Stranger Things - Film Edition (Released) — Page 7

submachina said:

ThanosM. said:

I have a lot of thoughts and ideas about approaching Season 5, but excising Lucas and Max is definitely not one of them.

Actually the problem isn’t Lucas and Max individually, it’s those scenes with Lucas and Max together. Their relationship is at best, fluff and, at worst, cringe. Zero chemistry from a forced subplot that only distracts and thus detracts from the main story. The Nancy/Steve/Jonathan love triangle too, even Mike and Eleven, it’s all dragged out Netflix filler (for the teenage audience?) and it doesn’t fit the ethos.

Stranger Things draws heavily from 1980s films like E.T., The Goonies, Stand By Me, Poltergeist, A Nightmare on Elm Street, etc. None of them have teenage romantic subplots. The emphasis is on friendships and childhood bonds. Cringy corny crushes are entirely absent, and this allows the themes of friendship, camaraderie and loyalty to shine. Even in A Nightmare on Elm Street, Nancy and Glen’s relationship is a basic horror trope to raise stakes, not a dragged-out romantic subplot. These films deliberately prioritize innocent, collective friendships over teenage romance, reflecting 1980s genre trends that idealized wonder and group resilience. Stranger Things does the opposite, wedging in excessive romantic entanglements where they just don’t belong. They don’t enhance the story, so it’s questionable why Netflix even added them. Maybe they just needed filler, to fill x number of episodes, which is exactly what fanedits can fix. Or maybe think it’s what today’s teenagers want, which is debatable, and since this is a fanedit, irrelevant. Is it what you want? It’s not what I want.

Contrast this to the ADULT romantic subplot with Joyce and Jim. The Duffer Brothers have said the kid’s narrative draws from Spielberg’s family-friendly, wonder-filled adventures featuring platonic friendships, but the adult’s narrative draw from Spielberg’s more mature films like Jaws and Close Encounters. So while the teen romances are a modern addition that deviates from the genre, the Joyce/Hopper arc aligns more closely with the show’s inspirational roots; two lonely, traumatized adults slowly rediscovering connection amid chaos. Their relationship enhances the ‘skeptical adults encountering the supernatural’ theme, a fitting homage to Spielberg. By contrast, the teen romance forces soap-opera drama onto the kids platonic adventure, betraying the '80s inspirations. Excising the romantic subplots while preserving the friendships would recapture the original spirit of both the 1980s inspirations and what made Season 1 of Stranger Things itself so universally loved. Season 1 stands out as the show’s emotional high-water mark for most fans and critics precisely because its heart is almost entirely platonic. That’s why, to me, eliminating the teen romance elements seems like the most faithful approach to an edit.

Look, I completely understand your point of view, and I agree with almost everything you said. Romance is certainly not one of the show’s key elements. And I have already tried to tone it down significantly in my edits. I reduced Steve and Nancy’s flirtation in Season 1, and I completely removed their relationship in Season 2, not having them get back together after the previous year’s events. I also did the same with Jonathan and Nancy’s flirtation in Season 2 and I trimmed the Lucas/Dustin/Max love triangle down to a minimum, too. Going into Season 3, I removed all hints of romance between Robin and Steve and reduced the whole boys vs girls teen drama. However, I strongly believe that Lucas and Max relationship in Season 4 is a major plot device that elevates both characters’ arcs. That’s why I don’t plan on “excising” them in my Season 5 edits. This doesn’t necessarily mean that I’m going to keep every scene of Lucas visiting Max in hospital. And rest assured that I will definitely tone down the Nancy/Steve/Jonathan love triangle too.

My main focus with these film cuts is, and always will be, the supernatural aspect of the plot and the main characters’ arcs that tie with the overall story.

And one last thing:
As a teacher working predominantly with young adolescents, I can assure you that while they enjoy the supernatural and horror elements of the show, it is the romance that they mainly focus on. So I guess Netflix knows its audience, even if some viewers (like us) might not enjoy certain aspects as much. While it is evident that Stranger Things draws inspiration from the horror classics of the 80s, it is crucial to acknowledge that every show is a product of its era and reflects its own particular characteristics.

TTR said:

I am more excited for your edits than the finale itself actually.

That’s an ouch for the Duffers and a big responsibility for me.

Jokes aside, I am reading all the complaints about this season so far, and while I might agree with a lot of them, I’m actually enjoying watching (I’m currently on episode 7), and I’m looking forward to the finale. After that, I’ll collect my thoughts and come back here to share them.