Nowadays, it’s nearly impossible to not know about Stranger Things. After releasing on Netflix in 2016, the show became not only Netflix’s biggest show, but one of the biggest shows in history. The show was lauded as a show made for outcasts, rejecting conformity and embracing alternative perspectives. However, analyzing the show from a feminist perspective reveals that it's actually alarmingly anti-feminist. This is exemplified best by lead characters Jane “Eleven” Hopper and Will Byers.
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| Eleven and Will in Season 4 of Stranger Things |
On the surface, the character of Eleven comes across as feminist writing. She’s the most powerful character in the show, not only in the context of her superpowers, but also through her later-seasons physical prowess. It's easy for creators Matt and Ross Duffer to hide behind these powers when writing Eleven’s story. She's almost entirely defined by her relationships with men, whether those characters are the nefarious Dr. Brenner, her adoptive father Jim Hopper, or her love interest Mike Wheeler.
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| Eleven in Season 1 of Stranger Things |
The biggest culprit of El’s anti-feminist writing is her ending. To have a character who didn’t have a real childhood end the story either dead or isolated isn’t feminist. Even the way the Duffer Brothers talk about El’s ending gives this away. They claim she's representative of childhood magic and that she had to leave for the other characters’ endings. This minimization of the show’s female lead to just magic and childhood isn't feminist, it only reinforces the societal idea that women exist to be in service to others.
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| Eleven in Season 5 of Stranger Things |
Another way that Stranger Things presents itself as feminist is through Will Byers. In the penultimate episode of the show, Will comes out as gay. Having a gay main character at the story’s center seems progressive, but the way Will is written isn't actually progressive at all. For one, it takes the show until the penultimate episode to confirm that Will is gay, despite alluding to it since the first episode. Putting off confirmation of his sexuality makes it feel shallow.
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| Will in Season 2 of Stranger Things |
Will’s coming out scene is the most poorly received scene of the show. He comes out to a room full of people, many of whom he barely or doesn’t know, fighting through tears as he begs his friends to not see him as different. Additionally, the reason he comes out at all is because of an unshown vision from antagonist Henry Creel. Making a queer character come out in such a traumatic way because he's afraid of his abuser using it against him isn't queer liberation.
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| Will in Season 5 of Stranger Things |
Will is the only main character to never have a proper love interest, instead suffering through an arc about being in love with his best friend, Mike. These powerful feelings are then minimized to be a crush, making it more poorly handled. It's another instance of a queer character being disposable to the narrative, nothing feminist about it.
These characters are just the most prominent examples of anti-feminist writing in Stranger Things, leading to the question of whether the show truly represents the outcasts it claims to at all.
I found your point about El only being defined by her male relationships extremely profound! As I've been thinking about positive female representations in pop culture this week, I've realized every example I've thought of has some sort of caveat. Like, this person is really powerful, BUT... this character is really smart, BUT... this woman is the main character, BUT… In each example, there always seems to be some form of sexualization, demeaning treatment, or being subordinate to men. Until we have proper and truly feminist examples of women permeating the media, there will always be a structurally enforced patriarchy.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree on all counts, Tessa, and with Natalie's previous reply. I noted some of the same things in my post about Ted Lasso this week, too. Namely, that female characters might appear to be oppositional to hegemonic norms only to actually support them in the way the characters are defined through their relationships with men. El is a great example of this.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to the points you noted about Will's role and that horribly cringy coming-out scene, I was taken aback by the sequence in the finale that showed what each "kid" went on to do in their lives. They showed Dustin off at college, for example, and Mike launching a career as a writer. For Will: Connecting with a man at a bar. Seriously? How trivial.