HALFWAY HAPPY: Eleven and the Liminal Feminism of Stranger Things

Abstract

According to Hailu (2022) in Variety, Stranger Things has been one of the most popular shows available to watch on streaming since it first aired in 2016, earning a spot in the Netflix Top Ten rankings each year a new season has been released. The story has followed a substantial cast of characters, including girls and women who shirked gender expectations of the 1980s and drove the narrative forward. Kahlenberg (2019) argued that analyzing media within a social justice framework can help students develop consciousness of why media privileges the perspectives of dominant groups. Through conducting a thematic analysis of Stranger Things, we assert that the show represents a significant but narrow shift in television’s portrayal of female characters and relationships and reveals the possibility of reciprocal conversation between viewers and the writers’ room. We also argue in favor of students and audiences participating in critical discussions of popular media and seeking out less mainstream works which center the lives of marginalized people.

Publication Title

Communication Entertainment and Messages of Social Justice

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