Stranger Things: 10 80s Features That Make The Show

There are several reasons why the Duffer Brothers might have chosen to set Stranger Things in the 80s. For one, many iconic movies that are referenced throughout the show come from the 80s, and so it would make sense that, by setting the show in the same time, the creators offer a sort of homage to their influences. Anyone who loves The Goonies or several classic Stephen King movies can find a thrill of pleasure in immersing themselves in the familiar world of this show.

Another more basic and yet solid reason is that, by placing the show in the past, the creators are able to form a perfect bubble of nostalgia that viewers can escape to, and the power of nostalgia is not to be under-estimated. Not only is the show an escape to a time that already happened, allowing the viewer to relax their mind a bit about all that’s going on in the modern-day, but it’s also an excursion into a world that, for some reasons, offers itself as a more simple, slower time than that of today—and there’s some comfort to be found in that.

10 Library Research

Whenever the kids have something they need to know more about, they either have a good old fashioned debate, trusting whose logic seems the most sound, or they turn to the library. These days, it’s not so common to see a young boy holding stacks of books relating to reptiles; one can easily just use the internet for what they need. But, in season two, this is exactly what Dustin is found doing, and Nancy is seen doing similar research when trying to understand the origins of the Demogorgon in season one.

9 Walkie Talkies

The Walkie Talkies in Stranger Things are integral to the show. Without the Walkie Talkies, the group would hardly ever be able to get a hold of one another in the case of an emergency, which is often.

Hearing Dustin scream “Code red! Code red!” contributes so much anticipation and drama to the show. Also, if the show were set in the modern-day, the group would have too much of an easy time getting a hold of one another, therefore avoiding half of the conversation and problem-solving storylines that make up the meat of the show.

8 Biking Everywhere

The kids bike nearly everywhere they go. In today’s age, bikes are, of course, still around, but not even close to being as prominent in the lives of the average American child as they would have been in the 80s. As Hopper says in season one when explaining why Will never would have abandoned his bike if he could help it, “a bike is like a mustang to these kids.”

7 Freedom From Parents

Parents hardly ever seem to know where their kids are. The hilarious scene in season two, in which Dustin is desperately searching for his friends after D’Artagnan has eaten his cat, illustrates the degree of involvement parents have in kids’ lives when both Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler display that they have little clue where Nancy or Mike are, prompting Dustin to express how they are “no help at all.”

6 Landline Phones

The landline phone plays a key role in the show, especially in season one. Joyce’s big yellow landline is the first point of contact between herself and Will while he is missing, serving as the conduit between the real world and the Upside-Down. The Landline becomes a sort of more adult extension of the Walkie Talkies, contributing to the show’s tension and release by causing gaps in communication.

5 Social Venues

The show does a good job of including structures that contribute to the adjustments of social habits throughout the eighties, such as the arcade in season two and the mall in season three.

More and more capitalist ventures are introduced into the lives of the people in the show, bringing them further away from their outside lives and further into alternative modes of sharing spaces and time together, from board games in the house, to the screens of the arcade, to the clothing shops and food courts of the mall.

4 Physical Media

There was much more emphasis on the physical in the 80s, and the show greatly uses this to its advantage. Who doesn’t love the scenes of Joyce Byers slathering paint all over her wall as a way of communicating with Will, or of Will furiously scribbling out drawings that are then taped all over the house?

So much time is now spent with the mind roaming off in the digital world, with the rooms of one’s house left as sterile compartments to sit in. The Byers’ house is the opposite of this, becoming a place of active, creative living where the body and the mind are constantly interacting with the materials around them.

3 The Rise Of Digital Media

The show may relish in the physical, but it doesn’t ignore the advent of the future. The Duffer Brothers are movie makers, after all. With season two comes Bob’s video camera, and not just as a side mention. Bob’s camera is vital in Joyce discovering what is going on with will, as it captures the shape of the shadow monster in a paused frame.

By including this in the story, the creators continue the careful balance of grounding viewers in the real world while combining this with the supernatural aspects of the show.

2 Fashion

One of the most obvious 80s features of the show is, of course, the fashion. Season one is set earlier on in the decade and sees most characters with shaggy, stringy hair and more conservative choices in clothing. Much of the style feels influenced by the 70s.

Moving into seasons two and three, things get a little louder and brighter, and scrunchies and tight, tapered, high-waisted jeans make their appearance. It’s fun to watch the syles change with the characters.

1 The Soundtrack

The show has a soundtrack that has viewers going back in scenes to track what exact song was playing so they can add it to their personal playlist. Be it a subtle moment where a character turns on their car and the radio jolts on or a more intentional case of the soundtrack picking just the right song to go with a scene, the song choices in the show help to bring the viewer into the atmosphere of the times in the best way possible, causing people who weren’t even alive in the 80s to feel nostalgia for it.