Poster Analysis: Stranger Things Season 1

In terms of representations on the poster for the first season of Stranger Things, the poster makes it clear straight away that the show is set in the early to mid-1980s. This is clear because of several factors, one of which being the costumes. All of the characters have very stereotypically 80s outfits on (e.g., two of the younger characters sporting a bowl cut, a popular 1980s haircut for younger people). It is also demonstrated by the technology shown in the poster, such as the camera that the character on the far left is holding and the walkie talkie on the far right. It also does this by being stylized like a 1980s poster, with all the characters being drawn instead of just photos being used and the lack of a director or cast list, with only the distributor, Netflix, being shown.

The poster also uses a darker colour scheme to indicate the show's darker tones, with the contrast of the night sky blue and deep red giving a feeling of anxiety, like something supernatural or paranormal is lurking behind the characters. Another interesting detail to note is that two of the characters (Will and Eleven) are right at the centre of the contrast, possibly representing their connection to the Upside Down and the real world.

The poster also has a strong presence of female characters, particularly Eleven being the most prominent part of the poster, indicating to someone viewing the poster that she is a prominent character in the show. Her posing also indicates that she is somewhat supernatural and not like the rest of the characters in the show, as no one else is in a similar pose to this. Something else to note about this is that she is not in a victimized position, and neither are any of the other characters. in fact, one female character on the left is even holding a weapon, indicating she is a more dominant character, especially since no one else has a weapon in the poster. This shows that the poster is a much more modern representation as the female characters are not victims but are in fact more dominant than even the male characters featured in the poster. However, it does tread into the area of implying the female characters are to be feared as one is holding a baseball bat and the other is portrayed as an aggressor, as shown by her expression, alongside the fact that none of the male characters in the poster are portrayed in a similar light.

There is one exception to this though. The character on the far left near the top (Joyce) is portrayed by her facial expression as perhaps being fearful of something. The only male characters presented this way are children which could potentially fall into the area of a more stereotypical weaker representation. I don't believe this is the case, however, due to the other representations of women in the poster. I think this is more just a representation of her character rather than her being a woman, but this could not be picked up on by someone who hasn't watched the show, especially since the only other adult character, who is a man, is portrayed as more dominant and fearless.