Stranger Things

Hi Mike! I watched the first episode of Stranger Things where you have a central role. I’d like to chat with you today about how the writers have written your character. Your town is in Indiana, and for those who live outside of Indiana, it sets up as a seemingly mundane location. I think the time frame in which you are living also helps dictate your character. With it being the late 80s there are some technological advancements, as far as tvs and phones, but not an overbearing amount. Your parents still control your tv usage, as many in that time period did, so you spend your free time with your friends playing Dungeons and Dragons, reading the Lord of the Rings, biking around town, hanging out with your teacher to form your own AV club, and playing in the forts you made. This simplicity lends itself to creating your character, a normal nerdy kid in grade school. I believe this helps set up the suspense part of the show, how you are a normal boy, in a seemingly normal family (a mom who really runs the household, a boy crazy sister). And then the unthinkable happens, your best friend, Will, disappears.

Right before Will leaves your house, he tells you that the roll was a seven, and that the Demogorgon got him. There is an intense and deep look shared between the two of you, not something that you would normally see from two grade school boys.It is quiet as you pause and consider what he is saying, which again is not typical habits of grade school boys. Both of your eyes are very prominent, and large. The usage of the number seven was intriguing to me, as you can tell from the number, it is from a larger die or two dice. After completing the episode, I would have expected this number to be eleven, not seven.

After class, you head to see your new AV equipment. You all are exceptionally excited about it, regardless of the disappearance of Will. Later on, after you discover he’s missing, the use of the radios between you and Lucas to come up with your plan to go search for Will ties back in with your AV club interest, as well as symbolizing growing up and not taking the answer of no from your mom. I’m not sure if the usage of the bikes serves a purpose for your character, except maybe to help leave a clue as to where Will disappeared. I suppose it could relate to the fact that kids in your time period worshipped their bikes, and most movies and shows set back then also have all children on bikes. In the principal’s office you refer to an area that Will takes home as Mirkwood. For those familiar with the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, the name alone suggests how you view the area, even after we get a glimpse of it when Will vanishes.

Overall, I think your character development will come a lot from your backstory and how the writers set up your surroundings.