It is noted that Season 1 Episode 1 of ‘Stranger Things’ is a show which mostly conforms to the conventions of a long form TV Drama. A good example of this, is that we note that there are many times within this episode there are many different things going on at the same time (multiple strands of development).
Within the narrative, there are four main locations where the episode’s main action takes place, this includes, the woods where the boys carry on their search for Will, Benny’s dinner where he meets Eleven, Nancy’s house where she is with Steve, and finally, Joyce’s house. All the action is taking place simultaneously. The first point that is prevalent, is the show’s conformity to the sci-fi genre, and there are some places where we see this. For example, there is a use of editing with the telephone in Joyce’s house. The fact that we can hear the odd sounds could be interpreted as some sort of possible communication with the missing Will (and this is something we even hear Joyce exclaiming to Jonathan moments later). If we combine this with the effects of the loud crash of lightning which comes through the phone, we are immediately presented with several different conventional areas of a sci-fi program. The telephone also helps to create and build the mise-en-scene within the area. It is yellow, and clearly stands out to the audience.
It is also worth noting that within this portion of the episode, the audience will notice that despite the story being fragmented, there is always a connecting factor between the scenes. This is being completed by the mise-en-scene within the setting, more specifically, the weather conditions. Within all areas, especially in the outdoor, and woods scenes, it appears to be raining heavily, and there is also thunder. Audience members would notice that the common weather conditions help to provide them with a good idea of how close together these different events are. Despite being a fragmented story, the common weather conditions help to bring them together into one main story. This is also achieved through the usage of multiple sound bridges, especially when transitioning between different areas of the sequence.
There are also several important areas of character development within the episode. The most prevailing of these is the changing emotions and thoughts of Joyce and Jonathan, especially after Will goes missing. One of her dialogue lines towards the beginning of the episode is how Jonathan needed to be more responsible for Will, instead of working. Here, we see some conventional representations of both teenagers, and mothership. I.E. Jonathan being somewhat irresponsible, and Joyce trying to correct that, and educate him on this. If we skip forward towards the end of the episode, some iconography appears. This is in the form of a close-up shot of some pictures of Will scattered around the table, and a mid-shot of the two of them sitting together. We note that the expressions of Jonathan have become more compassionate, and accepting of the situation, and Joyce has also started to use some more passionate dialogue towards Jonathan. We hear her saying that this disappearance is not his fault. From the perspective of the audience, we can note that there is a definite change of character from both, one that an audience member might not have expected.
It is also worth noting the very high level of intertextual references to the time period of which the LFTVD product has been set in, which will go on to provide the audience member with a true feeling of being within the period. This has been mostly achieved through the usage of sound, in both diegetic and non-diegetic forms, both of which are presented as being interestingly contrapuntal to the happenings going on at the time. For example, during the chase scene, where Eleven is being chased around the diner by the government officials, there is the non-diegetic song, White Rabbit playing in the background. This happens again in a diegetic form in Nancy’s room, when Africa by Toto is playing in her bedroom. Both helps to solidify the time period in which the show is being presented in to the audience, almost sparking a ‘I remember this song’ moment with them. What is more interesting though, the similar editing technique with the volume of these songs. In almost both situations, the song begins as a diegetic event playing in the area, but as the action commences, the detail and volume increase, and the song becomes non-diegetic. This happens where the main action of the scene is taking place, I.E. when Nancy is making out with Steve, or when Benny is shot in the diner. All of this helps to consolidate the action, but it also makes the scene more realistic and relatable to the audience. The fact the song is still playing helps to create an eerie contrapuntal sense of mystery, especially when in the diner.
Finally, we see some meanings in the relationship between the three boys. This has been done with the use of the camera shots, and leveling within the scene, which is most prevalent within the area within the sequence where they go out together as one to try and find out where Will is. What is important here, is despite the fact that Dustin tries to shy out, and leave the group because it is dangerous, we do see a lot of long shots of the group from the front, presenting the group members on a similar level, portraying to the audience, that despite their differences, they still remain excellent friends, and are united as one, and showing their equality. This is not the only place where this takes place though. It is also worth noting that Nancy and Steve are also frequently shown on the same level, but this is using mid and close up shots because of the smaller environment. This universal perception of the teens, and younger members of the cast is consistent, and help to create this unifying state.
To conclude, meanings within our portion of ‘Stranger Things’ have been created, and communicated to audience members through a wide range of different media language techniques.
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