LFTVD - INTERTEXTUALITY - SOCIAL CONTEXT

Both Stranger Things and D83 make interesting use of intertextuality to explore social contexts; this is especially true when considering the representation of empowered women. Applying Van Zoonen to both shows, allows us to note that the historical diegesis provides a realistic depiction of the patriarchal structures experienced by women in the 1980s. In both West Germany, and Hawkins Indiana, women are represented in domestic roles: Yvonne Edel and Karen Wheeler are both housewives. Similarly, in the world of work, Frau Netz and Hopper’s dispatcher, Flo, are subordinate within the male dominated workplace. However, while men, quite realistically dominate the social order, women are not objectified in the way that Van Zoonen would have us expect. Instead, we see the use of intertextuality to present very nuanced and empowered female characters across both series. All three of the female protagonists in Stranger Things  are leant complexity by the use of intertextuality. Joyce shares an intertextual world with her son, and their shared understanding of Poltergeist allows them to communicate through the walls; Nancy looks set to embody the ‘last girl’ horror archetype, but is also an intertextual reference to the intrepid teen detective Nancy Drew; and 11 calls on the audiences intertextual awareness of both E.T. and the dangerous psychic girls of Steven King’s ‘Carrie’ and ‘Firestarter.’ I would argue that the Duffer brother’s are unique, but subsequently much copied, in the way they control intertextuality, using it not to just evoke nostalgia, but to drive elements of characterisation and to challenge social conventions around the depiction of women. This challenge to social conventions is also present in the depiction of D83’s Lenora, a woman in power in a male-dominated field, succeeding by being ruthlessly efficient. This representation may be designed to appeal to modern audiences due to its (somewhat) feminist ideological implications. However, it must also be acknowledged that she could simply be an intertextual reference to a generic trope; as Neale suggests, she may be an example of repetition, referencing powerful, ruthless women like ‘M’ of the Bond franchise. However, yet another possibility remains, which is very much in keeping with the political contexts of the show. It may be that Lenora is intended to construct the preferred reading that communist Germany was egalitarian in its promotion of women to positions of power, challenging the socio-historic assumptions about Germany's fractured past. Again, it is hard to say if this is truly unique, but it is certainly true that both texts are making very different and varied use of intertextuality in relation to social context.