85 (2017): pp. 16–25.
[7] Antonia MacKay, “Stranger Things in Strange Times: Nostalgia, Survellaince and Temporality”, in Screening American Nostalgia: Essays on Pop Culture Constructions of Past Times (2021).
Tracy Mollett, “I’m Going to My Friend, I’m Going Home: Contingent Nostalgia in Netflix’s Stranger Things,” Was It Yesterday?: Nostalgia in Contemporary Film and Television (State University of New York Press, 2021): pp. 137-151.
Steen Ledet Christansen, “Discontiuity and Unease in Stranger Things”, The New Cinematic Weird: Atmospheres and Worldings, (2021): pp. 89-112.
[8] Ryan Twomey, “Competing nostalgia and popular culture: Mad Men and Stranger Things”, in Uncovering Stranger Things, ed. K. J. Wetmore, Jr., (Jefferson: McFarland and Company, 2018): pp. 39-48.
[9]Antonella Mascio, “Sponsored Things: Audiences and the Commodification of the Past in Stranger Things,” in Investigating Stranger Things: Upside Down in the World of Mainstream Cult Entertainment (Springer Nature, 2021). and Novella Troianiello, “Stranger Things: When Nostalgia Becomes Viral,” in Seriality Across Narrations, Languages and Mass Consumption: To Be Continued… (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2019).
[10]Antonella Mascio, “Sponsored Things: Audiences and the Commodification of the Past in Stranger Things,” in Glow (2017),” in Netflix Nostalgia: Streaming the Past on Demand (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019): pp. 75-90.
[11] Mascio, “Sponsored Things: Audiences and the Commodification of the Past in Stranger Things”
[12] Kayla McCarthy, "Remember Things: Consumerism, Nostalgia, and Geek Culture in Stranger Things", Journal of Popular Culture 52, no. 3 (2019): pp. 663-677. and Tracy Mollet, “Demogorgons, Death Stars and DIfference: Masculinity and Geek Culture in Stranger Things”. Refractory 31 (2019). Accessed October 10, 2022. ISSN 1447-4905.
[13] See Lori Kendall, “Nerd nation: Images of nerds in US popular culture.” International Journal of Cultural Studies 2(2), (1999): pp. 260–283. Accessed October 9, 2022. https://doi-org.libproxy.sdsu.edu/10.1177/136787799900200206.
[14] See Stranger Things, “Chapter One: The Hellfire Club,” Season Four (USA: Netflix: 2022)
[15] Mascio, “Sponsored Things: Audiences and the Commodification of the Past in Stranger Things”
[16] Anita Huslin. “Nostalgia for a Past That Never Was: The Attractions and Dangers of Whitewashing History.” Creative Nonfiction, no. 58 (2016): pp. 72–76. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26376292.
[17] See: “Timeline of the Americans with Disabilities Act,” ADA National Network, 2023, https://adata.org/ada-timeline. and “Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) Discrimination,” US EEOC, accessed May 23, 2023, https://www.eeoc.gov/sexual-orientation-and-gender-identity-sogi-discrimination.
[18] See: “Reagan’s National Drug Strategy ,” University of Michigan HistoryLabs, accessed April 2023, https://policing.umhistorylabs.lsa.umich.edu/s/crackdowndetroit/page/reagan-s-national-drug-strategy. and “The Drug War Is the New Jim Crow,” American Civil Liberties Union. (2001), Accessed April 2023, https://www.aclu.org/other/drug-war-new-jim-crow.
[19] Kendall, “Nerd nation: Images of nerds in US popular culture.”
[20] Monica Kim, “Why Nerd Style Is Making a Comeback This Fall,” Vogue, 2015. Accessed April 2023, https://www.vogue.com/article/nerd-style-fashion-gucci-fall-2015.
[21] McCarthy, "Remember Things: Consumerism, Nostalgia, and Geek Culture in Stranger Things".
[22] Stranger Things, “Chapter Four: The Sauna Test,” Season Three, (USA: Netflix: 2019).
[23] Jonathan Friedman and Nadine Johnson,. “Banned in the USA: The Growing Movement to Ban Books,” PEN America, 19th September 2022. Accessed April 2023. https://pen.org/report/banned-usa-growing-movement-to-censor-books-in-schools/.
[24] Rawan Elbaba, “Why On-Screen Representation Matters, According to These Teens,” PBS NewsHour, 14th November 2019. Accessed February 2023. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/why-on-screen-representation-matters-according-to-these-teens. and Victoria Huang, “The Importance of Representation in Media,” Race to a Cure. 12th June 2021. Accessed December 2022. https://www.racetoacure.org/post/the-importance-of-representation-in-media.
[25] Freeman, “Shifting Nostalgic Boundaries”.
[26] Suyi Davies, Stranger Things: Lucas on the Line (Random House Books for Young Readers, 2022).
[27] Amy Rose Capetta, Stranger Things: Rebel Robin (Ember, 2022).
[28]Henry Jenkins, “Transmedia Storytelling 101 — Pop Junctions,” Henry Jenkins, 22nd March 2007. Accessed April 2023.
[29] Joseph Brennan, “Introduction: A History Of Queerbaiting.” In Queerbaiting and Fandom, (University of Iowa Press, 2019): pp. 1–22.
[30] Robin DiAngelo, “White Fragility: Why It’s so Hard for White People to Talk about Racism,” Journal of Social Work 20, no. 1 (August 8, 2019): pp. 123–25, https://doi.org/10.1177/1468017319868330.
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Author Biography:
Percevile Forester is a second-year master's student at San Diego State University in the department of English. They are most interested in pop culture and fan studies, with special regard to digital and internet media and queer identities and subcultures in these disciplines.
