Your Film Professor

Though the focus of this blog will be on film, I thought I would occasionally post my thoughts on some TV/cable/Internet shows that strike me in some way. (Side note: Alas, I fear that film has lost its place as the most dominant art form, TV/cable/Internet shows taking that mantle. I may do a post on that at some point, for I don’t think this is a good thing, not at all!) For my first TV/cable/Internet show, I’ve just finally started watching the popular science fiction-horror show Stranger Things, and I have to say that after watching the first and second seasons I am convinced that this enticing Internet show is more than just your run-of-the-mill entertainment.

Heart of Darkness

In my view, there are two key connecting elements that seem to inform the deeper meanings of Stranger Things. The first comes via a seeming toss off reading of Joseph Campbell’s Heart of Darkness: A teacher reads this selection from the seminal novella: “The brown current ran swiftly out of the heart of darkness, bearing us down towards the sea with twice the speed of our upward progress. And Kurtz’s life was running swiftly, too….”

Intriguingly, this reading comes just after a government agent for the Hawkins National Laboratory goes into an alternate dimension, dubbed the “Upside Down” dimension by the kids in the show. The agent’s immersion into the dimension is conspicuously timed right on the cut to the reading of Heart of Darkness, the connection obviously punctuating the agent literally going into the “heart of darkness,” e.g., the alternate dimension of some monstrous predatory creature. This cut tantalizingly suggests a metaphorical reading of this dark alternate dimension.

Eleven as an Allegorical Other

In terms of the novella, in short, the Heart of Darkness is about the literal monstrous impact of colonialism and imperialism on Others (in this case, indigenous and “foreign” Others) and the racism that informs these evil historical acts. The figurative impact on the main character of Kurtz, who, having participated in and gaining self-awareness of these heinous acts – having seen this “heart of darkness” of humanity – is how these nightmarish experiences lead to madness. Of course, that impact pales in comparison to the oppression and racist dehumanization (objectification) of colonialized and imperialized Others.

The metaphorical applications to Stranger Things are transparent. Eleven/“El” (Millie Bobby Brown) is the witness to a similar kind of “heart of darkness,” the government’s desire to use Eleven for their own ends, apparently as a weapon and tool against the then powerful antagonist Soviet Union. In this way, we see how this government agency objectifies and dehumanizes Eleven, in the same way that imperial powers objectified and dehumanized colonialized Others. The other monstrous similarity is how these government forces will subject Eleven to any and every monstrous deed if it furthers their goals (e.g., they try to get her to kill a cat and applaud her when she kills a guard). Moreover, their treatment of Eleven echoes their ruthlessness in general, including Dr. Martin Brenner (Matthew Modine) taking her away from her mother in the first place and how this government agency will do anything to keep Eleven subjected to their will, including murder. Here too we see how these monstrous deeds allegorically figurate colonial and imperial powers’ cruel and heinous treatment of Others (“foreign” Others, indigenous peoples).

Upside Down Dimension/Demogorgon/Return of the Repressed

The other key element in the show is the “monster” itself (dubbed the “Demogorgon” by the kids), a mysterious creature that is from this “Upside Down” alternate dimension that the government’s Eleven experiments have tapped into. Intersecting with the “heart of darkness” thread, this creature — and the alternate dimension it comes from — is rife with allegorical meaning. There is a conception that perfectly informs the power of this rich symbolism, Robin Wood’s conception of the “return of the repressed.” In short, this conception suggests that “monsters” in horror narratives (film, TV, etc.) are essentially our collective (society’s) “return of the repressed,” our real monstrousness revealed to us so to speak. In other words, to use the language of the film, via the symbolism of the monster and the “Upside Down” alternate dimension, our seeming surface of normalcy is turned “upside down,” forcing us to see what we really are. In this way, the predatory monster in Stranger Things reflects our own predatory nature, especially manifested via the predatory government entity, though also revealed through predatory individuals in the show, Joyce’s self-serving husband Lonnie, the bullies Troy and James, Steve’s self-absorbed friends Tommy and Carol and especially sociopath Billy Hargrove.

Add these two threads together and what we get is a show that wants to explore the darker (predatory) nature of humanity, especially in how this government agency will objectify Others for its own selfish, predatory needs. Included in this dark portrait is how such monstrous deeds are hidden from view (the government agency hides its monstrousness behind a cloak of secrecy–a cloak of normalcy, e.g., they masquerade as a laboratory for “energy” research), which might seem obvious but is nonetheless a crucial point: If left unchecked (if we don’t actively seek out and expose such hidden monsters), powerful entities in our world will advance their own mercenary and power-hungry interests, at the expense of Others. Included in these hidden monstrous machinations is how such monstrous acts create more monsters.

The Utopian Element

But, of course, the show also offers us a countering hopeful thread, via the numerous good characters exemplifying the best of humanity, especially the wonderfully expressive Eleven/Jane (sublimely acted by Millie Bobby Brown), a young girl who has been utterly violated by this government agency but who somehow maintains her humanity. At one point, Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) calls her a “monster,” a common trope for characters who manifest special powers and who are thus seen as a threat to “normalcy,” the ultimate Other. Eleven’s extraordinary abilities mark her as different but in ultimately making her the heart and soul of the show, we can see how the creators of this show give us a way out of our own historical “heart of darkness”: Instead of oppressing and violating Others (e.g., those who are different than us), we accept them in all their differentness, which is what Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), and Lucas eventually do, unconditionally accept and love Eleven, not to mention that in accepting Eleven/Others, we create a diversity of being that is just so much more enriching than the sterility of the sameness of “normalcy.” Going even further, we could say that our ultimate utopian horizon is not just accepting Others but valorizing them, value them for their differentness, value them for their break from “normalcy,” which, in turn, gives us a glimpse into another way of being that may be better than our alienating normalcy. Interestingly, we get an echo here as well, with many other characters (e.g., most prominently Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Will, and Jonathan–for more see below)  seen as “different” or Other by other characters in the show.

Conversely, instead of accepting those monstrous entities and figures who oppress and violate Others (and we see a lot of these entities in the news today, e.g., white supremacists!), we see them for what they are, people who tear a hole in the fabric of our humanity, revealing our “heart of darkness” and/or creating it (see above and I’ll come back to this point). In this way, we can see our way out of the “dark” heart of humanity and evolve our self into a light or utopian (evolved, progressive) “heart” of a humanity that unconditionally accepts Others and treats others with respect, dignity, and equality.

The Utopian American

Throughout the series we see recurring images of the American flag or the colors red, white, and blue. This color scheme/American flag motif seems to be attached to our heroes, signifying I think not necessarily what America stands for so much as it signifies what America should stand for, each of these characters signifying a kind of Otherness that is empowered in their Otherness, collectively in solidarity with each other, fighting for each other, sacrificing for each other, and just all around supporting each other unconditionally. This penchant for accepting Otherness unconditionally and collectively standing for each other is set against the same antagonistic elements that I address above, a shady government organization who is singularly about its own self-interests, putting power and advancing self-interests above Others, exploiting and objectifying/dehumanizing Others. In this way, the government organization becomes deeply allegorical, in that it represents a dangerous status quo where society in general follows this principle of putting gain and self-interests before Others, which we see so much today.

Patriarchy/Hypermasculinity Creating Dysfunction and Sociopathy

Another key element in the show seems to be how patriarchy and hypermasculinity ideologies create sociopaths, which we see especially see with Billy Hargrove (Dacre Montgomery), whose hypermasculine father wields a steel grip on his son, his form of punishment being vicious verbal and physical attacks on Billy. Of course, this abusive influence creates an authoritarian (hypermasculine) oppressor in Billy as well, to his sister and anyone else he can dominate. We also see this form of patriarchal rule with Dr. Brenner who acts in an authoritarian way, presenting himself as a warm “papa” but exerting his will over the vulnerable Eleven, manipulating her as he does with others. Here too Dr. Brenner becomes deeply allegorical, in that he represents a patriarchal, hypermasculine (authoritarian) power that will act in a way that sees dominance, power, authority, control, aggression, violence, assertiveness as a normative way of being, especially in terms of ruling over Others. We even see this with other characters as well, Jonathan at one point relating to Nancy how his father attempted to make a man out of him via hunting and even Jim Hopper (David Harbour), who attempts to exert his will to dominate and control Eleven, a mode of parenting that does not work and can only end in Eleven’s backlash. Thankfully, though, in the case of Hopper, he eventually sees the errors of his parenting, the show itself contextualizing his overbearing parenting as a compensation for him losing his daughter, e.g., his overprotectiveness stems from him not wanting to lose Eleven.

Kali’s Otherness

In a key sequence in the second season, Eleven tracks down Eight/Kali, a young girl of Indian descent, who, like Eleven, was subject to the experiments of Dr. Brenner. (Interesting to think about the other unknown numbered victims of Dr. Brenner, perhaps stories for future seasons!) Here again we get the Otherness motif in the series, not only in terms of coupling Kali’s ethnicity with her telepathic powers (and also used as a lab rat/object to be utilized as a weapon), but also in terms of the group of individuals Kali has gathered together as her “family,” a group of young homeless runaway misfits. That these particular misfits (versus our lovable “misfits”) are also dysfunctional, if not sociopathic, makes them not villains but rather a darker version of our lovable misfits, sympathetic because of Kali’s origin, an individual who does not retain Eleven’s goodness, perhaps a window on what Eleven could have been had she remained with Dr. Brenner for much longer. By extension, we can see via Kali’s origin story also the backdrop of her friends’ own untold stories, each becoming what they became due to similar bad treatment. In this way, the Duffer brothers do something quite masterful with Kali, making her an allegorical figure who reveals how objectification and dehumanization not only degrades Others’ humanity but how such monstrous treatment potentially turns them into “monsters” (sociopaths) themselves, or at least deeply alienated, dysfunctional human beings.

Rejecting an Alienating Normalcy

In a telling moment, while Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) and Nancy (Natalia Dyer) are learning how to shoot a gun, we get this interesting exchange:

Nancy: “I don’t think my parents ever loved each other.”

Jonathan: “They must’ve married for some reason.”

Nancy: “My mom was young. My dad was older, but he had a cushy job, money, came from a good family. So they bought a nice house at the end of the cul-de-sac and started their nuclear family. Screw that.”

After the “screw that,” we get a conspicuously timed action, where Nancy, shooting a gun for the first time, perfectly blows the targeted can away, a kind of punctuation of her words, that she will not submit to an alienating “normalcy” like her mother. Before I get to that, though, I want to relate what Jonathan says to Nancy a little later: “I was thinking, ‘Nancy Wheeler, she’s not just another suburban girl who thinks she’s rebelling by doing exactly what every other suburban girl does until that phase passes and they marry some boring one-time jock who now works sales, and they live out a perfectly boring little life at the end of a cul-de-sac. Exactly like their parents, who they thought were so depressing, but, now, hey, they get it.”

In both of these moments, we get a stress on just how alienating “normal” mainstream life is, a way of being that is determined by exterior forces (“normalcy” is a determined, conditioned way of being) and utterly lacks enrichment, meaning, direction, purpose. We especially get this in Nancy’s words, where her mom apparently married a man she didn’t love, marrying him instead for money, status and image, and material comforts, but as we hear between the lines, and as we see ourselves, Nancy’s mom seems to live an empty, routine life devoid of anything meaningful or enriching in her life. Part and parcel of the show’s focus on Otherness is how Otherness is actually a way out of this “normalcy” bind, where living an alternative (self-determining) way of being — whether that be in engaging the predatory forces trying to consume Others or whether that just be in finding meaning in science (Dustin, Will, Lucas, and Mike) or photography and music (Jonathan) — is a vital way out of being alienated, having purpose and meaning in one’s life instead of succumbing to the deadening existence of a “normalcy” defined by work, consumerism, material goods, status and image signifiers, and so on.

Home as a Psychological Way of Being

Throughout both seasons, we get this recurring reference of the notion of “home,” especially as it is centered on Eleven/Jane. That is, we see that her journey is one of finding where she belongs. In this context, the Duffer Brothers see “home” not in some traditional view of a space where we and our family members reside. In an alternative context that is non-spatial and more psychological, “home” is where one finds unconditional love and acceptance, where investment of self stems from support and love and being there for each other, especially when one’s Otherness creates challenges to the self from outside pressures (e.g., in terms of bullying, racism, sexism, classism, and so on). In this way, Eleven’s precarious situation, a situation that puts others in danger as well, could be seen allegorically, where it takes a deep investment of self to stand with Eleven in fighting against such powerful forces as a government agency assigned to create weapons against the Soviet Union. But then that is the only way for people to fully realize their humanity, via standing with Others against oppressive entities and the ideologies that inform them. In this context, “home” also comes to stand for Others accepting themselves. That is, one is “home” when one accepts and embraces one’s differentness, though that can only be possible in an environment that will nurture such an acceptance.

A Real Conspiracy Theory

Stranger Things also gives us a conspiracy theory motif in the film, first generated by the Hawkins Research Laboratory thread, a shady government organization cloaking themselves in the harmless disguise of an energy research government agency, a scenario that resonates with the many real world conspiracy theories where darker realities are hidden from view (e.g., hidden behind a “curtain”–more on this below). Further, the show plays on our general anxiety of our government doing shady things with many typical conspiracy theory signifiers, from the barbed wire fence that ominously surrounds the laboratory to the hidden bugging devices planted in homes and the many shots of agents monitoring phone conversations from the Hawkins’ town folk. In the second season, significantly, we get Murray (Brett Gelman), the epitome of a stereotypical (but never tiresome!) eccentric conspiracy theorist. At one point, Nancy and Jonathan go to see Murray, to ask his advice on whether they have incriminating evidence — and whether they should use it — against the Hawkins government agency that indirectly killed Nancy’s best friend Barbara (Shannon Purser) . In the process of figuring that out, we get this interesting exchange:

Nancy: “Is the tape incriminating or not? It’s a simple question.”

Murray (laughing): “There’s nothing simple about it. Nothing simple about anything you’ve told me.”

Jonathan: “You don’t believe us, do you?”

Murray: “I believe you, but that’s not the problem. You don’t need me to believe you. You need them to believe you.”

Jonathan: “Them?”

Murray: “Them. With a capital ‘T.’ Your priest, your postman, your teacher, the world at large. They won’t believe any of this.”

Nancy: “That’s why we made the tape.”

Murray: “Oh, that’s easy to bury. Easy.”

Nancy: “He admits it. You heard it. He admits culpability.”

Murray: “You’re being naive, Nancy! Those people…. They’re not wired like me and you, okay? They don’t spend their lives trying to get a look at what’s behind the curtain. (chuckling) They like the curtain. It provides them stability, comfort, definition. This…would open the curtain, and open the curtain behind that curtain, okay? So the minute someone with an ounce of authority calls bullshit, everyone will nod their heads and say, ‘See? Ha! I knew it! It was bullshit.’ That is, if you even get their attention at all.”

Now, one could just read all of these signifiers — especially Murray’s proclamations — as the creators of the show buying into conspiracy theories, which, in themselves threaten the status quo of normalcy. (Think about the conspiracy theory that 9/11 was an inside job.) If that’s the case, then the show goes down a notch or two for me. (Sorry, but I believe that most conspiracy theories are nonsense, just wishful thinking.) But, in conjunction with what I get at above, the overarching thread of how the show challenges the status quo in more complex ways, via a challenging of ideological norms such as Otherness (or the self/Other divide) itself and other normative ideologies such as patriarchy, hypermasculinity, gender roles, consumerism, capitalism — and how all of these inform an American Dream ideology of what determines “normalcy” — I think the creators of the show are doing something more interesting with this conspiracy thread. To understand this better, let me touch on what literary and Marxist political theorist scholar Fredric Jameson says about conspiracy theories, that they are something like “cognitive maps,” a “mapping” of the incredibly complex and hidden structures of global capitalism, which has more and more determined all of us in ways that we cannot fathom or comprehend much less see. Intricately interwoven into this complex determining structure are the many ideologies (e.g., again, patriarchy, hypermasculinity, normative gender formations, consumerism, etc.) that determine us as well, all of which inform a very REAL conspiracy theory, which we don’t want to hear about much less confront, the “curtain” that Murray speaks about. In this way, the show is pointing a finger to — and I think deconstructing (see above) — those deeper real world determining ideologies that we need to rip the curtain from and confront and challenge, so as to breakdown this “reality” of being determined in a way that creates this monstrous self (“normalcy”-superior)/Other (“abnormalcy”-inferior) divide.