What’s your favorite ’80s reference in Stranger Things?

Netflix's sci-fi drama is nothing if not a pop culture smorgasbord from that decade

By Saloni Gajjar, Alison Foreman, Jack Smart, William Hughes, Tim Lowery, Mary Kate Carr  |  May 26, 2022 | 12:00pm
TV Features Stranger Things
What’s your favorite ’80s reference in Stranger Things?
(Clockwise from bottom-left): Ghostbusters (Columbia Pictures); Millie Bobby Brown and Finn Wolfhard in Stranger Things (Netflix); E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (Universal Pictures); Gabriella Pizzolo in Stranger Things (Netflix); Winona Ryder in Stranger Things (Netflix); Noah Schnapp in Stranger Things (Netflix) Image: Rebecca Fassola

The long-awaited fourth season of Stranger Things is almost here. And since the Netflix hit essentially doubles as a time machine, transporting audiences several decades into the past, we naturally decided that the latest AVQ&A should ask: What’s your favorite ’80s reference in Stranger Things?

previous arrowGhostbusters next arrow

Putting Mike, Will, Dustin, and Lucas in costumes during Stranger Things may have been obvious (the movie was released in 1984, the same year season two is set). But it’s the adorable execution of this entire Halloween sequence that really makes the reference work. Starting with Joyce and the rest of the parents taking polaroids of the boys’ homemade outfits (“Hold up the proton blaster!”) and ending with the devastating revelation that no one else at school dressed up (“Who ya gonna call? The nerds!”), this scene perfectly captures the warm nostalgia and knowing humor that first made Stranger Things into one of TV’s greatest coming-of-age epics. Plus, the two Venkmans? Flawless. [Alison Foreman]

9 Comments

  • ghostofghostdad-av says:
    May 26, 2022 at 12:55 pm

    Going to pitch a show that is just a slideshow of random 80’s products while Killing Jokes’s Eighties plays on a loop. 

    Reply
  • fever-dog-av says:
    May 26, 2022 at 1:25 pm

    My favorite is the diminishing returns of sequels.  What could be more 80s?

    Reply
  • legospaceman-av says:
    May 26, 2022 at 1:49 pm

    Every 80s reference in Stranger Things is my jam.

    Reply
  • frankwalkerbarr-av says:
    May 26, 2022 at 3:23 pm

    How about the non-chain discount store like the one Joyce worked at? Those were around in the 1980s but were pretty much killed by malls, Wal-Mart, and things like Dollar Tree in the 1990s.

    Reply
    • blarpppp-av says:
      May 26, 2022 at 4:38 pm

      How about the fact that a single mother could afford to live in a house and raise two children on a retail salary?  Today Joyce would need to have an Onlyfans.

      Reply
  • lostmyburneragain2-av says:
    May 26, 2022 at 4:19 pm

    Like, this show is SOOOOO 80s I love 80s references

    Reply
  • mavar-av says:
    May 26, 2022 at 4:31 pm

    BREAKING! ‘Goodfellas’ Star Ray Liotta Dies at 67https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/goodfellas-star-ray-liotta-dies-160516150.html

    Reply
  • dinoironbody1-av says:
    May 26, 2022 at 4:36 pm

    I like that The A.V. Club is still doing AVQ&As, but I hope they’re not all promotional (“What’s your favorite thing from this show we like?”).

    Reply
  • mikolesquiz-av says:
    May 27, 2022 at 2:42 am

    All of them except that Neverending Story thing. I love Neverending Story but that moment in Stranger Things was a hard crash into a low point the season didn’t manage to recover from. Not so much puncturing the show’s balloon as cutting a bit slash into it that made an unpleasantly wet farty noise as the whole thing deflated.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Share Tweet Submit Pin