Ha...that was a rant worth reading! So I read it twice. I actually liked Season 4 despite the issues you colorfully and hilariously outlined, and look forward to Season 5.
Enjoyed this one very much and I look forward to the next rant on whichever subject moves you to offer one!
I felt like in the first season the 80s thing was just there to explain how the kids could be constantly out of contact with their parents, but yeah then they leaned into it so hard...
I still like seasons 1 and 2. Well, except for the episode we don't talk about, anyway.
Interesting observation! They say the reason the parents need to die in a Disney movie is none of the plots would make sense if they were around. I wonder if screen writers will increasingly set stories in the pre-smartphone era as it’s hard to film real life now as so much “conversation” occurs via text message. Not to mention plot tension when everyone is always in instant contact with each other.
I think we’re going to end up with screenwriters just sort of pretending these things don’t exist and just ask for suspension of disbelief. Not everything can be set in the 30s or in a desert with no cell phone coverage. I don’t see any way to work cell phones/texting into tv and movies and keep it interesting
It's been handled in plenty of movies. They simply put less focus on it than people do in reality. They show a few tweets, a few texts, and that stands in for the norm of society while the movie focuses on things that are most interesting in a movie: spoken dialog and emotional expression.
I think a lot of your criticisms would have been tempered by more financial and time restraints. There are too many superfluous scenes. Having to edit down to 45 minutes per episode along with having to refrain from shooting certain scenes due to budgetary constraints would have led to a tighter story.
Most definitely. Limitation breeds creativity by enforcing self-editing. It's been a boon to me in poetry for years; my best work lives within highly-structured forms. Limitations force you to think through the ideas and how you express them. Aside from the benefit of thinking about your ideas from multiple sides to see how to fit the form (and sometimes choosing form based on ideas), it's also harder to "keep" your precious-but-not-very-good expressions when you'd have to work way harder to do so, or to remove something truly essential to keep them.
Now this is the kind of white hot, over the top rant that I pay my money for.
Honestly, I have no idea about most of these references because I only watched the first season of Stranger Things. I liked it well enough, but I felt one season of the show was all that I really needed.
The latest season put me off because it’s too dark. There was some tongue and cheek in previous seasons but comes across like they are starting to take themselves too seriously.
I'll say that I was surprisingly affected by Will's arc. The fact it is so aggressively in the 80s makes this hit harder - I totally get why Will is terrified to say the words "I'm gay." I thought it worked really well for him to have his heart-to-heart with Jonathan but still not manage to get the words out. And though it's obvious to us, I'm not actually sure whether Jonathan has figured it out for himself yet (especially since gay representation wasn't exactly great in the 80s).
I went into these last couple episodes rolling my eyes a bit at the queer-baiting, but I think they managed to make something interesting and effective out of it. YMMV as always though.
I couldn’t finish your article because I’m not even halfway done with the season, but yeah. These problems have been present since season 1 in nascent form. They were just hidden because of the show’s novelty.
But my wife loves it, so we’re watching it, even if she has to sometimes put up with “why is he STILL TRAPPED IN RUSSIA” comments from me. Seriously, that should have been two episodes max.
Anyway, two words: Peaky Blinders. We just started it and I’m ready to design a time machine so I can become a WWI veteran-with PTSD-cum-proto-gangster in London just because that dude played the Scarecrow is terrific and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds deserve more attention. Plus the accents remain awesome. Though it’ll have to wait for me to finish being a rancher in Montana.
Don’t forget about their pathetic attempt to make Mike seem more useful/important: “you’re the heart of this group, Mike! & without heart, we’ll fall apart” 🤢
The response to this show makes me feel like a crazy person. I couldn't finish the first season for a lot of reasons (the lack of subtlety was difficult to stomach), but the big one was how they wasted Winona Ryder by writing her as the most flat character in the history of TV - every scene was her hysterically crying. I fast forwarded through all of her supposedly deeply emotional scenes because it made me cringe or laugh. I've been completely shocked that such a large amount of people have stuck with it for this many years.
Also, the kids suck at acting (at least they did at the time). Scenes flowed like a film school project with a $100 million budget.
There was also no tension whatsoever to Rider's hysterical flailing after, what, the first episode? Because the audience finds out that Will is alive loooooong before his mom does. I'm normally a big fan of dramatic irony, but the Duffers managed to use it there to gut the drama.
"Unfortunately the characters of Stranger Things don’t really have personalities beyond trauma, consumer choices, and sexual preference."
Freaking awesome.
Very appropriate for our time, then!
So, like, most people today?
Unfortunately.
Lol
It's funny because I think you could argue that Barb was more developed than any of the main characters on Stranger Things (in S1).
I'd imagine making those inferences is a big part of the fun.
I wore my dissertation on her glasses.
Man, this is so deeply, deeply true of fandom.
Who is Barb?
But they actually had the creators bending the second season to their will! The Duffer Brothers said so!
You may already know this and not need or appreciate the recommendation, but this is something Mark Fisher wrote and spoke a lot about:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCgkLICTskQ
I forgot about the Chicago spin-off. Oh god!
Ha...that was a rant worth reading! So I read it twice. I actually liked Season 4 despite the issues you colorfully and hilariously outlined, and look forward to Season 5.
Enjoyed this one very much and I look forward to the next rant on whichever subject moves you to offer one!
I felt like in the first season the 80s thing was just there to explain how the kids could be constantly out of contact with their parents, but yeah then they leaned into it so hard...
I still like seasons 1 and 2. Well, except for the episode we don't talk about, anyway.
Interesting observation! They say the reason the parents need to die in a Disney movie is none of the plots would make sense if they were around. I wonder if screen writers will increasingly set stories in the pre-smartphone era as it’s hard to film real life now as so much “conversation” occurs via text message. Not to mention plot tension when everyone is always in instant contact with each other.
yes.
I think we’re going to end up with screenwriters just sort of pretending these things don’t exist and just ask for suspension of disbelief. Not everything can be set in the 30s or in a desert with no cell phone coverage. I don’t see any way to work cell phones/texting into tv and movies and keep it interesting
It's been handled in plenty of movies. They simply put less focus on it than people do in reality. They show a few tweets, a few texts, and that stands in for the norm of society while the movie focuses on things that are most interesting in a movie: spoken dialog and emotional expression.
What episode don’t we talk about?
I think the one where El goes to Philly and gets a new outfit.
I think a lot of your criticisms would have been tempered by more financial and time restraints. There are too many superfluous scenes. Having to edit down to 45 minutes per episode along with having to refrain from shooting certain scenes due to budgetary constraints would have led to a tighter story.
Exactly so. It's Netflix's biggest darling and so they have no constraints and thus no need for efficiency and purpose.
Most definitely. Limitation breeds creativity by enforcing self-editing. It's been a boon to me in poetry for years; my best work lives within highly-structured forms. Limitations force you to think through the ideas and how you express them. Aside from the benefit of thinking about your ideas from multiple sides to see how to fit the form (and sometimes choosing form based on ideas), it's also harder to "keep" your precious-but-not-very-good expressions when you'd have to work way harder to do so, or to remove something truly essential to keep them.
I've never seen the show, and after reading this, I think I'm going to continue not watching the show.
Now this is the kind of white hot, over the top rant that I pay my money for.
Honestly, I have no idea about most of these references because I only watched the first season of Stranger Things. I liked it well enough, but I felt one season of the show was all that I really needed.
The latest season put me off because it’s too dark. There was some tongue and cheek in previous seasons but comes across like they are starting to take themselves too seriously.
I'll say that I was surprisingly affected by Will's arc. The fact it is so aggressively in the 80s makes this hit harder - I totally get why Will is terrified to say the words "I'm gay." I thought it worked really well for him to have his heart-to-heart with Jonathan but still not manage to get the words out. And though it's obvious to us, I'm not actually sure whether Jonathan has figured it out for himself yet (especially since gay representation wasn't exactly great in the 80s).
I went into these last couple episodes rolling my eyes a bit at the queer-baiting, but I think they managed to make something interesting and effective out of it. YMMV as always though.
I couldn’t finish your article because I’m not even halfway done with the season, but yeah. These problems have been present since season 1 in nascent form. They were just hidden because of the show’s novelty.
But my wife loves it, so we’re watching it, even if she has to sometimes put up with “why is he STILL TRAPPED IN RUSSIA” comments from me. Seriously, that should have been two episodes max.
Anyway, two words: Peaky Blinders. We just started it and I’m ready to design a time machine so I can become a WWI veteran-with PTSD-cum-proto-gangster in London just because that dude played the Scarecrow is terrific and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds deserve more attention. Plus the accents remain awesome. Though it’ll have to wait for me to finish being a rancher in Montana.
Peaky is great TV. So is Taboo.
Ironic that you preface your guidance surrounding comments with a meme :)
Don’t forget about their pathetic attempt to make Mike seem more useful/important: “you’re the heart of this group, Mike! & without heart, we’ll fall apart” 🤢
The response to this show makes me feel like a crazy person. I couldn't finish the first season for a lot of reasons (the lack of subtlety was difficult to stomach), but the big one was how they wasted Winona Ryder by writing her as the most flat character in the history of TV - every scene was her hysterically crying. I fast forwarded through all of her supposedly deeply emotional scenes because it made me cringe or laugh. I've been completely shocked that such a large amount of people have stuck with it for this many years.
Also, the kids suck at acting (at least they did at the time). Scenes flowed like a film school project with a $100 million budget.
There was also no tension whatsoever to Rider's hysterical flailing after, what, the first episode? Because the audience finds out that Will is alive loooooong before his mom does. I'm normally a big fan of dramatic irony, but the Duffers managed to use it there to gut the drama.