Student Last Name/ 1

Student Name

Professor Sterrantino

English 2010-21

12 December 2016

Research Paper Final Draft

Stranger Things Have Happened

This summer, released a television series that turned the world upside down. The

Duffer Brothers’ has been critically acclaimed. On IMdb’s web page about the show, it boasts the series’ two HMMA (Hollywood Music in Media Award) nominations, despite it being only a few months old. (“Awards”). The show is scheduled to release its second season in 2017.The series follows Will Byers, a young boy who goes missing one night in 1984. His friends, his mother, a surly police chief, a few high school teens, and a mysterious girl with mind powers team up to find him. The residents of Hawkins, Indiana soon learn there is more to their world and their government than they ever thought (“Stranger Things”).

I firmly believe this sensational series was created for a reason. The show is steeped in government schemes, and it’s clear why. While Netflix’s Stranger Things is a fictional television show, it is based on real government conspiracy theories, so I believe the creators of this series are using fictitious characters and plots to send subliminal messages about the dangers of federal and state government.

Matt and Ross Duffer, screenwriters and creators of Stranger Things, have claimed many works as their inspiration for the show. Several of these are films directed by the legendary

Steven Spielberg. Some scenes are shot-for-shot recreations of famous Spielberg films, and there are even movie posters for their favorites hidden in the show. In an interview with Entertainment Student Last Name/ 2

Weekly, the Duffers revealed that Jim Hopper, the Hawkins chief of police, is modeled after legendary Spielberg character Indiana Jones. (M. Duffer and R. Duffer). The most thought- provoking of their inspirations is perhaps Spielberg’s E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. This film too features an unusual main character with mind powers, a group of loveable kids riding around on bikes, and a government agency tracking their every move.

Several of Spielberg’s films suggest that the government isn’t always what it seems. E.T. is the most obvious example, with men in sunglasses in big white vans. The synopsis on IMDb tells us they follow kids they suspect are harboring an alien, and listen to private conversations with large, elaborate satellites and microphones. When E.T. is found by these agents, they lock him in frightening machines where they examine and experiment on him, much to the dismay of the alien’s human friend Elliot. The men also examine Elliot, as he is connected in some unknown way to E.T. The alien dies from being away from his home planet for too long. The scientists and agents attempt to revive him, but it’s clear this is for the sake of research, and not

E.T.’s sake (“E.T.”). Like the Duffer Brothers, their idol Spielberg is clearly sending hidden messages about the “bad guys” of our government through his films.

Spielberg’s Jaws also points towards the dangers of “The Man.” According to IMDb, when the residents of Amity Island are attacked by an enormous great white shark, the chief of police Marcus Brody recommends the closing of the beach. However, the local government and town mayor all insist on keeping the beaches open, as the 4th of July is their most profitable day in tourism for the entire year. Chaos ensues as the shark returns, attacking children and fisherman alike. The massacres could have been avoided, were it not for the local government

(“Jaws”). If the government is ignoring dangers simply because of profit in a film, why not in real life? Student Last Name/ 3

Steven Spielberg has tried to leave conspiratorial undertones in several of his films, whether it’s obvious at first glance or not. Stranger Things has reportedly been based on several of these films. In addition, the “bad guys” in the show are remarkably like those Spielberg has created: big, scary men in long white coats driving big, white vans. Clearly, the Duffer Brothers and the other writers on the show are trying to tell us something about those in charge: that they can’t always be trusted.

In addition to Steven Spielberg, the two writers also drew inspiration from legendary horror novelist, . Known for works such as Cujo and Carrie, his books are renowned worldwide, and most have been made into remarkably successful films. When discussing the fourth episode of the series for an article, the brothers wrote, “This episode is called “The Body.” That’s our not-so-subtle nod to Stephen King’s short story The Body, which was the basis for Rob Reiner’s classic film Stand by Me. We love that story and that film with all of our boyish hearts, and its DNA is written all over the show” (M.

Duffer and R. Duffer).

In King’s The Body, a young boy and several of his friends go exploring in the woods of

Maine, and there discover things about life, death, and fake bodies (“The Body”). This sounds remarkably like the basic plot of Stranger Things. Ashley Hoffman, a writer for Time Magazine said of the characters in The Body, “…their lives are fairly easily compared to our Stranger

Things heroes who have a monster, a shady government agency and a bully who is also a budding psychopath on their hands” (Hoffman).

Hoffman goes on to say that the show also shares several similarities with Kings’

Firestarter. Eleven, the young hero of Stranger Things, bears a striking resemblance to the lead character in Firestarter, Charlie McGee. Both are young women with untold psychological Student Last Name/ 4 powers. Both were raised by demented scientists for the sole purpose of experimentation. The two even started fires with their minds (hence the title) when they became upset. Charlie is the child of two participants in a research program developed by The Department of Scientific

Intelligence. Likewise, it is revealed Eleven’s mother was a participant in the infamous CIA project known as MK-ULTRA (Hoffman). These children’s powers are likely the result of their parents’ subjection to experimentation by the government. In both stories, the young girls are hunted and exploited by the government, to be used as a weapon. There’s no doubt government conspiracy is present in the works of Stephen King and the Duffer Brothers alike.

In several of the works mentioned above, King’s novels point fingers towards the “evil” government, and the effect it can have on young people. Every episode of Stranger Things appears to do the same. The creators of the show have admitted to loving King and most of his books. Why, then, should it be surprising that his themes of corrupt government have crept into

Stranger Things? Perhaps the appearance of suspicious government agents, dangerous experimentation, and inhumane torture are coincidentally appearing in both writers’ works.

However, the more likely prospect is that creators around us are attempting to warn us about the dangers surrounding our government.

As it turns out, these men and women drew inspiration from real-life government experiences as well as those coming from fiction. As Jason Guerrasio, a writer for Business

Insider says, “It turns out that Netflix’s sci-fi hit Stranger Things resembles very closely an alleged real-life government experiment known as ‘The Montauk Project’” (Guerrasio). Montauk

Airforce Station in Montauk, Long Island holds one of the most interesting conspiracies in the

United States. The article Guerrasio wrote follows a man named Preston Nichols, who claims

Montauk Air Force Station was a government facility which conducted experiments on people, Student Last Name/ 5 investigated psychological warfare, and even released a monster from a person’s subconscious.

These events also happen in Stranger Things. In fact, the show was originally titled Montauk when it was taken up by Netflix. The synopsis, printed by Ethan Anderton in Slashfilm, for

Montauk’s proposal points directly towards the conspiracy:

Described as a love letter to the ’80s classics that captivated a generation, the series is set

in 1980 Montauk, Long Island, where a young boy vanishes into thin air. As friends,

family, and local police search for answers, they are drawn into an extraordinary mystery

involving top-secret government experiments, terrifying supernatural forces and one very

strange little girl (Anderton).

Although the writers have been coy about whether their series is directly tied to the events in

New York, it’s apparent the Montauk Project was a strong influence on Stranger Things.

According to Guerrasio, the first experiment Nichols was a part of was called, “The

Seeing Eye.” A person could sit in a special chair and see, hear, and feel, like any person on earth. Cameron Duncan, supposed psychic and participant in the Montauk Project, was part of the Seeing Eye when the scientists grew tired of the experiment. The contingency program was activated when he was still in the chair. A big, hairy monster was supposedly released from

Duncan’s subconscious, destroying and eating everything in sight before running off (Guerrasio).

To fans of Stranger Things, this sounds a little too familiar.

Eleven opens a portal to the Upside Down (a frightening parallel world) accidently, when the scientists at Hawkins Lab use her telepathy to spy on Soviet enemies. Eleven can project others’ voices and surroundings through radios and speakers, which closely resembles the

Seeing Eye experiment. When she opens the portal, a monster which the children call the

Demogorgon escapes, destroying Hawkins Lab, then escaping into Hawkins, Indiana. The Student Last Name/ 6 similarities between the Montauk Project and Stranger Things are clearly anything but coincidental. If the television show is so closely tied to a popular government conspiracy, then its purpose must be to ward against those in power, and the experiments they endorse.

However, the Montauk Project isn’t the only government scheme Stranger Things shares striking similarities with. Rolling Stone Magazine published an article by Cady Drell, who brought some new evidence to light. While interviewing the Duffer Brothers, Matt Duffer said about their inspirations;

We wanted the supernatural element to be grounded in science in some way. As

ridiculous as it is, the monster [in the alternate dimension] doesn't come from a spiritual

domain and it's not connected to any religion. It made it scarier. I don't believe in ghosts,

but I believe in aliens and alternate dimensions (M. Duffer).

These sci-fi style themes are what Drell explores in her article. In particular, she discusses MK-

ULTRA, a covert government program run by the CIA. It was infamous for its inhumane experimentation. The project was involved with LSD experimentation, sensory deprivation tanks, shock treatments, child test subjects, telepathy experiments and even death cover-ups

(Drell). All of these elements are seen in Stranger Things, which Drell was quick to point out.

Eleven’s mother (Terry Ives) is revealed to have participated in MK-ULTRA, leaving her brain addled. She doesn’t speak, and from her short time on screen, it appears she cannot move without help. Her sister tells Will Byer’s mother Joyce and Hopper about the horrors Terry faced when she was young. The experiments she underwent are the clear result of Eleven’s mind powers. According to Ives’ sister, the mother claims her child was taken from her at the hospital, though the hospital records all say she had a miscarriage. In reality, her baby was taken that day to be tested at Hawkins Lab (Drell). Student Last Name/ 7

Another well-known part of MK-ULTRA was their sensory deprivation tanks. John C.

Lilly, the inventor of the tank and neuroscientist, first tested the tanks of salt water on himself.

However, as MK-ULTRA reared its ugly head, he decided to turn this invention on unwilling test subjects. Innocent people were subjected to LSD and even shock treatments while floating in these tanks. Like Terry Ives, many “patients” became comatose for the rest of their lives. Eleven, too, is put in a sensory deprivation tank time after time to help enhance her powers. It’s apparent that this conspiracy was a large part of the popular television show (Drell).

It’s frightening how similar the government experiments of the past reflect Stranger

Things. What’s more disturbing is the parallels between the series and current events. Newsweek seemed to notice this as well. In an article titled, “How ‘Stranger Things’ Captures ’80s Panic

Over Missing Kids,” author Max Kutner reported how little our government seemed to care about missing children in the 1980’s. Kutner specifically addresses missing child cases which were going on in 1984, the year the show takes place in. Most child abductions were dealt with by local police. In Stranger Things, Will Byers’ disappearance is at first overseen by Jim

Hopper, before being taken over by the state government. Hopper’s resources are limited, so the search parties are mostly compiled of town residents. During the 1980’s, there wasn’t much protocol when it came to missing children (Kutner).

The article mentions Adam Walsh (taken in 1981), Etan Patz (1979) and Kevin Collins

(1984), none of whom were ever found. TV movies, newspaper headlines and magazine articles blared the message of the 1980’s: your children aren’t safe. Robert Lowery Jr., vice president of the Missing Children Division of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children says that Will Byers goes missing in a time when child abductions were parents’ worst fears (Kutner).

When Kevin Walsh went missing, Newsweek released a cover story about him and other child Student Last Name/ 8 abductions. An excerpt from the story points fingers at the national government for their lack of interest:

Until recent years it was one of the secondary shocks for parents of stolen children that

they were alone in their crisis—and often nightmarishly thwarted by foot-dragging police

departments, jurisdictional tangles and an FBI unable to enter a case unless there was

clear evidence of an abduction (Newsweek).

If the FBI wasn’t getting involved, even when thousands of children went missing, it doesn’t give Americans much confidence in their national government.

In Stranger Things, when Will Byers goes missing, the state government gets involved surprisingly quickly. However, when a body is recovered in the nearby lake, Hopper begins to suspect foul play. Indeed, when he investigates the coroner’s department, his suspicions are confirmed. The local coroner was asked to step aside, and let a state official examine the body. A local police officer admitted he was persuaded to “find” the body. Hopper finally breaks into the room holding Byers’ body and cuts it open. To his amazement, the body is stuffed with cotton- it’s a fake. The government, with the help of Hawkins Lab, was attempting to cover up the real reason Byers went missing- their monster took him (“Stranger Things”). The faking of dead bodies and bribing of police officers does nothing to comfort audiences about the honesty of their leaders.

Overall, viewers of Stranger Things and readers of Newsweek are left feeling anxious about the lack of procedure when it comes to missing children even now. If the government is leaving the search parties and investigations to local police, is it because kidnapped children are low on the priority list of the FBI? And, if so, why? Is it possible they want to leave some things Student Last Name/ 9 left undiscovered? It’s implied that Will Byers’ vanishing, and the events following, reflect our government’s lack of responsibility when it comes to missing children.

Perhaps the most fascinating real-life government cover-up is one that happened quite recently- and it was directly connected to Stranger Things. When the show originally aired, it caused many to turn heads towards the Department of Energy (DOE), which Hawkins Lab is closely associated with. Audiences had to wonder: what if it was all real?

Indeed, the department got so much attention that, according to an article from

Inverse.com, the DOE released a statement in August of this year regarding the show. “The energy department doesn’t explore parallel universes” (Department of Energy). The report when on to assure Americans that the Hawkins National Laboratory does not exist; the DOE does not deal with monsters like those in the series; such monsters and other lifeforms don’t conduct electricity, and that National Laboratory scientists aren’t “evil.” However, only a few months later in October, Ernest Moniz, the U.S. Secretary of Energy appeared on Chelsea Handler’s

Netflix original series, Chelsea, with a different story (Tayag).

After being pressed several times about the insinuation that the DOE was involved with the worlds of Stranger Things, he admitted that “[They] do work in parallel universes” (Moniz).

Moniz went on to explain that the entire purpose of the Department of Energy is to explore “very basic science” (Moniz). His definition of said science includes theoretical physics, the fourth dimension, and yes, parallel worlds. And so, the DOE does truly investigate the possibility of alternate dimensions. The secretary was careful to explain that this investigation was in space, however, and unlike the events in Stranger Things (Tayag). This explanation was hardly comforting to Handler and her audience. Student Last Name/ 10

Really, it’s odd that the secretary seemed to have let something slip which directly opposes a former statement released by the department. In addition, the fact that the DOE felt the need to defend themselves from a fictional television show itself is suspicious. The United States government is indeed exploring other worlds, even within the same department as the villains of

Stranger Things. Evidently, the Duffer brothers were trying to hint at the fact that we don’t always know what our DOE is up to.

So why, one might ask, do these twins know so much about the inner workings of our government and its numerous conspiracies? The answer is purely a mystery. In researching the

Duffers, one can’t find much about their personal lives, other than the fact that they grew up in

North Carolina (Chaney) and went to ’s College of Film and Media Arts

(Bonker). Is this coincidental? Perhaps the Duffer Brothers have hidden pasts investigating or working for the government. Or maybe they’re just two filmmakers who love researching conspiracy theories on the internet. The world may never know.

To put it briefly, the characters, plot, and themes of Stranger Things are unforgettable, so it’s no surprise the show was the triumph of summer 2016. Ratings have skyrocketed in a remarkably short period of time. The creators of the series threw in nostalgic music, old film references, and gorgeous cinematography to tie the smash hit together. But perhaps these few episodes were intended for another purpose, besides entertaining audiences everywhere. Perhaps a warning comes hidden under all the Eggo waffles- a warning of dangerous people, inhumane experimentation, and most of all, secretive government operations.

We live in a world which is (thankfully) not “upside down.” The fictional world of slime, dust, and decay the Duffer Brothers created together is anything but a vacation spot. However, there are aspects of the show which are strikingly alike the struggles our society faces today. Student Last Name/ 11

From government cover-ups to mind control, the real world might be closer to Stranger Things then we might think. Numerous similarities between the show and other well-known “Big

Brother”-style works and real-life government cover-ups have arisen with evidence behind them.

Undoubtedly, they have a purpose: to remind the public that all is not as it seems. Kids go missing, and it’s not always clear why. The government is not always there to protect us, and often it does quite the opposite. Although fictional, Stranger Things is full of honest warnings about the peril of trusting in state and federal government.

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Works Cited

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Bonker, Dawn. “The Wild and Strange Summer of the Duffer Brothers.” Happenings. Chapman

University, 19 Aug. 2016. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.

Chaney, Jen. "Stranger Things' Duffer Brothers on '80s Cinema, Fighting Over Kid Actors, and

How They Cast Winona Ryder." Vulture. New York Media LLC, 15 July 2016. Web. 12

Dec. 2016.

Drell, Cady. "'Stranger Things': The Secret CIA Programs That Inspired Hit Series." Rolling

Stone. Rolling Stone, 5 Aug. 2016. Web. 22 Nov. 2016.

Duffer, Matt, and Ross Duffer. "'Stranger Things': How the Duffer Brothers Were Inspired by

Stephen King." Entertainment Weekly's EW.com. Entertainment Weekly Inc., 18 July

2016. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.

"E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2016.

Guerrasio, Jason. "The Crazy Government Conspiracy Theory That Inspired 'Stranger Things'"

Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 17 Sept. 2016. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.

“Jaws (1975).” IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2016.

Kutner, Max. "How 'Stranger Things' Perfectly Captures the '80s Panic Over Missing Kids."

Newsweek. Newsweek LLC, 24 Aug. 2016. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.

Staff, Newsweek. "Stolen Children." Newsweek. N.p., 07 Feb. 2013. Web. 05 Dec. 2016.

"Stranger Things (2016)." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.

Tayag, Yasmin. "U.S. Government: JK, 'Stranger Things' Is Actually Based on Fact." Inverse.

Inverse, 6 Oct. 2016. Web. 22 Nov. 2016.

"The Body." StephenKing.com. Stephen King, n.d. Web. 5 Dec. 2016. Student Last Name/ 13

"Was Stranger Things Inspired by the Montauk Project? Explore Parallel Facts of a Government

Conspiracy." Slashfilm. N.p., 06 Sept. 2016. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.