Anyone who writes or reads stories involving children knows a key component: get the parents out of the way. Growing up, my favorite stories were about orphans. From "Anne of Green Gables" to "Jane Eyre," children can't get in trouble, an essential part of fiction, if parents are there, solving everything. Or, if Google is there. Or, cell phones.
"Stranger Things," the beloved Netflix hit now wrapping up its fourth season, circumvents these issues easily by setting the stories of Hawkins, Indiana in the 1980s. And initially, the time period seemed to be an aspect that viewers adored most of all. The synthesizer soundtrack! The Starcourt Mall! Eleven's scrunchies! Will's bowl cut! Even the elements of the age that were less than pleasant (see: bowl cut) felt endearing, doted over in thinkpieces, replicated in fashion lines where everything old became new or at least briefly cool again — so endearing, some critics began to wonder if the story relied too heavily on nostalgia.
