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Stranger Things made its name on ’80s pop-culture references and homages to the ’80s movies, TV shows, and books that inspired it, and its fourth season proudly continues that tradition. While the show has over time evolved into something bigger than the sum of its ’80s references, knowing a bit more about the various cinematic, musical, and fashion nods in this 1986-set season makes the whole experience more enriching. You don’t have to recognize every last reference to enjoy the show, but a little context never hurt anyone’s appreciation of anything — and if it leads viewers to, say, discover the music of Kate Bush and want to hear more, all the better. With that in mind, here’s an episode-by-episode guide to the season’s key references, from “Running Up That Hill” to Lite-Brite. “Chapter One: The Hellfire Club” Each mini action figure has movable hands and feet so you can pose them on a display shelf or with your LEGO sets.
Just like the terrible monster in the series, this plush Demogorgon toy has a gray body and a red, flower-shaped head with no eyes and a gaping maw filled with sharp-looking white teeth. It's the stuff that nightmares are made of!
FAQ
The Netflix series, Stranger Things, is one of the streaming platform’s most popular series with a faithful fan following that leaves viewers begging for more and breathlessly awaiting each new season. It’s also inspired some of the coolest collectibles and toys. What could be better inspiration for toy designers than adorable kid characters like Eleven, Mike, Max, Lucas, and Dustin? Or inspiration for terrifying toys like the Demogorgon, a bone-chilling monster from the Upside Down with a gaping maw in its creepy, flower-petal face? Eddie’s introduction is sandwiched by a pair of menacing songs from the Cramps’ 1980 album Songs the Lord Taught Us. Is “I Was a Teenage Werewolf,” its name taken from a 1957 movie starring Michael Landon, some kind of clue? (Probably not, but it’s a cool song.)
Yuri likens Hopper to Steve McQueen “The Cooler King”. This is referring to McQueen’s classic character Virgil Hilts from The Great Escape about an American who never stopped trying to escape a German prison camp. Billy Hargrove’s Grave In "The Bite", he is shown to have an acquired taste for New Coke, much to the disgust of his friends.In 1984, Lucas's personality took much of a big change. He has come to accept the abnormal and what is different from others. Last year's events also seemed to have haunted Lucas such as when he explains it all to Max Mayfield, he feels those events happened yesterday and wished he wasn't serious about it. Lucas also became more open to others as he invited Max to join his circle of friends, told her of last year's events, and sympathized with her troubled family life. Lucas is the fifth character in the series to be a main character in their own spin-off book; Brenner was featured in Suspicious Minds, Hopper was featured in Darkness on the Edge of Town, Max was featured in Runaway Max, Robin was featured in Rebel Robin, and now Lucas is featured in Lucas on the Line. The smuggler’s hideout in the abandoned church where Hopper finds refuge features a very un-holy pinup poster of Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Although the film of that name wouldn’t arrive until 1988, Elvira’s Movie Macabre, a B-movie showcase that ran from 1981-86, had already made Elvira a cult figure among horror fans. Stranger Things Season 4 Episode 5: “The Nina Project” Lucas and Dustin generally get on well; they were sometimes unified in their doubt or disbelief when confronted with strange events and possibilities. However, due to their close friendship, they find no problem in making fun of one-another, but they know they'd be there for one another if needed. Dustin's antics would sometimes annoy Lucas. When both Lucas and Dustin developed crushes on Max Mayfield, they started competing for her affections. They both decided to invite Max into their Party, though Lucas, at first, knew that Mike was not going to like it. Their friendship started to grow colder when Dustin learned that Lucas told Max the events in 1983, despite agreeing to not tell her. When Lucas discovered that Dustin lied to him and the group about Dart and kept him, Lucas was angry with Dustin as the two got into a heated argument. However, they eventually made up and remained friends. When Lucas won Max's affections, Dustin showed no hostility towards Lucas.
The group returned to the junkyard, where Lucas, Mike and El reconciled. After they realized the laboratory was still looking for them, they hid in an abandoned bus. Chief Hopper found them, taking them to the Byers household to meet with Joyce, Jonathan and Nancy. Together they broke into the middle school, creating a makeshift sensory deprivation tank which El could use to enhance her psychic abilities. They learned that Will was alive, barely surviving in the Upside Down. The following morning, Lucas, Mike, and Max – who had no knowledge of the creature's current location -- searched for Dart in a dumpster behind the school. Later, Mike explained to Dustin and Lucas that, on Halloween night, Will had a vision of a shadow-like creature. He then decided that they needed to catch Dart, since catching him could provide a vital clue on what was going on with Will.
Privacy & Transparency
Another thing that makes Stranger Things feel so incredibly authentic to its era is how it works its product placement into the actual story (see, for example, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and Reese’s Pieces). Here, it’s Jif peanut butter, which was almost ubiquitous in the ’80s for its ad campaign which promised that “choosy moms choose Jif,” implying that if you were buying your kids Skippy then maybe we should be dropping a dime on you to social services or something. And if anyone is a “choosy mom” it is Joyce! Pulp Fiction Axe Proficiency: He is able to wield an axe with great proficiency in brute power and destructive features to kill strong enemies, as he performed feats such as stopping large incoming objects to break through. He grabbed the axe Jonathan had to then use it to cut off the edge of the Mind Flayer’s tongue saving Eleven in the process. The next day, while eating breakfast with his family, Lucas, thinking about his argument with Max, asked his father for advice, on how he makes up with his mother when she's mad at him. He responded that he first apologizes, then gets her whatever she wants. When Lucas asked his dad if he does that when his mom is wrong about something, his dad responds that his mom is never wrong about anything, which his mom agrees to. Realizing now how wrong he and his friends have been with keeping secrets from Max and excluding her on some stuff, Lucas decided to take his father's advice and make amends with Max. After excusing himself from the breakfast table, Lucas told his parents he's going to hang out with Dustin and rode on his bike, heading to the Palace Arcade as he knew Max would be there to play arcade games soon. Once he arrived at the arcade, he came up with a plan to speak to Max about last year's events in a private, safe place where no one could watch or listen to their conversation. Lucas enlisted Keith to help him by promising to get him a date which Keith agreed to. Stranger things fans will have noticed in episode seven, several characters use a Lite-Brite toy to communicate with their friends, and now you can get a special edition version of the toy for yourself. Interestingly, Billy’s grave reads as his full name “William Hargrove” and not “Billy Hargrove.” This is significant because in the first full trailer for season 4, there were shots featuring both the William and Billy spellings, suggesting one of them could have been as part of a dream sequence. Ponch and John
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