Three reasons why women should catch Stranger Things

Netflix’s new show – Stranger Things – is less than a month old, but it has made all the right waves. The star attraction, of course, is the comeback of Winona Ryder, who is playing a helpless mother to a lost boy. But there are multiple other reasons to watch the show, not the least of which are its treatment of women. So here go 3 reasons you should try catching Stranger Things:

#1. The strong women: While the number of men in the story clearly outstrip the women, just in terms of the roles, the women have the meatiest parts. A key character to the story line is a little girl named Eleven, who comes is some crazy superpowers. She drives much of the goings on in the story, and even though she is vulnerable and must be protected; she is also the most developed. Then there is Winona Ryder’s Joyce, who is a nervous wreck of a mother. Not only is she struggling in her limited life, she has to face the pressure of losing her son to thin air. While everyone else believes him to be dead, Joyce knows he is alive and she fights with the world in a way that only a mother can to bring him back. There is also Nancy, a goody two shoes girl, who rises to the occasion in unexpected ways, when push comes to shove. There are other female characters too, but they are there mostly in passing and have fairly cookie cutter parts to enact.   

#2. The equal relationships: All the leading ladies in the series are shown as exactly what they are – individuals – not women. The gender comes second, in fact, it may even be immaterial. The only exception to this is Nancy, in the first few episodes, but she quickly comes into her own as well, breaking the mould she was born and brought up in. Also, besides her character, there is no attempt made to make the women look exaggeratedly good, in fact Eleven and Joyce, for most part don’t care one bit how they are being perceived. And this extends from who they are being perceived as people or how they look. Also, the male characters are for most part treating the women as just persons, without genderising them at all. There are a few strains of romances, but they are a small part of the overall play of things. The portrayal is a relief and truly deserves a mention.

#3. The bizarre but satisfying story line: Last, but certainly not the least, is the story itself. It is a combination of science fiction and fantasy, with the ultimate enemy being beyond the human realm. Therefore, the story stresses on human beings – not men and women – being up against something else, and coming together to resolve the issue. Set in the 1980s, the story takes you on a wild ride from starting off as a simple tale of a small town, to a world of monsters, to government conspiracy and parallel worlds. If the likes of X-Files were up your alley, you might find this tale satisfying.

Fem Thoughts: While all our reviews consider the female perspective, such as this one, Fem Thoughts briefly zones in on only that aspect. Stranger Things has some great female characters, perhaps it can also introduce a powerful bad girl too. So far, the bad guys are only men.