Television

'Stranger Things' Bits: Action Figures, Fan Art, T-Shirts, And More

stranger things 4
By Jack Giroux

In today's edition of Stranger Things bits:

  • Check out some awesome new fan art.
  • One artist imagined what Stranger Things action figures would be like.
  • A recreation of the X-Men #134 cover.
  • Concept art that shaped the show.
  • More chatter about the developing second season.

    • Stranger Things photoArt of the Title ran an interview with Imaginary Forces' creative director Michelle Dougherty. Dougherty discussed how the opening credits sequence came about:

    The initial call was them talking to us about some of the film titles that they liked. They referenced Richard Greenberg and all the greats that he'd created — The Goonies, Altered States, Alien, The Untouchables, The Dead Zone, just to name a few. That was great to hear because we understood where they were coming from. That was really refreshing — and pretty surprising — that these creators knew so much about title design. After that call they sent over some book covers that they liked, from books that they'd either read or seen as children. Most of them were by Stephen King, so we knew they were looking for something that felt '80s and tapped into this nostalgia by using that typography.

    Dougherty and all involved were working on the title sequence before season one was even shot, which, as she said, is unusual.

    Plenty of artists have been inspired by the Netflix show. We've already posted some impressive fan art, but Top Design ran a roundup of some more Stranger Things art worth checking out, such as the one at the top of the story and these three:

    Buzzfeed also assembled a ton of Stranger Things fan art. Their collection is another reminder of just how much people seem to love Barbara.

    Adam F. Goldberg, the creator of the '80s-set ABC comedy The Goldbergs, is currently waiting for a call from The Duffer Brothers (Source: Twitter):

    We found out this week Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein's score will be released, but when will fans be able to purchase G.I. Joe-inspired Stranger Things action figures? (Source: Twitter)

    The Duffer Brothers have shared a bit of information about a Stranger Things season two. Considering how enthusiastically Netflix's customers have responded to the series, a second season sounds like a done deal waiting to be confirmed. Netflix content head Ted Sarandos said they prefer to take time with these decisions (Source: Screen Crush), although Netflix chief executive Reed Hastings said they "would be dumb not to" make another season. Here are Sarandos' comments:

    We always want to take some time to be thoughtful about the process. When we first come out of the gate with something, we have an idea where it's going to go but it's sensible for us to let the show breathe. People are falling in love with it, let's focus on season one.

    Netflix isn't in the business of releasing their viewership numbers, but Business Insider claimed it's one of their most popular shows to date.

    Still want more Stranger Things fan art? Then Lance Schibi's recreation of X-Men #134 cover should satisfy you (Source: Twitter):

    There are no lyrics to Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein's opening theme for Stranger Things, but actors Gaten Matarazzo and Caleb McLaughlin performed a singalong to it anyway (Source: Twitter):

    Perhaps some Stranger Things fans have too much time on their hands. According to The Tasting Table, some fans are calling Hunt's to request they go back to Snack Packs' old packaging, which was shown in a later episode when Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) goes looking for pudding. The tin caps kept cutting kids, so a Hunt's decided to make new packaging.

    hunt's poodiingXO Jane's Lini Kral has some real problems with Stranger Things, which she described as "John Hughes–meets–Drive horror thriller Stranger Things." She wrote about how the show barely passes the Bechdel Test, but that's not her only issue with the season one:

    The existence of these three women in one season of television seems like a conscious effort at unseating gendered power, especially in 2016, when less than half of released films are passing the test. But can all of the show's victories be meaningful, presented as they are in the wishful-thinking atmosphere of fantasy? In a reality where only 43 percent of the top 100 sci-fi films pass Bechdel's criteria, I think the answer is yes. Two men making a fantasy film has not, in the past, meant that young boys with speech impediments, people of color, and fully-clothed women get to be the heroes — in fact, it usually means the opposite. It seems like directors who grew up LARP-ing are more likely to use their films to live vicariously through tough guys who slay the villain and get the girl than to take down normalized gendered violence.

    Mikhail Rakhmatullin is a freelance concept artist who worked on Strange Things. He shared some of his work online (Source: ArtStation):

    Popular Science published an interview with theoretical physicist Brian Greene, discussing parallel universes, alternate dimensions, and all that good stuff. Here's an excerpt from the interview:

    In Stranger Things, they use the terminology parallel universes and alternate dimensions, interchangeably. Are these the same? And if not, what's the difference?

    No, I mean, they're not really the same. They're related, but you can have a single universe that has more dimensions than the ones that we're aware of. There's reason to think that there might be more dimensions of space beyond our three that we don't see. Now, you can also have universes, you can also have multiverse proposals — that is, multiple universe proposals — where each universe only has three dimensions of space, and one of time. You can have many universes, each of which has the same number of dimensions that our naive perception suggests to exist: three space and one time. You can certainly put all those ideas together and have a many universe theory in which you also have extra dimensions of space, so they're not mutually exclusive.

    You can purchase a Dungeons & Dragons club t-shirt — which has season one's monster's name written on it — from Ript Apparel:

    Dungeons and dragonsBloody Disgusting interviewed actor Mark Steger, who played the demogorgon in Stranger Things. He discussed his experience with the show and the otherworldy monster's influences:

    We spoke about influences for the creature – John Carpenter's The Thing was an important one. They [The Duffer Brothers] envisioned The Monster like the shark from Spielberg's Jaws, a predator that exists in a different realm that crosses over in order to feed. The Monster is very primitive in that sense.

    Winona Ryder is a damn fine actress. When she's talking to the wires, believing she's communicating with her son, she sells it completely, and it's far more dramatic scene than it might've in a lesser actors' hands. If you, like Joyce Byers (Ryder), want to communicate through christmas lights, then visit Cockeyed.com.

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