One of the #strangerthings about the intersection of the “Golden Age of TV” and the internet is the strange form of peer pressure it’s birthed. It’s something experienced every day, but personally there was a noticeable surge when Netflix’s brilliant sci-fi thriller “Stranger Things” dropped a few weeks ago. I’m glad I ultimately folded to the internet hype machine, but I remain critical and aware of its influence. It’s never felt more strongly than when a new “cult” show drops. Is a cult show really a cult show if every person I know, and many I don’t, are telling me to watch? I’m not of the opinion that exclusivity and the mindset of geek prestige is something to be preserved, but it needs to meet its death once and for all if this culture of entertainment overload persists, which I’m sure it will.
I hope you don't like sleeping Via ign.com
Due to the sheer volume of content being produced, it’s impossible to keep up with every program deemed quality in the eyes of the press, the TV geek powers that be, or most importantly, that vague quality meter we call social media. It’s the new circle of life. “Stranger Things” seems to be the perfect relevant example of this phenomenon. A TV show is created, the TV show drops on Netflix with little fanfare, people start to watch, they proclaim it one of the best things in the current lineup, they hold it up as the newest innovation in a rapidly changing field, they tweet something along the lines of #WeAreAllBarb, other people wonder who Barb —or that girl with the shaved head or Winona Ryder— is, they binge the show, they add to the social media presence of the show, the show gets renewed (looking at you Netflix), fans wait for the next season and write too many thinkpieces about it, and thus the circle of life continues.
In the two weeks since its release, nearly every person, website, and social media presence I’ve come into contact with has pushed me to watch, telling me I wouldn’t want to miss out on a pop culture phenomenon. And I don’t. I, in the tradition of most children of the internet, am extremely susceptible to multi-platform cultural peer pressure, especially when it comes to TV shows.
Barb is judging me (and Nancy) for folding to peer pressure Via Notey
But I’m conflicted about the cultural push to have watched everything or constantly be missing out. To the annoyance of one of my best friends, I’ve never watched “Mad Men,” it’s my own personal failure that I’ve never made it entirely through “The West Wing,” and I know I need to be watching “Mr. Robot,” but unless someone wants to write the rest of this piece for me it’s just not in the cards for the moment.
Despite the all-around glowing praise and non-stop promo the world was pushing at me, “Stranger Things” posed some issues for me pre-viewing. Largely, I am a noted scaredy pants. Call me a pussy, call me a chicken, but you will never be able to get me to watch a horror movie with you. It was my fear of horror vs. my TV FOMO, and predictably, the social media-induced FOMO won. My short review of “Stranger Things” is that it lives up to the hype. It’s a thoughtfully done, beautifully nostalgic, well written and directed eight episodes of TV.
This mix of fear and interest is how I watched "Stranger Things" via The Verge
“Stranger Things” was a fantastic watch, but so were many of the shows I watched this year, as well as most of the ones I didn’t. In our state of quality entertainment overload, picking and choosing for interest rather than prestige should be applauded, not shamed. I assure you, you can wear the badge of TV geek proudly without having seen every show lauded by critics or fans. When everything is quality, quantity once again becomes an important factor.
