feminist theory

 

Hawkins Indiana 

5 words to describe the town.

Quiet, rural, compact, small, sleepy

The basic belief is that small towns are safe places when compared to big cities and are viewed as an ideal picturesque place. Many creators will tend to use this preconceived notion to subvert our expectations by revealing them to be backward or evil. There is often a stigma that the town will have about outsiders building its own sense of community with great hostility to anyone unknown. Stranger things also looks at the common stereotypes of small towns in the 80's by subverting from the stereotypes around race and gender with the main character eleven even appearing in typical female clothing only to 'fit in' before removing it, as well as the inclusion of a small towns hostilities towards people of different ethnic backgrounds such as there bullies reaction towards Lucas.

Van Zoonen- Feminist Theory

Women are objectified in the media 

The theory implies that gender is a social construct and has several ways of being expressed through the internet. 

Appling to the killing

Women like Nanna are viewed as sexual objects and in a way defenseless 

Applying to stranger things

Eleven who has been kept from any social or cultural interactions does not possess and conventional feminine traits.

Hooks- Feminist Theory

Feminist critiques in the media focus on the challenging the patriarchal and sexist representations.

Intersectionality looks at the way that multiple identities and systems of oppression overlap such as race, religion, gender, sexuality.

Hooks argues that media representations often show these oppressive ideologies.

How are dominant ideologies reinforced in the killing 

Characters like Meyer are viewed as quite lazy and comedic, something that would likely not allow him the same opposition if he was a female. The police force is also very male dominated with even Sarah having male superiors.

The opening scene show a female victim running for her life very scantily clad, this reinforces the idea that women cannot wear small amounts of clothing without being attacked.

How are dominant ideologies contradicted in the killing

The character of Sarah Lund is shown to be a hard working mother and police officer, in direct contrast to the typical care focused mothers.

Pernille and Theis

See Pernille cleaning and Theis coming home in his work overalls. Theis wants to fix the dishwasher himself before failing and asking Pernille to call a plumber. Theis asks her to pick up their two children. women are presented as the primary care giver and the both of them live happily with one and other.