Stranger Things and Story Structure

Stranger Things was a huge success, given that it was released during the summer as a short series on the internet-only subscription Netflix service.  For anyone who was able to navigate its awkward beginnings, the show captured the audience's attention and held it throughout the season.  I think this was because the story was constructed with integrity;  it convinced you that it asked concrete questions and would ultimately provide real answers. Rather than ending in confusion and bewilderment, the questions are answered but the answers create deeper questions, drawing you further into the world of the story.

It means that the questions are worth asking, and they are worth the audience's time to try to answer.  

The Triumph of the Narrative

There are three great narrative questions that the story attempts to answer throughout the chapters.  Nearly every episode has some piece to contribute to figuring out each of these puzzles.  Each of the characters has its own narrative to explore, but the story itself constantly references these questions

First, what exactly happened that first evening?  We see some of the events of that evening from many different perspectives, but always incompletely.  As the audience, we have to piece together the narrative fragments to find our own answer.  The show never presents us with a fully formed narrative that explains things from beginning to end.  Where it does play fair, however, is that it does give us enough information for us to form our own narrative.  It is not ambiguous.

Second, what is happening to the children of Hawkins?  What happened to Eleven did not occur in isolation.  Many children are involved, including Will, Mike, Dustin and Lucas. Something similar happened to Hopper's daughter. There is some piece that ties these characters and their experiences together.  Something happened to them or around them that sets them apart.

In my wild speculation, I feel like there is something similar in the backgrounds of their parents, as well.  Karen Wheeler and Joyce Byers know more about a past experience than they have had an opportunity to reveal.  Possibly this is something Hopper has also experienced.

At this point we don't know, but I would even extend this to Nancy, Barb, Jonathan, and Steve.  Its interesting that the town is stratified into age groups:  The eleven year olds, the 17 year olds, the parents in their early 40s (?) and the Hopper's admin assistant, Flo, and the middle school principal, and Joyce's boss at the store are in their early 60s

Something has happened in Hawkins, Indiana and the ramifications are continuing to unfold.

Third, what is the Upside Down?  We hear a possible explanation from the science teacher, we see Nancy and Joyce and Hopper make journeys into that strange dimension.  We see Eleven travel there through her own mental pathways and we observe Will's struggle to communicate across the barrier between these worlds.  But why does it exist and why are there creatures living there?  Why are they drawn to our existence?

Beneath the Surface

I also think that the meaning of the story went beyond the narrative.  It's not just about finding out Eleven's real name.  In order to be able to do that, we need to explore friendship and trust and truth and a whole range of concepts, that were meaningless until we presented them in the context of a monster movie.

In parallel to our narrative questions, there are three great philosophical questions that the story addresses.  As it turns out, these questions tend to be interwoven with the narrative ones. The most meaningful scenes, the scenes with the greatest narrative implications, also happen to have the clearest answers to the philosophical questions as well.

First, what is the nature of truth?  We explore the difference between truth and falsehood, but also the difference between truth and speculation, and between truth and madness.  We see Cassandra-like figures in Joyce and Barb, constantly telling the truth, but destined never to be believed.  Joyce, because she is perceived as mentally unstable and Barb, because she isn't bold enough.  We see Hopper readier to believe soothing banalities rather than face hard truths.

Second, What is the nature of friendship?  In all the important scenes, the characters are exploring the nature of friendship.  For the four boys, their existence is centered their friendships with each other, and the enmity between friends and their enemies, the bullies.  When they meet Eleven, one of the great questions they struggle with is whether or not to bring El into their circle of friendship and confer on her all the rights and privileges that it entails.  While Nancy is romantically involved with Steve, she develops a truer friendship with Jonathan because of their shared bereavement.  Nancy and Barb's friendship is tested and then physiclly torn apart

On the other end of the spectrum, we see how people who are not friends behave.  A primary example is Joyce's husband Lonnie who left his family.  His return upon learning that Will is missing initially seems to be motivated by genuine concern, but slowly we begin to learn what Jonathan knows, that Lonnie is weak and unreliable and moved by greed.  Similarly, Steve appears to be friends with his two cronies, but later comes to understand that their friendship lacks permanence. The story asks the question, how do friends behave, and how do people who are not friends behave?

Third, what is the importance of history?  The story itself is set in the past, and not some mythic golden age but in a real and proximal past that many of its audience remember well. In fact, if you are in your 30s or 40s, this story could be about you.  It could be your past.

Each character has a personal history that is integral to the story as well.  And these histories aren't peripheral bits of character development but directly affect the narrative.  We want to know how Eleven got to this point, but we're just as interested in Joyce or Hopper's backstory as well.