How The Times Have Changed
In June of 2016, Netflix released one of their most anticipated and top watched original series, Stranger Things. I like many others immediately started watching it and instantly fell in love with it. Stranger Things is packed full of nostalgia and sci-fi fiction. Even though I grew up in the early 2000s Stranger Things really hit home for me, from riding bikes through town with friends to using walkie-talkies to communicate, every episode gave me a rush of nostalgia. But it really got me thinking about how kids grow up nowadays, most parents don’t let their kids bike around unsupervised and late at night and if they do almost all of them have a cellphone of some sort. Also with the huge increase in social media, the awareness of child abductions have become much more prevalent in today’s society. My research focused on both the show and how much society has changed since the 80s, specifically about child abductions and the influx of technology. In my adaptation, I also will explore the fears and freedoms of the 80s to today’s and I also want to touch upon how the government and how they don’t tell us everything. This research will help me form my own adaptation of Stranger Things but in the current time period.
Annotated Bibliography
“Child Kidnapping in America”
This Article from Ohio State University really focuses on child kidnapping and how it has gained so much attention over the years. While examining a few specific cases that have gained national attention Paula Fass notes that,
These episodes of alarm often have as much to do with how Americans perceive or characterize child abduction as with the actual number of such crimes. These perceptions influence what the public imagines is most dangerous to children in the society.
Although most citizens today are rarely aware of it, their own fears and responses to child kidnapping have been shaped over the years by a series of historical developments: especially the growth of modern media... (1)
This article will help inform my project with its in-depth discussion about how child abductions have gained national attention, especially due to new technology and media. Also how there hasn’t been necessarily an increase of abduction cases but more so an increase of attention.
“Stephen King and Science fiction” *
This article focuses on how Stephen King has influenced many sci-fi movies and tv shows including Stranger Things. One specific part of this article looks at how Stephen King influenced
the creators of Stranger Things, the authors cite,
Stranger Things' creators, the Duffer Brothers, say of King's novel IT (1986), 'It's the big one, and IT is obviously a huge inspiration for the show. That's probably the biggest, I think.' They also state, 'I remember reading The Running Man in like one night. We just devoured his stuff when we were little (Fienberg). Thus King inspired the Duffer Brothers… (Hanson and Brown 158)
This tells how they were influenced by IT which came out during the same time period that Stranger Things is set in, this is one of the reasons that Stranger Things is set in the 80s and why the viewers get nostalgic. This will inform my adaptation about how things have changed since the 80s.
“Stranger Things and the fears and freedoms of the 1980s”
This article from the Charleston City Paper mainly focuses on the fears of the 80s versus how they viewed today. One specific part narrows in on child abduction and how it was normal back then to not always know where your child was. “In the late '70s and early '80s, a television PSA came on every night: "It’s 10 o'clock, do you know where your children are?" At 10 o'clock at night! Can you even imagine that now, when our children have cell phones so we can pinpoint their location at every second (Sanchez)? It’s amazing to me that back in the 70s and 80s how common it was to not know where your children are, especially at ten o’clock. This will help inform my adaptation as I show how much times have changed and how technology has helped us be able to keep track of our children.
A Bath of Déjà Vu ‘stranger things’ *
This article focuses on how Stranger Things gives off a lot of Déjà Vu vibes. The article also touches on the nostalgia factor of the show and how people that grew up in the 80s can relate to the show. It also talks about some of the fears in the 80s versus now. This quote really emphasizes that,
In this case, the plot also reminds us of the Cold War, a past crisis that did not end in cataclysm. These days, we worry about hacking and cyber warfare, not to mention terrorist-inspired or -organized rampages that can hit any part of the world at any time. Looking back, the anxieties of the Cold War era, including those of the ’80s, can seem alluringly contained (Wren 22).
This will inform my adaptation when I compare the major fears of the 80s compared to fears in today’s world.
“How 'Stranger Things' Perfectly Captures the '80s Panic over Missing Kids.”
This article from News Week really goes in-depth about how Stranger Things does a good job at emphasizing child abductions on the 80s. It also talks about how abductions are gaining more and more attention during this time period.
Law enforcement agencies tended to conduct such investigations on their own ...
This began to change, due largely to the work of parents of victims who became advocates. Congress enacted the Missing Children’s Act in 1982 and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children opened in 1984. Also that year, the faces of missing children began to appear on milk cartons nationally for the first time (Kutner).
This article will inform my adaptation when I show how the fear of child abductions has increased over time and have grown to be nationwide fear.
“When a Child Goes Missing - Then and Now”
This article does a great job highlighting some of the huge differences about how child abduction cases were handled in the 80s versus now. This quote really shows that,
Back then, they mostly called missing kids runaways, and the police often didn't move too fast on the cases. Back then, there was really nothing for missing kids and their parents … Today, there are dozens of child-search organizations around the nation, and some parents are so afraid for their kids that they fingerprint them or compile ready-for-poster dossiers on them in case they go missing. It's the rare parent who lets his or her youngster stroll down the block without supervision (Fagan).
This really shows how things were handled differently back then compared to now, nowadays it becomes a national thing almost instantly thanks to modern media. This will help during my adaptation when I compare how the nation’s view on child abduction has changed over the years.
Works Cited
Fagan, Kevin. “When a Child Goes Missing - Then and Now.” SFGate, San Francisco Chronicle, 10 Feb. 2013, www.sfgate.com/crime/article/When-a-child-goes-missing-then-and-now-4266179.php.
Fass, Paula. “Child Kidnapping in America | Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective.” Origins, origins.osu.edu/article/child-kidnapping-america/page/0/1.
*Hansen, Regina, and Simon Brown. “Introduction: Stephen King and Science Fiction.” Science Fiction Film & Television, vol. 10, no. 2, June 2017, p. 157. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,uid&db=edb&AN=123907119&site=eds-live.
Kutner, Max. “How 'Stranger Things' Perfectly Captures the '80s Panic over Missing Kids.” Newsweek, 24 Aug. 2016, www.newsweek.com/stranger-things-missing-children-netflix-488605.
Sanchez, Jonathan. “Sanchez: 'Stranger Things' and the Fears and Freedoms of the 1980s.” Charleston City Paper, Charleston City Paper, 11 Apr. 2019, www.charlestoncitypaper.com/charleston/stranger-things-and-the-fears-and-freedoms-of-the-1980s/Content?oid=12777103.
*Wren, Celia. “A Bath of Deja vu: ‘Stranger Things.’” Commonweal, no. 15, 2016, p. 22. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,uid&db=edsgao&AN=edsgcl.466413803&site=eds-live.
In June of 2016, Netflix released one of their most anticipated and top watched original series, Stranger Things. I like many others immediately started watching it and instantly fell in love with it. Stranger Things is packed full of nostalgia and sci-fi fiction. Even though I grew up in the early 2000s Stranger Things really hit home for me, from riding bikes through town with friends to using walkie-talkies to communicate, every episode gave me a rush of nostalgia. But it really got me thinking about how kids grow up nowadays, most parents don’t let their kids bike around unsupervised and late at night and if they do almost all of them have a cellphone of some sort. Also with the huge increase in social media, the awareness of child abductions have become much more prevalent in today’s society. My research focused on both the show and how much society has changed since the 80s, specifically about child abductions and the influx of technology. In my adaptation, I also will explore the fears and freedoms of the 80s to today’s and I also want to touch upon how the government and how they don’t tell us everything. This research will help me form my own adaptation of Stranger Things but in the current time period.
Annotated Bibliography
“Child Kidnapping in America”
This Article from Ohio State University really focuses on child kidnapping and how it has gained so much attention over the years. While examining a few specific cases that have gained national attention Paula Fass notes that,
These episodes of alarm often have as much to do with how Americans perceive or characterize child abduction as with the actual number of such crimes. These perceptions influence what the public imagines is most dangerous to children in the society.
Although most citizens today are rarely aware of it, their own fears and responses to child kidnapping have been shaped over the years by a series of historical developments: especially the growth of modern media... (1)
This article will help inform my project with its in-depth discussion about how child abductions have gained national attention, especially due to new technology and media. Also how there hasn’t been necessarily an increase of abduction cases but more so an increase of attention.
“Stephen King and Science fiction” *
This article focuses on how Stephen King has influenced many sci-fi movies and tv shows including Stranger Things. One specific part of this article looks at how Stephen King influenced
the creators of Stranger Things, the authors cite,
Stranger Things' creators, the Duffer Brothers, say of King's novel IT (1986), 'It's the big one, and IT is obviously a huge inspiration for the show. That's probably the biggest, I think.' They also state, 'I remember reading The Running Man in like one night. We just devoured his stuff when we were little (Fienberg). Thus King inspired the Duffer Brothers… (Hanson and Brown 158)
This tells how they were influenced by IT which came out during the same time period that Stranger Things is set in, this is one of the reasons that Stranger Things is set in the 80s and why the viewers get nostalgic. This will inform my adaptation about how things have changed since the 80s.
“Stranger Things and the fears and freedoms of the 1980s”
This article from the Charleston City Paper mainly focuses on the fears of the 80s versus how they viewed today. One specific part narrows in on child abduction and how it was normal back then to not always know where your child was. “In the late '70s and early '80s, a television PSA came on every night: "It’s 10 o'clock, do you know where your children are?" At 10 o'clock at night! Can you even imagine that now, when our children have cell phones so we can pinpoint their location at every second (Sanchez)? It’s amazing to me that back in the 70s and 80s how common it was to not know where your children are, especially at ten o’clock. This will help inform my adaptation as I show how much times have changed and how technology has helped us be able to keep track of our children.
A Bath of Déjà Vu ‘stranger things’ *
This article focuses on how Stranger Things gives off a lot of Déjà Vu vibes. The article also touches on the nostalgia factor of the show and how people that grew up in the 80s can relate to the show. It also talks about some of the fears in the 80s versus now. This quote really emphasizes that,
In this case, the plot also reminds us of the Cold War, a past crisis that did not end in cataclysm. These days, we worry about hacking and cyber warfare, not to mention terrorist-inspired or -organized rampages that can hit any part of the world at any time. Looking back, the anxieties of the Cold War era, including those of the ’80s, can seem alluringly contained (Wren 22).
This will inform my adaptation when I compare the major fears of the 80s compared to fears in today’s world.
“How 'Stranger Things' Perfectly Captures the '80s Panic over Missing Kids.”
This article from News Week really goes in-depth about how Stranger Things does a good job at emphasizing child abductions on the 80s. It also talks about how abductions are gaining more and more attention during this time period.
Law enforcement agencies tended to conduct such investigations on their own ...
This began to change, due largely to the work of parents of victims who became advocates. Congress enacted the Missing Children’s Act in 1982 and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children opened in 1984. Also that year, the faces of missing children began to appear on milk cartons nationally for the first time (Kutner).
This article will inform my adaptation when I show how the fear of child abductions has increased over time and have grown to be nationwide fear.
“When a Child Goes Missing - Then and Now”
This article does a great job highlighting some of the huge differences about how child abduction cases were handled in the 80s versus now. This quote really shows that,
Back then, they mostly called missing kids runaways, and the police often didn't move too fast on the cases. Back then, there was really nothing for missing kids and their parents … Today, there are dozens of child-search organizations around the nation, and some parents are so afraid for their kids that they fingerprint them or compile ready-for-poster dossiers on them in case they go missing. It's the rare parent who lets his or her youngster stroll down the block without supervision (Fagan).
This really shows how things were handled differently back then compared to now, nowadays it becomes a national thing almost instantly thanks to modern media. This will help during my adaptation when I compare how the nation’s view on child abduction has changed over the years.
Works Cited
Fagan, Kevin. “When a Child Goes Missing - Then and Now.” SFGate, San Francisco Chronicle, 10 Feb. 2013, www.sfgate.com/crime/article/When-a-child-goes-missing-then-and-now-4266179.php.
Fass, Paula. “Child Kidnapping in America | Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective.” Origins, origins.osu.edu/article/child-kidnapping-america/page/0/1.
*Hansen, Regina, and Simon Brown. “Introduction: Stephen King and Science Fiction.” Science Fiction Film & Television, vol. 10, no. 2, June 2017, p. 157. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,uid&db=edb&AN=123907119&site=eds-live.
Kutner, Max. “How 'Stranger Things' Perfectly Captures the '80s Panic over Missing Kids.” Newsweek, 24 Aug. 2016, www.newsweek.com/stranger-things-missing-children-netflix-488605.
Sanchez, Jonathan. “Sanchez: 'Stranger Things' and the Fears and Freedoms of the 1980s.” Charleston City Paper, Charleston City Paper, 11 Apr. 2019, www.charlestoncitypaper.com/charleston/stranger-things-and-the-fears-and-freedoms-of-the-1980s/Content?oid=12777103.
*Wren, Celia. “A Bath of Deja vu: ‘Stranger Things.’” Commonweal, no. 15, 2016, p. 22. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,uid&db=edsgao&AN=edsgcl.466413803&site=eds-live.