Uncovering Stranger Things

<p> The Duffer Brothers' award-winning <I>Stranger Things</I> exploded onto the pop culture scene in 2016. The Netflix original series revels in a nostalgic view of 1980s America while darkly portraying the cynical aspects of the period.</p><p> This collection of 23 new essays explores how the show reduces reuses and recycles '80s pop culture--from the films of Spielberg Carpenter and Hughes to punk and synthwave music to <I>Dungeons & Dragons</I>--and how it shapes our understanding of the decade through distorted memory. Contributors discuss gender and sexual orientation; the politics psychology and educational policies of the day; and how the ultimate upper-class teen idol of the Reagan era became <I>Stranger Things</I>' middle-aged blue-collar heroine.</p>