tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3939909775405220345.post7704974633770431708..comments2024-03-01T10:16:11.283-08:00Comments on AmericanStudies: October 28-29, 2017: Jeff Renye on Stranger Things: The New Weird Made Old?AmericanStudierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06483077716534996778noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3939909775405220345.post-88624917735508283382019-03-13T19:42:08.747-07:002019-03-13T19:42:08.747-07:00Alessandro
I love the way that you connected the...Alessandro <br /><br />I love the way that you connected the "pleasant place" trope to some of your favorite (and my favorite) horror movies. It allowed me to view movies that I grew up watching in a whole new way. It is true that Hawkins, Indiana is the perfect place for story to take place; it is the almost picture-perfect version of the eighties, which adds a nostalgia factor to the experience. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14643069014992887984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3939909775405220345.post-45288152920381145792019-03-13T06:16:19.572-07:002019-03-13T06:16:19.572-07:00I really enjoy the connection you made between oth...I really enjoy the connection you made between other texts we have read in the class. I also did that in my post. I also like you tie in of cosmic horror and how it relates to stranger things. In addition the social contentions you added to Stranger things and other pieces adds to your argument more strongly. Luciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3939909775405220345.post-51417985309135869052019-03-13T06:14:59.368-07:002019-03-13T06:14:59.368-07:00I definitely agree with this response, especially ...I definitely agree with this response, especially the section about "cosmic horror". I think this phrase really encapsulates the genre of Stranger Things, and many of the stories we've read in class. Additionally, the idea that people were treated "test subjects" rather than actual human beings is an interesting concept. What I've noticed from these readings, and Stranger Things, is that they are essentially cautionary tales. They teach us what can truly happen when humans try to meddle in things they don't understand. Often, someone who isn't even involved pays the consequences. <br /><br />Additionally, I agree with the idea that Stranger Things isn't known for it's originality. We've watched a lot of movie interpretations of the readings in the packet, and most of them were very unsuccessful. Stranger Things made cinematic choices that made it terrifying in and of itself, and achieved in building on the elements of terror we've read in class. <br />- ShayAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00825694413845924730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3939909775405220345.post-64333273939175958802019-03-13T06:10:33.960-07:002019-03-13T06:10:33.960-07:00Max:
Prior to reading this essay, I watched Strang...Max:<br />Prior to reading this essay, I watched Stranger Things through a very different lens. As we’ve been reading and analyzing works that fall under the weird literature genre, it wasn’t hard to make connections between the overall plot of the series to a number of stories we’ve looked into. However, this essay not only enlightened me on specific links between the show and many works spanning from the Victorian era until now, but broadened my understanding of weird lit as a whole; how it commenced and how it has expanded over the years. <br /><br />There are obvious similarities between the storyline of Stranger Things and many weird lit texts such as The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen, The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs and others. Jeff, however, points out specific pieces of the TV series that represent the weird. First off, he mentions the setting, saying “The Midwestern America of small town Hawkins in Stranger Things is an instance of the pleasant place made dangerous in a manner familiar to the weird tale.” I really liked the way he phrased this. It concisely depicts what is essential to understanding the weird: things may seem familiar, but either they aren’t or will soon become unfamiliar. He continues saying, “Yet, such a depiction has ancient origins, like the rugged beauty of Arcadia in ancient Greek tales where the dualistic goat-god Pan resides in light and shadow. This beneficent protector, but also sinister threat, appears in a manner that humanity cannot predict. As to which manifestation Pan will show depends upon a prerogative of preternatural decision making, not in accordance with the “fixed laws of Nature” or with whatever interest is held by the mortal audience who make seek contact with this force.” I thought this explanation was genius. It accurately conveys what so much of the terror in weird literature stems from. This idea of dualism; two things, opposite, joining forces, such as light and shadow, is out of the ordinary. The inability to predict; humans are comfortable with what is the usual, the familiar, and the predictable. When encountering anything, let alone a “sinister threat” that we cannot rationalize and, therefore, cannot combat, we are helpless and vulnerable to whatever stands before us. The idea of preternatural decision making that is not in accordance with the “fixed laws of nature” is terrifying; some unknown entity is making decisions that may affect your life and you don’t have a clue about how to stop it or even identify what it is. This is a very common element in weird lit tales: whatever “interest” we have as the mortal audience, doesn’t matter in these stories as the unknown takes charge.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11840126442292428809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3939909775405220345.post-51483031640107504292019-03-13T06:09:54.928-07:002019-03-13T06:09:54.928-07:00After reading this piece, thoughts emerged about t...After reading this piece, thoughts emerged about the larger representation of the connection between the wierd of the past and modern day content. In general, when discussing influence, Jeff Reyne does a good job of including Lovecraft, and providing a helpful breakdown of his genesis, which is essentially the genesis for understanding what weird literature is. Building off of concepts discussed in class, our understanding is that this kind of literature comes from the fear of what is unknown to human nature, concepts that we cannot fathom, things our brain cannot proccess, even if explained in the most plain of terms. We have learned that Lovecraft is one of many who accurately explains this to the reader, and Reyne shows us that he believes that it is “more than secret murder, bloody bones, or a sheeted form clanking chains,”. Lovecraft knew that true terror is what we as humans cannot understand, and he understood that the “fixed law of nature” must be broken in order to achieve this. <br /> The connection Reyne made between the concept of weird literature and Stranger Things is only a further emphasis of the impact that authors of the weird have on modern culture in terms of horror and terror. With this past understanding, the basis for how modern society uses the weird to it’s benefit, is formed. The thematic parallels begin to become increasingly clear. Just in the first episode, the unknown is open and obvious. There are clips and scenes that the viewer cannot put together because we simply do not have the information to process. We know there is some entity, but we do not know what it looks like, how it got there, and how it interacts with humans. That is our unknown. The same way that Lovecraft sets up the beginning of his storys, the same way many other weird lit authors do -- it is to disorient you. This is what Stranger Things does very well. Not even five seconds ino the episode, there is an extremely loud bang, followed by a man running through a corridor, checking behind him in fear all the way. In truth, there is something to be said about the benefit of sound and picture, how it adds to the experience that cannot be had from reading. However, as we’ve seen in the past, it is easy to sour wierd literature film, and unaccurately portray the theorized groundwork for the stories.<br />Stranger Things also does a good job of representing ‘space’, which Reyne also briefly mentions. Lovecraft’s thoughts on the creation of space is that it “ can be found out there, above and beyond the earth’s atmosphere,”. He is referring to something outside of our realm. In the episode we watched, and in further episodes, we learn of a hidden world, dubbed the Upside Down, where things are almost parallel, but extremely different -- they are darker, and sinister, and they have a connection to the entity from the beginning. Considering the fact that Stranger Things takes place in the 80’s in a seemingly ordinary small town, this is extremely representative of wierd literature and what can be lurking below the surface. Even the young girl, Eleven, who Reyne briefly mentions, is able to travel freely in between these planes of existence, has been derived from the orginial concepts that authors like Lovecraft are feeding to us.<br />As a genre, it has always taught the reader to question things that exist at face value, and Stranger Things has successfully been able to transition into a visual medium, while still maintaining the essential principles of weird literature.<br /><br />- Destiny BensonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3939909775405220345.post-66764877695974365262019-03-13T06:09:05.137-07:002019-03-13T06:09:05.137-07:00At first, when I read about the “unplumbed space” ...At first, when I read about the “unplumbed space” in Renye’s blog-post, I thought nothing of it. But reading you talk about it again reminded me the other dimension from which the monster in Stranger Things came from. I thought, and said dimension to me, embodies the fear of the unknown. This terrible monster, bent on wrecking havoc, comes from a strange place that we cannot hope to understand, and this is what I think of when I read “unplumbed space.”Damian Peñanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3939909775405220345.post-50931406635270556252019-03-13T06:07:59.823-07:002019-03-13T06:07:59.823-07:00In his blog-post, "The New Weird Made Old&quo...In his blog-post, "The New Weird Made Old", one thing that Jeff Renye discusses is what it means to be a weird lit tale, and how "Stranger Things" embodies this definition. He does so by first quoting H.P. Lovecraft’s essay "Supernatural Horror in Literature." In the excerpt that Renye discusses in his blog-post, Lovecraft says that the oldest fear known to man is the fear of the unknown, and that this fear is the essence of a weird tale, and this is something that I agree with. As Lovecraft elaborates in "Supernatural Horror," a weird lit tale cannot simply be bloody and gory, or scary descriptions of monsters and ghouls. Inexplicable fear and dread of something that we can't quite pin is essential to the weird lit tale, and I also agree with Renye when he says that "Stranger Things" embodies this definition.<br /><br />I think that one of the ways "Stranger Things" does this best is with the toy figure of the demo-gorgon. At the start of the first episode of the series, four of the five protagonists are seen playing a game of "Dungeons and Dragons." An intense scene intended to scare the watcher depicts the arrival of the demo-gorgon, a monster that strikes fear into the players. I interpreted the arrival of the demo-gorgon as an allusion to the monster that was previously seen killing a scientist in a lab. This allusion struck me with fear of the unknown monster.Damian Peñanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3939909775405220345.post-26164086079840312222019-03-13T06:07:48.862-07:002019-03-13T06:07:48.862-07:00Stranger Things, without a doubt, plays on nostalg...Stranger Things, without a doubt, plays on nostalgia. I would argue this actually ties in quite well with my own analysis of “the pleasant place” - what’s more pleasant than a delightful rush of nostalgia? And then what happens when it turns out that this nostalgia actually concealed something much darker and more sinister beneath its surface? <br /><br />t could be argued that it utilizes techniques from weird literature authors, yes. However, it utilizes those techniques in a show set in the 1980s, where multiple events, cultural shifts and movements have changed the world drastically. In a sense, it uses the 80s aesthetic to actually draw the nostalgia-hungry viewers in, and then subverts this nostalgia by using the techniques of even older authors in a relatively modern setting.Peter Mamaevhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08288524148927662397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3939909775405220345.post-18144969231324114852019-03-13T06:06:39.840-07:002019-03-13T06:06:39.840-07:00Fairly interesting observation. Do you think this ...Fairly interesting observation. Do you think this curiosity ever actually pays off in these stories? Or in Stranger Things? Can our tampering with the unknown ever serve to warn us of danger rather than drag us deeper in?Peter Mamaevhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08288524148927662397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3939909775405220345.post-73996419691389926192019-03-13T06:05:50.665-07:002019-03-13T06:05:50.665-07:00This trope, or tool for a better word, is naturall...This trope, or tool for a better word, is naturally less looked-at because after reading the Festival, nobody wants to discuss the gripping dilemmas of visiting their families at Christmastime. The things that will actually draw everyone’s attention are the procession, the twisted rituals, the monsters lurking behind the masks. Yet if Lovecraft opened the Festival on the festival itself, the story would simply be a parade of psychedelic oddities, losing its impact and its terror. Rather, the gradual stripping of normality, layer by layer, from the protagonist and from the world, is what makes the story effective, what makes it a part of weird literature. Likewise, this underlying atmosphere of mystery and conspiracy resting just beneath the all-American surface of Hawkins, and its gradual stripping we will presumably see later, the utilization of this tool is what ties together Stranger Things and weird literature as a media, as a class and as a genre.<br /><br />5/5Peter Mamaevhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08288524148927662397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3939909775405220345.post-86755942238410345072019-03-13T06:05:38.496-07:002019-03-13T06:05:38.496-07:00Which is why when the concept of parallel dimensio...Which is why when the concept of parallel dimensions, psychic girls, shady government organizations, and horrific monstrosities that we haven’t even fully seen, is so effective here. The Upside Down ruins our typical American town. It corrupts it. It exposes a seedy underbelly that houses horrors that we, on multiple occasions, cannot even begin to comprehend. A similar corruption undergoes with, for example the Whites; a perfectly normal English family, with a perfectly normal comfortable life, suddenly exposed to the mystic potential power of the monkey’s paw. The reader can easily put themselves in the Whites’ shoes, and therefore can relate to their shock and sorrow throughout the story. The reader can put themselves in the shoes of the Festival’s totally nameless narrator, so it drives all the more of an impact when something as conventionally familiar as family are revealed to be wax-faced monsters. Similarly, the viewer can imagine themselves living in Hawkins, Indiana, interacting with plenty of its residents, so the impact is strengthened when the showrunners introduce interdimensional monsters and shady government agencies hunting psychic girls into the mix. To that extent, the “pleasant place” trope is an essential building block of weird literature, ney, weird media, because it allows the reader to become connected to a scenario otherwise completely disconnected from the normal world.<br /><br />4/5Peter Mamaevhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08288524148927662397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3939909775405220345.post-74285901768181257492019-03-13T06:05:14.154-07:002019-03-13T06:05:14.154-07:00Take, for instance, the monkey’s paw from the titu...Take, for instance, the monkey’s paw from the titular story is, on its own, a totally harmless object. It won’t hurt you, it won’t hurt anyone. On the surface, The Festival’s Kingsport is just a desolate New England town. The willows are just a plant, and the sticks are, ultimately, sticks. Likewise, the initial situation of just about every character tends to be something the audience is familiar with - canoeing down a river, visiting family on the holidays, exploring a forest. We have all been there, and these are all experiences we do not associate with murderous liches, monstrous cults and ancient prophecies whose very existence causes men to lose their minds. Stranger Things takes a fairly similar route; until its twisted underbelly is revealed, Hawkins is delightfully generic. It’s the trademark American town a good chunk of the show’s audience grew up in. Even most of the characters, with the exclusion of Eleven and the mysterious people hunting her, would fit into a perfectly average American landscape.<br /><br />3/5Peter Mamaevhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08288524148927662397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3939909775405220345.post-50024623080351322102019-03-13T06:04:52.937-07:002019-03-13T06:04:52.937-07:00Of course, slasher films are far from the nuanced ...Of course, slasher films are far from the nuanced and often existential terror of weird literature, but it does set a good example and the film popularized the concept of making something “pleasant” and this concept was during the horror renaissance of the 1980s. Child’s Play made animatronic dolls into knife-wielding murderers; Cujo made it possible for your lovable family dog to rip out your innards for no reason whatsoever; even the original Nightmare On Elm Street more than likely made a few impressionable viewers stay up late. Albeit many attribute this cinematic exposure to be the first instance of “normality corruption”, a time when Hollywood realized the horror of making familiar and harmless things dark and scary, it is notable that many of the stories read in this class, which preceded the movie industry by a little under a century, utilized this concept very effectively themselves.<br /><br />2/5Peter Mamaevhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08288524148927662397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3939909775405220345.post-37994851917704888202019-03-13T06:04:29.463-07:002019-03-13T06:04:29.463-07:00Peter Mamaev
In his writing, Jeff Rayne regards S...Peter Mamaev<br /><br />In his writing, Jeff Rayne regards Stranger Things’ setting of Hawkins as, quote, “an instance of the pleasant place made dangerous in a manner familiar to the weird tale.” This is a very recurring and essential aspect of weird literature stories, present in arguably every single story read this trimester. Ironically every bit as unassuming and often overlooked as the “pleasant places” themselves, I think this trope is a necessary ingredient in what eventually blossoms into a good weird literature story.<br /><br />1/5Peter Mamaevhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08288524148927662397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3939909775405220345.post-45625758382743182292019-03-13T06:04:20.758-07:002019-03-13T06:04:20.758-07:00This was written by Lucian FigliuloThis was written by Lucian Figliuloluciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3939909775405220345.post-53999388551349504862019-03-13T06:03:26.016-07:002019-03-13T06:03:26.016-07:00This was written by PierreThis was written by PierreAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14419949651181757069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3939909775405220345.post-29021851851821900222019-03-13T06:03:25.273-07:002019-03-13T06:03:25.273-07:00original post written by Shayoriginal post written by ShayAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00825694413845924730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3939909775405220345.post-15202611182635766072019-03-13T06:02:38.256-07:002019-03-13T06:02:38.256-07:00by Alessandro Pearlrothby Alessandro PearlrothAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14643069014992887984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3939909775405220345.post-35414714619738299672019-03-13T06:00:10.651-07:002019-03-13T06:00:10.651-07:00Ari
3/12/19
Stranger Things is a captivating TV sh...Ari<br />3/12/19<br />Stranger Things is a captivating TV show that both reiterates and reflects many aspects of weird literature while providing great cinematography and acting. I had watched the show last year and really enjoyed it, so much so I showed it to my mom and we watched the whole thing over together. While watching Stranger Things I recognized it had not felt like something I had seen before. It felt almost as if I was reading a book and each chapter was represented very clearly through the font used in the show to separate events. Looking back, I see that these oddities had to do with the time period depicted and the story itself being a weird literature tale. It really did feel like an 80s movie. The colors, camera effects and costume designed immersed me into a world where it felt I was watching a hit 80s classic and not a 2016 production. There seems to be a common theme of depicting alternate or opposite realities. In Stranger Things, this alternately reality, named somewhat bluntly as the upside down. As for other weird literature where a monster isn’t clearly established or manifested, Stranger Things has a few clear antagonis. The same can be said for the protagonis, where Eleven, who as we know possess power, threatens our antagonists mission. Because of it being a TV show, and the director not being able to directly add the nuances of people thoughts and feelings, the many layers of Stranger Things can get overwhelming.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09368114561114328047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3939909775405220345.post-41938041708401414602019-03-13T05:50:03.582-07:002019-03-13T05:50:03.582-07:00Before reading the article, I had never really dra...Before reading the article, I had never really drawn a connection between the nostalgia in Stranger Things brought on by the aesthetic and the elements of fear and terror. Reading the article and your response furthered my understanding on how the carefully constructed "80s look" contributes the weird literature atmosphere. I had never considered the use of “D and D” in Stranger Things. “D and D” is our protagonists’ way of coping with what they fear and cannot comprehend. They are introduced to a monster which is from a different world than them so they name it, which is a classic human way of encountering something new, and they name it something that they know better than anything that doesn’t really scare them. This coping mechanism makes me realize how important the characters’ ages are. Kids are the only type of person who would be so ready to accept the strange and unnatural as real. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3939909775405220345.post-3908107819062421742019-03-13T05:40:25.185-07:002019-03-13T05:40:25.185-07:00“Before the intro is cut into the credits, the onl...“Before the intro is cut into the credits, the only source of light, which comes from one lightbulb in the house, is slowly shut off. It takes fifteen seconds for the light bulb to turn off which tremendous tension because many think something horrifying will jump scare them.”<br /><br />I believe this scene alone touches upon the main concepts that weird literature and terror itself are deeply rooted in. The idea that the scene can generate enough suspense through a simply depiction of a light bulb indicates that the narrative has successfully set up its story to follow the weird literature structure. Without actually showing anything of objective horror, it forces its audience into the fear of their own imagination and the possibilities of what's to come. This technique derives a lot of it influence through Lovecraft’s writing, and the way he sets up his own narratives. Stories of such as “The Festival” and “Call of Cthulhu” are primary examples of Lovecraft’s signature style that can entice and induce fear in the reader without having to use the conventional scars or unsettling visuals. Stranger Things has taken a page out of his book, and have learned to use the creativity of their viewers to generate a unique type of fear that the show simply could not create otherwise.<br />River Mageehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09764397014939706817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3939909775405220345.post-60720155075393084722019-03-13T05:36:41.752-07:002019-03-13T05:36:41.752-07:00I think one of the interesting concepts of weird l...I think one of the interesting concepts of weird literature that this article brought up is the "unplumbed space". This space that isn't strictly physical is a somewhat unfathomable concept. It exists in religion, so it’s not the most unfamiliar concept but it's practically impossible to truly conceptualize. The unplumbed space could be seen as a representation of weird literature. It is possible to interpret a few of the stories we have read in class as having echoes of this unplumbed space such as The Call of Cthulhu as the article points out. I also think Sticks could be interpreted as having a space like this, one could see Leverett’s dreams as another world or space. I also think that “seeing the great god Pan” could also be interpreted as a space like this. Obviously this space is very present in Stranger Things in the form of the “upside-down”. You could even say that “upside down” is somewhat representational of weird lit. The fact that it is one of these “liminal spaces” represents the unknown, and the fact that it is something we won’t truly understand represents the cosmic elements of weird horror because it is something humans aren’t meant to understand. A type of place that isn’t strictly physical is already an intriguing concept for readers, but then using that space that confuses and excites us to house a cosmic evil is what gives weird literature it distinctiveness. According to the article, “border places and liminal spaces have long held special associations for humanity from sacred rites to secular ceremonies”. In The Festival we can see how the use of “border places” in sacred rites manifests itself in weird literature if you were to accept that the entire story was a hallucination then you could imagine he was possible brought into an intermediate space by the demons bringing on the hallucination. <br />Drawing analyses between Stranger Things and the various stories we’ve read helped me understand the way the hallmarks of weird literature manifest themselves, especially the comparison between Stranger Things and The Great God Pan. Both stories start with an experiment being performed on someone so that they can access that unplumbed space. It made me realize how important that experiment is in The Great God Pan not just because it sets the story into motion. For weird literature to exist a character needs to be attracted to the unknown and somewhat attracted to fear, a character needs to be chasing the unknown and trying to discover some secrets. The experiments performed on Mary and Eleven represent our desperation as humans to discover that knowledge. It’s a way of seeing the effects of the cosmic beings in the stories on human life on Earth, as you can see how far we are driven to attain what we never can. Finally, this article also made me see a connection to The Willows. The island they’re on could be another dimension.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03498722613774466601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3939909775405220345.post-55424713669398999492019-03-13T05:28:21.664-07:002019-03-13T05:28:21.664-07:00The parallels that Railton draws between the telev...The parallels that Railton draws between the television series Stranger Things, and the famous weird literature texts we have been discussing is astonishing. I find it incredibly interesting how the themes we discussed in weird literature are rudimentary in constructing the satisfying terror that Stranger Things does so well. One can clearly see that much of the success this show has garnered is thanks to the much older tales of early 19th century writers, and the shoulders that it could perch its narrative on.<br /><br />Railton talks about the Great God Pan, and how Machen was one of the “living creators of cosmic fear raised to its most artistic pitch... few if any can hope to equal the versatile Arthur Machen…in which the elements of hidden horror and brooding fright attain an almost incomparable substance and realistic acuteness.” One of the many things that Stranger Things does so well is its strong ties to cosmic horror and the unfathomable powers that the genre entails. It pulls from Arthur Machen’s The Great God Pan by begin with an experiment gone wrong, and imbuing a test subject with other worldly information. Mary is very similar to the protagonist Eleven, in the ways that they were both products of an experiment that changed them from regular human beings to the supernatural at certain costs. Mary’s brain was overloading with the divine powers of pan, while Eleven was given her abilities from a similar experiment but at the cost of ostracization and proceeding danger. As someone who hasn’t even seen the show, it is still very easy to discern the influences from the old in the modern day show.<br /><br />The blog also touches upon the comfortable nostalgia that Stranger Things pulls from its 80’s predecessors. I believe one of the main reasons that Stranger Things is so successful is not through its originality, but through its clever recycling of old and esoteric techniques of terror. Through its pull of 19th century influences and ideas, Stranger Things reconstructs an engaging, truly scary, narrative that its both familiar and refreshing. As it builds off of the works of Lovecraft and other weird literature poets, it gets its sense of terror right in ways that other contemporary works of horror simply do not. Stranger Things doesn’t look at the fear of the modern day produced by cheap jump scares and thrills, but rather learns from Lovecraftian and Machen styles, bringing its audience back to what true fear really is.<br />River Mageehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09764397014939706817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3939909775405220345.post-39374691903274167062019-03-13T05:22:10.268-07:002019-03-13T05:22:10.268-07:00It is quite striking the chain of influences that ...It is quite striking the chain of influences that Dr. Renye illuminates in the sixth paragraph of this article. He explains the “trickle down” system of the genre of weird lit and how one creator can influence another. He expresses a timeline between Arthur Machen's The Great God Pan, to the Duffer brothers stranger things. We may think of this process of influence as simple, seeing that it is entirely possible that the duffer brothers were directly inspired by Machen, though it is more likely that it follows this order of events. Though Renye explores this to reach his point about the influence on stranger things in context to the weird lit genre, it can also work within the genre itself. <br />As Renye mentioned in his article, “Machen is named by Lovecraft in Supernatural Horror’s final section as a ‘modern master.’” And Lovecraft was clearly influenced by Machen's work and specifically the great god pan seeing as this is his most popular novella in the genre. It is also interesting to note the connection between Lovecraft and Algernon Blackwood, as they were contemporaries. As Frank mentioned in class, while Lovecraft found Blackwoods writing a great example of the weird, the feeling was not reciprocated. Karl Wagner, the author of sticks was greatly influenced by Lovecraft, even going on to write many of his stories in the Cthulhu mythos - Including sticks. While this chain of influence can be reproduced for almost any art form, what makes it interesting to do within the genera of weird lit is the similarities and interconnectedness of the wide variety of stories have to do with one another. <br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12047066539195674445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3939909775405220345.post-31563538701489405492019-03-13T04:36:26.048-07:002019-03-13T04:36:26.048-07:00Renzo
Stranger Things use of nostalgia is outstan...Renzo<br /><br />Stranger Things use of nostalgia is outstanding. Stranger Things uses the of 30 year cycle where filmmakers, who are now adults, made movies and tv shows in time period of their childhood. Stranger Things use of 80’s nostalgia is an idealised version of the 80’s, where the kids speak more like modern day kids and drop 80’s references. The part of the show I like is the Reaganesque world, where they don’t make obvious references besides a sign supporting President Reagan's reelection, but how the negative connotation to the big government organization like the Hawkins Lab are more subtle. The seemingly normal and peaceful Indiana settling is the perfect location for a more modern take on Weird literature. The introduction of the unknown and sinister is more powerful is such a setting, rather than a big city, like New York. The show has elements from the horror genre, which when overplayed takes away from the connection to Weird literature because it is no longer the unknown, but the know that is scary.<br /><br />Stranger Things most common references are 80’s horror/scary movies and 80’s toys. Stranger Things a;so references 80’s movies like IT and ET, where kids run into something otherworldly, and don’t get much support from many adults. Stranger Things’ upside down is a good description of the unknown, because in the story they don’t try to literally explain what is happening, which would ruin the strange and weirdness of it. Instead the Duffer brothers use the D and D board and flips it upside down to reference the upside down, which means that the viewer can sort of understand what is going on, but does not fully understood the unknown of the world of the upside down. The us of D and D where they define monsters as a “mind flair” or “demogorgon” is also perfect for Weird literature because it allows you to partially understand the monster, but the viewer still must confront the unknown, which is scarier than just showing the monster. <br /><br />I disagree with the comments about Eleven and Mary about how they are “fascinating,” they both are not the most interesting characters. Even though they directly interact with the outside, through experiments and deprivation tank for Eleven in Stranger Things, or surgery on Mary’s brain in the Great God Pan. in fact, stronger characters are Will or Mike and how they interact with the strange and the weird. In addition, the Elevens storyline in the second season was universally panned because it seemed they were trying to explain Eleven too much, which removed the power of the unknown and the ability of the viewer to conjure up their own fearful thoughts. <br /><br />“‘There’s an H.P. Lovecraft sort of approach,’ said Matt Duffer. ‘This inter-dimensional being that is sort of beyond human comprehension. We purposely don’t want to go too much into what it is or what it wants.’”(Source 2). The show does have many connection to Weird literature, such as the investigation by the kids of a cosmic being and a gate between our world and an other worldly place. However, the show does often stray from Weird literature norms. For example, the show often strays into horror or gore themes. Likewise, there are often action movie-like scenes. While Stranger Things may not be a perfect entry to the Weird literature genre, but it does uses many elements of the genre to make a great tv show. <br /><br />Sources: <br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Radg-Kn0jLs <br /><br />https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/duffer-brother-stranger-things-is-entering-lovecraft-country <br />Renzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02633477773097846364noreply@blogger.com