ST character social representations

Stranger Things Character

Teenagers: Pre-teen VS old teens, not stereotypical semiotics i.e. the nerd, popular, dumb etc. Some don’t act as normal teenagers i.e. Jonathan acting as a father figure for his family.

Family life & relationships: covers a variety i.e. close bond between Joyce, jonathan and will compared to Mike’s parents relationship which is distant. Difference between class and wealth in the families. Four boys friendship, almost like brothers, argue but count on each other. Nancy and Steve have stereotypical relationship at first, popular boy goes for quiet, nerdy girl e.g. to all the boys i’ve loved before and high school musical.

Mothers: Mikes mum karen is the head of the house, runs the family, cooks and cleans, is the person her children come to to ask about things. Whereas will’s mum Joyce is scatty, all over the place, relies on her children to keep the house in order however both mums keep the family close-knitted and together.

Absent fathers: Will and jonathan have a father yet he does not live with them demonstrates how jonathan has to step up as the father figure in the house for will and joyce i.e. making breakfast in the morning. on the other hand mike's dad seems careless and boring “listen to your mother” almost like he is absent as he doesn’t contribute much to the family.

Police: Very laid back, don’t take will missing at first seriously, stereotypical police - eat doughnuts and play games.

Government: classic 80’s films, always unknown as to what they are doing and trying to achieve, seen as the enemy and bad people to associate with.  

Character	Information
Joyce Byers	Major or Minor Character? a MAJOR character, the first episode revolves around her missing son in which she is desperate to find. Stereotype? I wanted view joyce as a stereotypical mother, who usually do the cooking, cleaning and looking after the children. She relies on both of her sons so she can go make a living for them. Characteristics? scatty angry strong bond with her sons messy tom-boy Contribution to Narrative? Joyce Byers is the mother to Will byers, the boy that goes missing, for a large part of the first episode we watch her frantically search for her son which shows she would do anything for her boys.
Jim Hopper	Major or Minor Character? a MAJOR character, after will is taken after he falls off his bike, Hopper is in the scene that follows. Stereotype? Jim Hopper can be viewed as a stereotypical sheriff, eating doughnuts, smoking and playing card games and overall not caring about the problems in hawkins. Characteristics? lazy grumpy careless smart leader Contribution to Narrative? Hopper is the second person joyce comes to for help, we watch him try to unravel the truth as to what exactly happen to will being a large contributor to the narrative.
Mike Wheeler	Major or Minor Character? a MAJOR character, wills best friend and looks after eleven. Stereotype? suburban area,stereotypical nerd, gets bullied by popular kids, an outsider but is independent and leader to his group of four. In which being president of the AV club and managing the D&D game along with always being positioned in the middle and slightly in front of the other boys. Characteristics? Intelligent curious caring sensible leader Contribution to Narrative? Mike contributes largely to the narrative, with it mainly being in his house and focused a lot on his family, along with eleven, the supernatural character living in his basement, mike is also the first person out of the boys to admit he is worried about Will. Takes charge
Dustin Henderson	Major or Minor Character? a MAJOR character, part of the four boys Stereotype? stereotypical nerd but somewhat stands up to bullies when they try to tease him about his condition which he then educates them on, argues back. Characteristics? funny goofy cute clever quick-witted naive optimistic Contribution to Narrative? Apart of wills friendship group, adds the humour back to the dark series, light-hearted and a likeable character, wants to help look for will as well.
Lucas Sinclair	Major or Minor Character? a MAJOR character, part of four boys Stereotype? stereotypical nerd, enjoys the AV club and playing dungeons and dragons but we still see individuality. Could be seen as one of the more stronger, braver ones, says swear words and argues a lot with dustin. Characteristics? pessimistic devious strong - minded argumentative cheeky mischievous Contribution to Narrative? Cares about the missing of will, mirrors what the audience is questioning by asking himself, quite against the belief that there is supernatural and something unusual is going on.
Will Byers	Major or Minor Character? a MAJOR character, what main storyline line revolves around Stereotype? ‘not like other kids’, but still stereotypical nerd but he does not have the typical american household. Characteristics? vulnerable sensitive insightful honest ‘i rolled a 7’ loyal protective innocent brave clever Contribution to Narrative? The whole plot of the first episode and series revolves around finding will and what took him. He is the second person to encounter this supernatural force and is a character audience care and are fond over due to his sweet innocent nature that he didn't deserve to be taken.
Eleven	Major or Minor Character? a MAJOR character Stereotype? no stereotype, represents E.T. being an unusual, peculiar character, has power i.e. stops fan. Not typical young suburban girl with long curly hair and pretty dresses. Characteristics? quiet shy hungry solitary curious hesitant smart Contribution to Narrative? aside from will going missing, the character adds another sub-plot to the episode as to who and where she came from and what exactly is she. it adds more mystery for the audience and is another character audiences can love and bond with. continuously exciting to see what the audience will learn about her next
Jonathan Byers	Major or Minor Character? a MAJOR character Stereotype? classic outsider, bullied by popular students, angsty student with a camera but father figure for his brother Characteristics? responsible sensitive caring protective quirky quiet shy Contribution to Narrative? Older brother of Will and supports his mother throughout. In this first episode jonathan is viewed as a vital character to wills life and who he loves dearly. Subplot love triangle with nancy and steve, provides romance theme to show.
Nancy Wheeler	Major or Minor Character? a MAJOR character Stereotype? stereotypical suburban high school teenager, good grades and teacher pets but breaks away from this stereotype with popular boy steve and when she disobey her parents. Characteristics? intelligent shy giggly hard working studious argumentative Contribution to Narrative? provides a romance plot to the story, a teenage girl that the teenage audience can relate to, is mike's older sister part of the american dream household when in fact it's not
Steve Harrington	Major or Minor Character? a MINOR character Stereotype? stereotypical popular jock, fluffy big hair,   Characteristics? slimey rebellious romantic cheeky Contribution to Narrative? Is nancy's love interest which causes her to go against her mother's wishes.
Barbara Holland	Major or Minor Character? a MINOR character Stereotype? classic nerd, enjoys studying but tries to fit in by following nancy Characteristics? studious sweet innocent Contribution to Narrative? is Nancy's best friend, she tries to keep her grounded instead of doing the wrong thing with steve.
Benny Hammond	Major or Minor Character? a MINOR character Stereotype? a butch cook yet friendly at the same time to his locals and eventually eleven Characteristics? kind hearted strong quick to judge nice caring Contribution to Narrative? is the first person to find eleven and we watch him try to figure out as much about her as we do, he asks the questions the audience want to hear.
Mr Clarke	Major or Minor Character? a MINOR character Stereotype? studious teacher, emjoys educating his students Characteristics? intelligent likeable supportive friendly resourceful caring Contribution to Narrative? Helps the three boys, even though unaware, he wants to help and teach them as the caring teacher that he is
	Major or Minor Character? a MINOR character Stereotype? classic stereotypical evil leader of the government Characteristics? manipulative calculative ruthless ambitious Contribution to Narrative? controller or otherwise ‘papa’ to elven, he’s the person the audience hate, the villian DR MARTIN BRENNER
Connie Frazier (Social Worker)	Major or Minor Character? a MINOR character Stereotype? typical evil assistance Characteristics? sweet at first emotionless mean loyal Contribution to Narrative? person to kill benny, villain sidekick, fakes identity
The Scientists	Major or Minor Character? a MINOR characters Stereotype? more creepy and unkown figures compared to the typical scientist Characteristics? brave creepy intriguing Contribution to Narrative? First people to go explore what took the scientist at the beginning
Ted Wheeler	Major or Minor Character? a MINOR character Stereotype? not the powerful father stereotype but allows his wife to take control of the kids and household Characteristics? laid-back oblivious critical trusting Contribution to Narrative? creates the sub-plot for mikes family life, not a true nuclear family
Karen Wheeler	Major or Minor Character? a MINOR character Stereotype? typical housewife, looks after children and household but is more strong and makes most of the decisions compared to husband Characteristics? overbearing protective suspiciosus dubious Contribution to Narrative? tries to protect her children, is the one keeping control