Stranger Things Through Althusser and bell hooks
This essay examines Netflix's Stranger Things as a cultural phenomenon by applying two critical theoretical frameworks. Drawing on Louis Althusser's "Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses," the paper explores how the show's characters — particularly Eleven — function as ideological anchors that transform imaginary representations into felt reality. It then applies bell hooks's essay "Eating the Other: Desire and Resistance" to analyze how desire, provocation, and imperialist nostalgia drive audience engagement with the series. Together, these frameworks illuminate why the show's blend of childhood innocence, telekinetic fantasy, and 1980s nostalgia resonates so powerfully with contemporary viewers.
- Introduction: Stranger Things as Cultural Phenomenon: Show introduced as nostalgic pastiche; theoretical lenses previewed
- Althusser's Ideology and the World of Hawkins: Althusser's ideology defined as imaginary yet compensatory
- Eleven as Ideology: From Illusion to Reality: Eleven embodies ideology bridging illusion and reality
- Desire and Provocation in Stranger Things: Hooks's desire and provocation applied to characters
- Nostalgia, the Other, and Imperialist Fantasy: Imperialist nostalgia explains show's broad cultural appeal
- Conclusion: Both frameworks converge on Eleven as symbolic center
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper bridges concrete pop-culture analysis with abstract critical theory, giving the reader accessible entry points into Althusser's and hooks's dense concepts.
- The character of Eleven is used consistently as the analytical lynchpin across both theoretical frameworks, giving the argument coherence and focus.
- Short, well-chosen quotations from both theorists are embedded smoothly, with immediate application to specific scenes or character dynamics in the show.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates applied cultural theory: it takes established theoretical vocabulary (ideology, interpellation, desire, provocation, imperialist nostalgia) and maps each concept onto specific narrative elements — character behavior, plot events, and genre conventions — rather than treating theory and text as separate discussions.
Structure breakdown
The essay opens by situating the show as a nostalgic pastiche before introducing the two theoretical lenses. It then moves through Althusser's framework (ideology as compensatory representation), transitions to hooks's concepts of desire and provocation, and closes with hooks's imperialist nostalgia as an explanation for the show's broad appeal. The conclusion ties both frameworks back to Eleven as the symbolic center of the narrative.
Introduction: Stranger Things as Cultural Phenomenon
Stranger Things is a television series on Netflix that recounts the story of a missing boy, a frantic mother, and three friends searching for answers. The show is a pastiche of popular 1980s films and television programs featuring monsters like the alien in E.T. and telekinetic children like Charlie in Firestarter. While the show does not break entirely new ground, it manages to strike a nerve among fans and has swept popular culture with its whispers of nostalgia. The show invites viewers to reach for their own ideologies vicariously through its main characters.
Louis Althusser's essay "Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses" and bell hooks's essay "Eating the Other: Desire and Resistance" together offer frameworks that point toward a better understanding of this fast-growing cultural phenomenon.
Althusser's Ideology and the World of Hawkins
Althusser defines ideology from a traditional standpoint as a "world outlook." He admits, however, that ideologies do not link directly to reality and are, largely, imaginary (Althusser, 2006). While they establish an illusion, some believe ideologies can convert allusion into reality — all that is needed is interpretation. He identifies two models of advanced ideology:
"…the mechanistic type, in which ideology is a distorted mirror held up to the (economic) Real and the 'hermeneutic interpretation' in which the Real is the essence manifesting itself through the dross of ideological phenomena which must be peeled away to arrive at the kernel of truth" (Althusser, 2006, p. 100).
The question then posed is why people require this type of imaginary transposition of reality in order to find meaning and representation of themselves. Althusser answers by stating that "men make themselves an alienated representation of their conditions of existence because these conditions of existence are themselves alienating" (Althusser, 2006, p. 101). From this perspective, ideology is not merely a tool through which ruling classes enslave and exploit lower classes. Instead, it serves as how people aim to compensate for a painful, intolerable existence.
Eleven as Ideology: From Illusion to Reality
When it comes to Stranger Things, the children are the first to truly embark on the journey of discovery — of reaching for the truth behind the "smoke screen." They are the ones who imagine and believe in things that are then translated into reality through action, circumstance, and the help of a character like Eleven. Eleven is the "kernel of truth" or "distorted mirror" that, when held up, manifests itself through telekinetic abilities that enable the children to progress in finding their friend. She functions as an ideology that serves as both an anchor point and a bridge from illusion to reality.
The kids from Stranger Things represent ideologies that include innocence, friendship, discovery, love, and the classic structure of the bildungsroman. Rather than simply following regular children searching for a missing friend, the show introduces another ideology that many people secretly wish were true: the ability to supersede reality and bend it to one's will. Eleven can flip vehicles, neutralize those who threaten her friends, and reveal to them another world or dimension that was otherwise "make-believe." In a world where reality is harsh and often unyielding, there is comfort in watching a young girl do the unimaginable while still retaining her innocence, her love, and her desire to help those around her.
Conclusion
Stranger Things became a cultural phenomenon in a matter of months, and it did so because of the desires and ideologies woven into its narrative. The show expresses these through the character of Eleven, who serves as a means of accessing a new world within a simple, nostalgia-inducing town that presents the world as it once appeared — uncomplicated. While the girl is not real and the story is not rooted in reality, it hints enough at reality to soothe and comfort those who desire to believe in such things.
References
Althusser, L. (2006). Ideology and ideological state apparatuses. In The anthropology of the state: A reader (pp. 86–103). Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Durham, M. G., Kellner, D., & hooks, b. (2006). Eating the other: Desire and resistance. In Media and cultural studies: Keyworks (pp. 366–376). Malden, MA: Blackwell.
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