I Have One Specific Gripe With Stranger Things In Its Final Season That I Can’t Let Slide As Someone From Indiana

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Stranger Things‘ final season dropped Part 1 recently with some major game-changing reveals, and if early viewership is any sign of how it’s doing, the show still has a fair number of fans. I consider myself one of them, as I wasted no time bingeing the latest batch of episodes with my Netflix subscription. It was good, but reminded me of a long-standing gripe I’ve had with the series as a proud resident of the state of Indiana.

While the show did earn some brownie points with me this season with an unexpected nod to The Bob & Tom Morning Show, the Duffer Brothers-led series has done very little, if anything, to capitalize on its setting of Hawkins, Indiana. The city is fictional, of course, but the state it’s in is very real, and I can’t help but knock some points off the show for the missed opportunities to better incorporate the state in its celebration of the 1980s.

Why Stranger Things Doesn’t Really Touch On Indiana

In an interview with NewsObserver.com, the Duffer Brothers said that Hawkins wasn’t meant to represent any place in particular, but rather serve as a setting from a quintessential American town that has a mixture of all regions. In fact, when the show was first announced by Netflix, it had a tentative title of Montauk. This was a reference to the “Montauk Project,” which took place in Montauk, New York.

Stranger Things doesn’t remind me of Indiana, but it doesn’t remind me of New York either. The setting of Hawkins is more of an afterthought in terms of the series as a whole, which is to say it could’ve been set in any state. Unfortunately for me, they chose Indiana, and as a resident, I just can’t look past that when thinking of how exciting it was in the state in the 1980s.

Stranger Things Has Made Zero Effort To Mention The Incredibly Famous Hoosiers Prevalent During The Show

Indiana has its fair share of celebrities, but a few of them were pretty notable in our nation during the 1980s. Larry Bird was playing for the Boston Celtics, John Mellencamp was cranking out hit songs, and there was also Michael Jackson, who was arguably the biggest superstar on the planet, with Stranger Things taking place between the release of his Thriller and Bad albums.

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Now, I would imagine it was likely easier for the Duffer Brothers to obtain the rights to “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush than it would be to get “Dirty Diana” or “Jack & Diane.” I also get that, again, it was never the goal of the Brothers to make the series a love letter to Indiana.

Even so, I can’t help but think about what could’ve been had they leaned into these things while making Stranger Things. After all, it’s not like those people aren’t beloved on a national level. Michael Jackson alone was a massive star in the 1980s, so for the series to make zero reference to him while finding time to nod at Ghostbusters makes it feel like there’s more of a “pick and choose” when it comes to honoring the 1980s. If some follow-ups or spin-offs come out of this universe, I hope the next people who take the reins are more mindful about paying respect to their settings.

Stranger Things will continue its run on Netflix with three episodes coming on Christmas Day, and a finale on New Year’s Eve. Lack of Indiana references aside, I’m still enjoying the ride so far, and am excited to see how it all ends up.