Stranger Colors

In the Netflix Original Stranger Things the color element of film is used for emphasis in many ways. In the show Stranger Things, the audience follows a group of kids as they explore new parts of the world they did not know before. The explorers are named Mike, Lucas, Dustin, and Will, and they make an unlikely friend with a girl named Eleven. Their journey begins when Will gets lost in a place called the “Upside Down” and we watch as the rest of the kids try to get their friend back. Colors plays an important role because in the show, when the colors and lights are brighter, the show portrays more hope and creates a sense of security. Once the colors and lights dim or flicker, though, it shows the danger, chaos, and despair the show is trying to convey. Colors and light work together to create contrasts between emotions and make us feel the shifts in tone throughout the series.
To begin, we will look at how light and color affect the sense of danger, chaos, and despair in Stranger Things. The “Upside Down” is a place of monsters and suffocating, deoxygenated air. In this world, the lighting drastically dims and has a bluish hue. Everything is also under a haze. The trees and other scenery are darkened and muted in color. The entirety of the set is portrayed as dark and hopeless. The use of the darkness creates a sense of fear because it is human nature to fear the unknown, so when the fog, darkness, and muted colors are combined, it makes the setting more unfamiliar and scary. The creators of Stranger Things incorporate the change from the normal lightness of what people are familiar with to the drastic darkness of the upside down to create a strong shift of feeling and reinforce the negativity through the muted colors and dim lighting.
To contrast the darkness, the happier, lighter scenes are more well lit and have brighter colors. For example, when the boys are at the arcade, there are a lot of brighter lights and a lot of colors representing the happiness that the arcade brings them. Another example is when Will is lost, Joyce spreads Christmas lights throughout the house, leaving strands of bright color. She is able to communicate with Will, who is stuck in the “Upside Down”. The bright colors of the Christmas lights represent her hope that through her limited communication with Will, she and those around her will be able to find him. The scenes where the boys are at school or outside are well lit showing the difference between normal life and the “upside down”, where everything is muted and dark. When the colors change, we as the audience can get a sense of lighter energy and happiness as the set changes from darkness to light.
To conclude, the film element of color in Stranger Things is used to contrast the happier, brighter moments with the unhappier, darker times. In the hopeful, more upbeat times there is more color along with brighter lights to connect the brightness of the setting into the brightness of mood. In the fearful, negative times the colors are muted, the light is darkened, and a fog is set over the scene contrasting the brightness and strengthens the feelings of despair and fear. Color is a very useful tool to make the audience feel stronger, more contrasted emotions.