LFTVD Language

Camera (shot distance/angle/movement/framing)

In the exchange between Benny and the Social Worker, looking down at the female contrasts with the low angle of Benny, which suggests Patriarchy. Extreme close up of the phone as it falls after it burned, which shows panic. All shots of the boys are at eye-line suggesting their equality. Low angle of the secret service shows how they exert their dominance over civilians.

Editing (cuts/transitions/motion and speed/special effects/CGI/editing for perspective/ellipses)

In the scene of the bedroom. of Steve and Nancy, a jump cut is use to show the proximity between the two. As they move closer, the audience is made aware of the intimacy. When the social worker arrives at Benny's, the pace of the transition increase alongside the non-diegetic music. This creates an overall sense of panic. The use of special effects when we see electrocution on the phone, suggests the panic and the first sign of communication between Joyce and Will, this also links to the supernatural theme.

Mise-en-scene (location/setting/costume/props/performance/lighting)

Pathetic Fallacy as rain starts when they arrive at where Will was taken. The yellow phone is used in contrast to the brown and dark room to signify the first contact between the normal and the supernatural. The social worker is a counter type as you would not assume she is a killer due to the way she looks (make up, Costume etc.). The chopper bikes and walkie talkies that the boys use reference the 80's theme.

Sound (diegetic sound- Foley, sound effects, dialogue/ Non diegetic sound- sound bridge, incidental sound, synchronous/asynchronous sound, voice over narration)

In the Steve and Nancy scene, the music (Africa- Toto) is diegetic as it's from the radio in Nancy's room. The choice of song is contrapuntal as it's the wrong song for the mood that is trying to be set (romantic). When we are presented to Will's mum on the phone, we are introduced to on screen diegetic sound of the mystery creature on the other end of the phone. This creates an intense, panicked atmosphere.

Netflix and Technology

Theorists of LFTVD

Todorov: Equilibrium Theory (Language)

Traditional narratives follow a 3 point structure (Beginning, Middle, End), which unfolds in 4 phases:

1. Exposition
2. Introduction to conflict 
3. Climax
4. Resolution 

Strauss- Binary Opposition

• Strauss identified that we understand the world by the relationship that two opposites have together.
• He believed that narratives are arranged around the conflict of binary oppositions.
• Some of these oppositions could include:

1. Men vs Women
2. Good vs Bad
3. Day vs Night
4. Old vs New
5. Right vs Wrong

Stranger Things- Representation Essay

How are different social groups represented in the sequence you have analysed? What role does the use of media language, signs and signifiers have in constructing and presenting these representations as real?

There are many social groups represented in Stranger things, one prominent one is teenagers. The group of boys (Mike, Will, Dustin and Lucas) are represented as the stereotypical geeky boys. They love to play their make-believe board game Dungeons and Dragons. This is stereotypical of young children to play with toys and board games that were typical in the 1980s. As they are represented as nerds, then we expect them to be playing these games rather than doing sports, playing outside etc. Mike said to his mum that they had spent 10 hours playing the game straight in the basement of mikes house, which gives them the representation of nerdy/geeky. There is also the representation of the older teen. The Byers family clearly are not well off in terms of money, so Jonathan, the older brother, has to act as the mother when Joyce is out working. This is challenging the stereotype of old teenagers as lazy as he has to help out with the family. He has to cook breakfast, get Will up and ready for school and has to have a job to help with the family finances.

Another social group in Stranger Things is Mothers, especially Joyce Byers. Will’s mum is a very prominent character in the first episode as we see her look for will and how she is coping with him going missing. Joyce is a single mum who has to look after her two sons with no help. We can see she is struggling to cope and everything is quite frantic in the Byers household. She is struggling to get everything organised and maintain a structured family unit. Though we can see how caring she is and how much she loves her son. She reacts in a very distressed way when finding out Will is missing, a reaction we would expect from any mother if their son went missing. We can see by her facial expressions and general worried demeanour, that she is desperate to find her son and would do anything to find him. This is again shown in the scene with Hopper, the zoomed in shot of the type writer with the word ‘MISSING’ in the foreground suggests this is very serious and this increases the intense atmosphere. We can see the mum is clearly stressed and nervous as she is very fidgety while smoking, a way for her to calm down.

Another social group represented in this episode is the police, especially the sheriff. The sheriff is Hopper, who is represented as the stereotypical lazy American policeman. We see this in the first time we see him, the lengthy shots which pan across his home show a messy house, with fags and drink everywhere. It shows that he is clearly struggling, but he does not want to show his feelings and get help, which is something that is believed to be true in the media as men are not expressive like that. This is again shown in the scene of him in his office with Joyce. There are messy papers everywhere and he doesn’t look ready to hear what Joyce has to say.

Stranger Things Representations

Representations

• It goes 'beyond the binary'
• Characters move beyond simply good or bad
• ST- Steve Harrington and Hopper are examples of more complex characters
• Novelistic- multiple story lines and characters that arc (stretch) over a number of episodes and seasons
• We may see flashbacks that explain their background
• Systematic change- isn't just focused on one individual
• 'Communities facing challenges and dealing them by embracing or rejecting their own diversity' -Jeff Gomez

6 Representation Genres

• Teenagers
• Family life and relationships
• Mothers
• Absent Fathers
• Police 
• Government 

Stranger Things Character Representations