Netflix’s “Stranger Things” and Why Nerds Hate Being Popular Now

It’s fair to say that I’m “plugged in” to the world of TV. Not just into the shows themselves and the stories but to the industry itself. I can name the heads of most of the major studios, simply from the repetition of reading their names in press releases. I read so many TV recaps and thinkpieces that I can usually tell which author will like what episode before I even check their review. Did you know there’s a Brazilian sci-fi thriller series airing on Netflix in the foreseeable future called 3%? Because I did! My only point is, I’m usually ahead of the game on anything TV-related and certainly when it comes to Netflix original series (which I’ve seen most of).

But even I only heard of Stranger Things a few weeks before it hit the airwaves. I’m not even positive I heard about it before the trailer premiered. Now, it’s entirely possible that I did read about it ahead of time and forgot because it’s not really up my alley (lower your hackles, I’m a fan of the show now). I’m not big on 80s era fantasy type stuff where “the real enemies are hormones! The main conflict is getting older!” So maybe I wrote it off. Either way, it certainly wasn’t on anyone’s radar for super long before it aired.

Then all of a sudden it became the biggest thing on the Internet. It’s allegedly the third most-watched show on Netflix, behind only Orange is the New Black (WHOO!) and Fuller House (no comment). Which begs the question: why?

Again, the show is good. It’s essentially what a Stephen King book adapted by Steven Spielberg would look like in 1984. It’s fun, the characters are endearing, it does good world-building, etc. It also has barely enough story for 8 episodes, the bullies are evil to the point of self-parody, and Winona Ryder’s acting varies between great and over-the-top. So in other words: about the same overall mileage of most Netflix programming but with less creativity. Without the hype, I’d still have watched the whole thing because I’m me; I wouldn’t have thought to recommend it to a ton of people though. I watched all of the Netflix original Love and didn’t even like it a ton, let alone feel its own namesake about it, but it was passable. Stranger Things is way better than that but not immediately worthy of notifying others. So why is it such a massive hit?

Well, there’s the nostalgia factor. That’s a big part of it: everything is a repeat of something but this is a repeat of something we haven’t seen in a while. Then there’s the accessibility factor: it’s the rare Netflix show you can watch with your family. Orange is the New Black features naked lesbians making out in a shower before the theme song has left the echo chamber of your inner ear. House of Cards begins with the main character murdering a dog (also an act of mercy on one level, which would be more apparent if he didn’t enjoy it so much). So here’s a show without the F-bombs or nudity that would normally prevent a Netflix show from being a family affair. Parents can watch and be nostalgic for a bygone era and kids can strongly empathize with characters in their age group.

But I was pondering something further this morning (because I spend approximately 95% of my day pondering and the other 5% trying to pretend I don’t have the newest Ariana Grande song stuck in my head) and that’s the idea that many genre fans are longing for the days when their interests weren’t popular. The main characters of this show, a group of pre-teen (or young teen? I can’t tell, I’m old now) friends who clearly enjoy genre fare and find themselves within the sort of narrative they enjoy. I don’t know to what extent the creators intended the show to function as a meta-narrative for fans finding themselves in the middle of a nostalgic adventure but that’s certainly a big part of the show’s charm.

So why, when there are more nerdtastic things to get excited about now, are we longing for a time when it wasn’t cool to be one? I personally love the fact that Star Wars is popular enough that legitimately great filmmakers are working on the series and great writers are tackling the comics and there’s even a quality kids’ show filling in more of the story gaps. I don’t believe in sensory overload when it comes to the stuff I love. Batman is so popular now that he had like 5 different series devoted to him recently? Download it into my brain immediately! But…there’s a downside to all of this too.

Can you imagine how Return of the Jedi would’ve been received if the Internet was around and all anyone was talking about was “why is Luke’s lightsaber green? The whole series is about duality of good and evil as personified by blue and red lightsabers, throwing a whole other color in there ruins my childhood!” and “the Ewoks were originally going to be Wookiees? That would’ve been so much better!”

I do think Wookiees would vastly improve Jedi. Which is why I wish I never read about that (sorry if I’m doing the same thing to you, random person!) and had just gone on seeing Jedi as the worst of the original trilogy but still obviously a great movie. Instead of how I now view it: the same exact way but with the occasional added twinge of knowledge for what was almost a much better movie. It’s why I think The Force Awakens was such a big hit: they kept a lot under wraps.

That was a gamble that paid off but not everyone can have the type of inherent hype and anticipation as a new Star Wars movie. Literally nothing can, actually. Even something like the third Avengers movie, due out in 2018, has to deal with the rampant criticism of “superhero fatigue.” This very notion amuses me because there are probably like an average of 5 superhero or superhero-related movies out in a given year. As an example, this year had: Deadpool, Batman v Superman, Captain America 3, X-Men: Apocalypse, Suicide Squad, and Doctor Strange. That last one isn’t out yet but in total that’s what the year looks like. NO ONE IS COUNTING THE NEW NINJA TURTLES MOVIE, YOU FACT-CHECKERS. That’s 6 movies, totaling about 14 hours of content or so. How many romantic comedies come out in a given year? How many generic action films? Horror movies? Tons! But since superheroes only recently (on a macro level, “recently” is now 14 years ago if we’re counting from when they were big big movies) became “regulars” in the release schedule, it seems like they’re all over the place. Similarly, remakes/reboots have been part of Hollywood since the beginning. Did you know that the Ben-Hur everyone knows was a remake? If you look up “2016 in Film” on Wikipedia and see the rundown of movies this year, a lot of them are completely new but a lot of them sound like garbage.

Plus: all of those above-listed superhero films are in different overall genres. Deadpool is an action comedy, BvS and Cap 3 are philosophical/political thrillers with capes, X-Men and Doctor Strange (I presume) are the closest things to just reggo “superhero movies” on the list which makes them sci-fi action films overall, and Suicide Squad is basically an action movie with a more eclectic mix of characters. Now, I could see if all 6 were origin stories following the same overall plot structure but only two of those (Deadpool and Doctor Strange) qualify. BvS and Cap 3 have surprisingly similar plots but very different tones. So on and so forth.

So now let’s expand out from just superhero fatigue, let’s throw in “genre” films that nerds like. So now we can include Rogue One, Star Trek Beyond, etc. Even if you throw everything from an indie-adjacent sci-fi film like the upcoming Arrival to something as abstractly defined as “something a nerd *might* like” such as Jason Bourne we’re still not talking about even a majority of film releases (numbers-wise). So why does it seem like we’re saturated by it?

Because those are the moneymakers.

If you look at the list of highest-grossing films of all time, it’s almost entirely very nerdy things: Avatar, Harry Potter, Avengers, etc. It’s impossible to say that these things aren’t “cool” now. BvS was considered somewhat of a box office disappointment because it *only* made just under 900 million worldwide. The idea that a movie about two nerd icons punching each other was considered under-performing at that amount of money is staggering BUT justified from a studio standing-point considering the amounts that similar movies rake in.

I think that nerds hate this level of popularity and I’ll get to why in a minute. For me personally, I hate the fact that all of this stuff gets dissected under a microscope from the day they’re announced and for years after they’re released. It’s the difference between “huh, the Joker had tattoos in this movie. That’s kind of interesting” and “here are 15 reasons why the Joker’s tattoos are the worst possible choice for that character and why it will ruin his legacy forever.” There’s going to be at least 4 more people playing the Joker as the 21st Century rolls onward and each adaptation will feel the need to set itself apart somehow. Do we need to go through this every time?

Then in the wake of a movie, I only have about a few days tops before the flood of over-dissection comes in. I was so elated when walking out of The Force Awakens because 2015 was a crappy year before 2016 made it look like it was directed by John Lasseter and I was looking forward to the movie so much as this reward for making it through the year. Somehow, it delivered on my loftier-than-Bespin expectations. I went with a group of friends who all also loved the movie and I told one of them that I was going to hang onto the feeling of that night because “someday it’s just going to be plastic on my shelf.” And it’s true: I will always love that movie but there’s something so special about opening night.

What I hadn’t counted on, because it’s become more and more apparent to me as the year has gone on, was the amount of crazy responses the movie was getting. For YEARS all anyone could say was “why can’t the prequels be more like the originals?” and now it’s “why was the new one so much like the old ones?” This is a blog for another day but Episodes IV and VII share some obvious (intentional!) similarities but their overall plots are vastly different and the dialogue, cinematography, and acting couldn’t be more different. Anyway, then it was “is Daisy Ridley a Mary Sue?” (she isn’t) and that ranged from “she is and that’s dumb” to “she is and that’s awesome” when really she can do, what? Three things a normal person couldn’t do?

Then it’s “Superman doesn’t smile enough” and “the only way Captain America would do all that for Bucky is if they had the hots for each other” and “Apocalypse looks like he’s farting every time he uses his powers.” It gets to the point where I’m not even sure I look forward to this stuff anymore. I know that I’ll enjoy Rogue One but it also stars a female so the Peggy Sue talk will (sorry) enSue. There’s an Asian guy using faux martial arts in the trailer, is that offensive? If Forrest Whitaker’s character dies, first or otherwise, does that mean there will be a thousand thinkpieces on “the troubled history of black men not surviving sci-fi?”

I’m not even saying that those thinkpieces don’t have a place or a valid point or aren’t conversations worth having. But even for me, the chattiest person you’re likely to meet, it can all get so exhausting. As Jeff once told Abed on Community: “stop shoving everything up its own ass!”

This is why the quiet release and (initial) praise for Stranger Things was so nice and I wish I’d basked in it more. Now, of course, it’s popular and is therefore also being ruined by the Internet (I haven’t even checked into why, beyond the headlines) but that feels especially tragic given the nature of the show. It’s reminding us that there was once a glorious time when being a nerd meant being a social outcast, sure, but you and your friends had a tight bond. The kids on this show are completely content to just play D&D for hours on end for the last few years they really can before they start getting bogged down by dating troubles and college and LIFE. It’s a reminder that not every show or movie has to be the greatest thing ever, it should just be enjoyable and made with love. It’s a reminder that fiction used to be surprising, that when you walked into the theater to see something like the original Spider-Man you only somewhat knew what the movie was like and then you just went along for the ride.

Back when nerd stuff wasn’t popular, you could enjoy it in something as close to a vacuum as possible. You could watch Star Trek reruns to your heart’s content and bask in its positive vision of the future without having to worry about what the world-at-large thought about season 2 episode 16. Star Trek was something that you, an “other,” liked and could therefore enjoy in the way you desired. It was even tough to connect with other fans back then, which was a blessing and a curse (considering how fun and/or frustrating it can be to converse with like-minded people. It’s all fun and games until someone thinks Han shot second). It’s always neat to be in on something that no one else knows about and there’s a give-and-take on your favorite thing becoming more popular.

It seems like the real solution is to avoid the Internet, but then how will I know what to look forward to? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I think there’s a happy medium where I still get to be excited about next year’s Wonder Woman but as we draw closer, I don’t feel as though I’ve seen the whole movie before I see the actual film. Or more thinkpieces that take a deep dive on what a film actually intends to say or how the watcher interpreted the themes of a film, as opposed to endless pieces about a single line of dialogue/single shot that didn’t jibe with the sensibilities of every member of the audience. Perhaps nerdy things can be popular and still be beloved enough to warrant 4 kids huddling around a table for hours on end out of sheer love for the material.

In that spirit: I’m going to suggest that you check out Stranger Things. Why? Go find out for yourself! It’s the only way to enjoy something: on your own terms.