Nostalgia entertainment in ‘Stranger Things’
By Wendell Gaa
The end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026 mark the end of an era in TV history, namely Netflix’s globally popular series “Stranger Things.” After five seasons, this show just aired its final episode on New Year’s Eve, and it is one that I am truly going to sorely miss.
Set in the 1980s, this series which combines elements of science fiction, fantasy and horror, is the story about a group of young kids who live in the fictional Midwest town of Hawkins, Indiana, and are huge fans of books, movies, and video games which were trademarks of 1980s pop culture. Their everyday lives are forever changed when they meet a young girl named Eleven with a mysterious past who possesses psychokinetic powers and opens a gateway between Earth and a supernatural dimension called the Upside Down at a nearby scientific experimentation facility.
Since “Stranger Things” debuted on Netflix back in 2016, many fans, including myself, have eagerly followed the adventures of the characters of child actors, Millie Bobby Brown (who portrays Eleven), Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalie Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Noah Schnapp, Joe Keery, Sadie Sink. The adult actors David Harbour and Winona Ryder have teamed up to battle extradimensional beings who have threatened the safety and existence of Hawkins and all of its residents, using their resources, wits and even their “geek knowledge” to overcome those hell-bent on destroying humanity.
Having grown up as a child in the 1980s myself, watching “Stranger Things” has brought back to me and so many others of my generation such sweet nostalgia watching how all the kids come of age throughout this decade. Personally this era was the best in pop culture, especially when it comes to film, TV animated series, books and arcade games, long before the advent of the internet and smartphones.
With such references to some of my favorite movies as “Ghostbusters” and “Back to the Future,” I am reminded how there was a certain magic in the 1980s which is unmatched when it comes to life inspiration from cinematic storytelling. As you watch each episode of this 5-season series, and particularly if you are a fan of 1980s film, you could just sense the influences of film directors and writers who came to prominence in that time, such as Steven Spielberg, Stephen King, Wes Craven and John Carpenter.
At comic conventions which I’ve attended in New York, Manila and Germany, as well as among the Turkish friends I have made during my diplomatic posting here in Ankara, Türkiye, I have met with and spoken with passionate fans of “Stranger Things,” thereby showing to me how truly far-reaching the international appeal of the show is.
Created and produced by the Duffer Brothers, “Stranger Things” for me easily ranks as one of the best TV series ever to come out within the past 10 years, not only because it is nostalgic entertainment (and in my opinion the best love letter to the 1980s out there right now), but it so strongly conveys themes of friendship, loyalty and love which are very much relevant today as much as they were back in the 1980s. That decade and this show’s run may be over, but the lessons and inspirations which we can draw from “Stranger Things” are worth remembering for a lifetime.
