Author: Shi Anqian
In a peaceful town, children died mysteriously one after another. The deaths were extremely tragic, but the real murderer behind the scenes was unknown!
The police sergeant who died tragically in the previous film suddenly received a message for help from thousands of miles away. Is it a conspiracy of the enemy, or is it true?
On May 27, 2022, "Stranger Things" was co-directed by the Duffy brothers (Matt Duffy, Ross Duffy), Sean Levy, and Nimrod Antauer. 4" was launched on the Netflix platform, with a Douban score of 9.4, which is the highest Douban score for this series so far.
"Stranger Things Season 4"
Stranger Things Season 4
This fantasy series reflects the confrontation between small town children and the devil from another world. Since the first season was aired in 2016, it has been popular with science fiction fans around the world, especially "gram" Loved by "Sulu Culture " fans, it triggers a wave of drama viewing every season, and now it has become one of Netflix 's most popular dramas.
Judging from the seven episodes currently aired, there are still some differences in the look and feel between the fourth season and the previous seasons of the series. On the one hand, the length of the episodes has increased. Most of the single episodes remain around 75 minutes. At present, The final episode of "Information Released" lasted an astonishing 150 minutes.
On the other hand, the joining of a new director has also injected many new elements into the series. Many people commented that the narrative of the fourth season seemed delayed when they first watched it, but after reading the first chapter patiently, But I found that all the previous preparations seemed to be just right, which meant that it was a low start and a high move.
Next, while trying to avoid spoilers, the author will analyze this wonderful drama in a half-science and half-review way.
1
Does "Stranger Things" belong to the Cthulhu system?
In terms of styling and settings, the creation of "Monster Story" was obviously influenced by "Cthulhu Mythos". Screenwriter Kate Trefrey once said bluntly that many of the show's settings were inspired by Cthulhu literature.
(Screenshot of Episode 2)
So first we have to understand a question, what is "Cthulhu"?
"Cthulhu" is a modern mythological system built by the 20th century American novelist Lovecraft based on the strange literature he created.
(American novelist Lovecraft and the image of Cthulhu he created)
A lonely human being who strays into an unexplored territory; unknown fear and obsession; the old rulers with huge bodies (often large in size to indescribable) ; monsters with smooth skin or octopus tentacles; death sacrifice rituals of cults; in the end, the explorer often leads to death and destruction, or escapes with a sense of awe.
(screenshot of the movie " mist")
These elements profoundly influenced the artistic creation of later generations. For example, Stephen King's "The Mist" and John Carpenter 's "The Thing" can both belong to the Cthulhu mythology system.
(Screenshot from the movie "The Thing")
There are some works, such as Ridley Scott's " Alien ", although it absorbs the setting elements of the "Cthulhu Mythos", but it cannot be combined with it. It belongs to the "Kristenbach system" and can only be regarded as an independent work.
There are also some works such as "Ultraman Tiga" and "Pirates of the Caribbean" that absorb more Cthulhu styling elements.
(stills from the special drama "Ultraman Tiga")
(stills from the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean 2")
Strictly speaking, "Stranger Things" does not belong to the Cthulhu mythology system.
Although the setting elements are similar to the "Crown Myth System", there are a large number of original elements set by the production team in the play.
, as a youth family drama infused with sci-fi thriller elements, also determines that it can only be regarded as a "Lovecraft"-style independent story.
2
Four Ways Ahead
The story of "Stranger Things 4" takes place half a year after the Battle of the Star Chamber in the third season.
This season uses the multi-line narrative mode . As of the end of the seventh episode, the "adult group" and "youth group" in Hawkins Town have been disrupted into four groups, each with its own independent adventure story, and new characters are constantly joining it.
Steve, Dustin, Lucas, Max and others are wandering on the edge of the real world and the other world, investigating the real culprit behind the serial tragedies - Vecna.
(Screenshot of Episode 1)
The eleventh girl who lost her superpowers in the last season was taken to a secret base by Dr. Owens, who tried to restore her superpowers to fight Vecna. During the hypnosis process, she was also told through memories Establishing the connection between Audience Eleven and Vecna.
(Screenshot of Episode 7)
Mike, Will and others, who narrowly escaped death from the military, met up with Dustin's long-distance girlfriend (the legendary genius girl) Suzy, trying to get her With help, I located the coordinates of Eleven Girl's base.
(Screenshot of Episode 6)
Joyce (Will’s mother) and Uncle Murray of the adult group went to Russia to rescue Sheriff Hope who was imprisoned by the Soviet government. This is also more closely related to the main plot. It's all the way down, but it's hard to say. The follow-up will not be connected to the main line;
(Screenshot of Episode 6)
These stories seem to have no connection, but the foreshadowing of many branch lines is actually the key information of the main line, and they complement each other. , are mutually exclusive, the rhythm of the story is handled just right, the plots are interlocking, and the small climaxes come one after another.
(Screenshot of Episode 7)
For example, the past intersection between Eleven and 001 in the play, and the truth about the family murder case investigated by Nancy and Robin in the mental hospital. As the plot progresses, they are finally connected together, making you feel from a God's perspective. The audience could not help but gasp while secretly exclaiming.
(Screenshot of Episode 7)
In addition, we can see from the design of the main poster at the beginning that the four groups of people will eventually meet at the entrance of the other world to compete with Vecna. This also represents that many of the previous The foreshadowing will become the winning information for the final battle in the final chapter.
(Screenshot of Episode 7)
3
A love letter to the 1980s
The Duffy brothers once said in an interview that "Stranger Things" is a love letter they wrote to the 1980s. Therefore, there are many small easter eggs in the play that the director pays homage to the pop culture of the 1980s.
Will's brother Jonathan's room has a poster of Director Sam Raimi981's classic horror film "The Evil Dead";
(Still from Episode 1)
Will's room has a poster of The Cure's 1980 release Poster for the single "Boys Don't Cry".
(Stills from Episode 1)
In the first episode, the school assigned a speech topic - "Who is my hero". It can be seen that what Will prepared was the British mathematician Alan. Turing, who In and during World War II, he invented the computer and used it to crack German military codes. After the war, he was persecuted by the British government because of his sexual orientation and died alone.
Coupled with Will's indifference to the opposite sex and his ambiguous conversations with Mike, it is almost certain that Will is gay.
(Still from Episode 1)
When Dustin called Steve in the phone booth, he could clearly see the words graffitied in the phone booth: ET The phone, which was due to 1982 Spielberg The "ET" craze triggered by the release of director became a prank popular among American teenagers.
(Stills from Episode 1)
When Dustin used a 20-sided dice to determine the outcome of a game of " Dungeons and Dragons" with his friends, he quoted Han Solo's classic line from "Star Wars 5" ——Never tell me the odds ! (Never tell me the odds)
(Still from Episode 1)
(Still from "Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back" (1980))
Episode 1 Robin and Steve When talking about the girl she had a crush on in the car, she specifically mentioned that the "Open American School" she returned was stuck at 53 minutes and 5 seconds.
(Stills from Episode 1)
Therefore, I came to the conclusion that since the other party also likes boobies of the same sex, then he must be a lesbian.
(Still from "Open American Schools")
In the second episode, when everyone in the video store was trying to locate the address of a drug dealer through rental records, this movie also appeared, which was enough to show how much people liked the movie at that time.
(Stills from Episode 2)
There is a poster of the 1965 documentary "Endless Summer" directed by Bruce Brown in Max's room, which implicitly expresses that Max is still stuck in the terrible memories of the summer in the third season. She Waking up from a nightmare at the beginning of episode 2 corresponds to the name of this poster.
(Screenshot of Episode 2)
Where Steve and Robin work, there is a humanoid sign of Freddy Krueger, the classic horror character from "A Nightmare on Elm Street". In the fourth season, the way Vecna kills people in his dream is based on the setting of Freddy .
(Screenshot of Episode 2)
It is worth mentioning that Roberto Englund, who plays Freddy Krueger, also starred in the play, that is, Vecna's father.
In an exclusive interview with IGN, the Duffy brothers said that Vecna's behavior of murdering the whole family and then blaming his father was inspired by the plot of "Moonlightlight" directed by John Carpenter in 1978.
(Roberto Englander's stills in "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and this play)
There is a poster of "Jaws " directed by Spielberg in 1975 in Will's room;
(Screenshot of Episode 4 )
There is a poster of Tom Cruise in Nancy's room. Since the plot is set in March 1986, " Top Gun " has not yet been released, and in the 1980s, young American women loved it. Tom Cruise is more famous because of his other work - " The Good Boy Is Crazy " (1983);
(Screenshot of Episode 4)
The phone numbers in the play can all be dialed, such as The number of the pizza shop is 805-45-PIZZA. After converting PIZZA into a nine-square grid, the number is 805-457-4992.After you get through it, you will hear the stand-up talk that the pizza guy Argyle said to agent in the play.
However, it is recommended that you don’t call, because international long distance is really expensive.
(Screenshot of Episode 4)
4
Prediction of the plot direction after
Here the author will estimate the plot direction of the next two episodes based on the existing information. If you are worried about possible spoilers, you can skip here.
As for the main plot, according to the two trailers released by Netflix, the decisive battle took place in a wasteland. With the help of the doctor, Eleven’s superpowers were restored and greatly enhanced. It seems that it will take the army by surprise. If you are young, practice your hands.
(Screenshot of Episode 7)
The different world already existed before 001 fell into it, so it is obvious that Vecna is not the final BOSS. This mystery will be left to be solved in the fifth season.
(Stills from Episode 7)
Eleven gang 001 took out the controller from his neck. 001 said, "Who would have thought that such a small thing could cause such a big trouble?", and later Max escaped from Vecna's clutches. When it escaped, it also scratched its neck, which shows that Vecna's weak point is its neck.
(Screenshot of Episode 4)
The reason for the heated discussion on the Internet about the hidden villain came from the actor who plays Lucas said in an interview, "If I use one word to describe this season, it is 'Traitor'!"
At present, it seems that the most likely person is the school's psychological counselor. There are two main reasons. First, the murdered child has received psychological counseling from her. Selecting her as a puppet can provide Vecna with greater opportunities to find prey. Secondly, people with sharp eyes can find that there is a key-shaped watch hanging around her neck. Many people speculate that this may be the key to opening Vic's murderous pendulum clock.
(Stills from Episode 3)
Who else has the GG question in the end?
Judging from the current plot, according to the inertia of the production team killing some viewers every season who like to add new marginal characters, the hippie boy Eddie in the youth group and the guard Enzo in the middle-aged group are most likely to die. There were too many emotional scenes that paved the way for the two of them, and everyone had more or less a premonition of this;
In addition, it can be seen from the trailer that Vic has still not given up on arresting the uneasy Nancy. , Max also has a certain chance, especially since Max’s suicide note to everyone has not been released yet. Of course, this suicide note may also be the key to saving Max in times of crisis; Er, Steve and Robin may also be sacrificed by the production team, but I think the possibility is relatively small. Without Steve, who will be the wet nurse to take care of the children in season 5? And Robin is even more impossible. After all, her parents are Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman .
And Will was almost clarified by the production team himself, because the director tweeted an apology online, saying that he had forgotten Will's birthday and planned to change his birthday from March 22 to May 22. It is reasonable to estimate that Will will still have a role in the fifth season.
The mystery of Vecna has been unveiled. Where will the next plot go? What surprises will the program team bring us?
Everything still has to wait for the story in the second section to be revealed to us.
Let’s wait and see, see you there on July 1st!
