Stranger Things-Age analysis

Stranger Things-Age analysis 

In the first clip that we watched of Stranger Things, children were presented as being ignorant to their surroundings, as the boys were completely focused on their game of Dungeons and Dragons. As the boys are so engrossed in this world of make believe, they are presented as silly and childish. This is also done through the use of digetic sound in the clip, where no music is played, until the boys interact with the adults, or something unexpected is going to happen. The mise en scene of this clip also presents the boys as children of the 80s, due to the nostalgic clothes and props.

The adults are represented as authoritative figures due to the shot of the mother pointing up towards her (low angle shot) which shows authority, and the fact that the audience are watching from the viewpoint of the kids. Also the framing of the shot shows the child in between his two parents, as he tries to get one to help him with the other. They both say no which shows that the child is always stuck in between his parents.

Also in the first clip, the teenage sister is presented as very stereotypical as the first scene she is in, she is lying on her bed talking to her friend on the phone. The digetic coversation that shes having consists of talk of boys, which is very stereotypical. When one of the boys offers her pizza, she gets up and slams the door in his face. As we are seeing the show through the perspective of the children, the shot is taken from the other side of the door,as if the audience are having it slammed in their faces. This is called a point of view shot. This clip presents all teenagers to be rude and inconsiderate.

In the second clip, there is a grown man in his house. The camera pans around the room, and mise en scene in this clip includes beercans and cigerette buds. The room is generally messy which makes the viewer assume that the man, who is asleep on the sofa, is lazy and a drunk. It is then surprising to watch the continuity editing show the transition of the drunk/hungover man who the audience believes has no responsibilities, turn into the towns sheriff. This represents all adults as people who have responsibilities, yet when they get home they forget all about them.

Lastly, there is another representation in the clip of adults. When Will goes missing, his mother is so worried and disoriantated. Shot-Reverse-Shot is used in this case between the mother and her other son. This is very fast paced and shows the fact that the mother cannot handle the fact that her son has gone missing. There are also over the shoulder shots in this scene in which we can see through the perspective of the mother, and we can see how overwhelmed she is with what has happened. This also shows that the adults in Stranger Things are protective of their children, and will do anything to keep them safe. This contrasts to the earlier view of adults we had, yet shows that there is more than one side to how adults are represented in Stranger Things.