Discourse Analysis #4

 

 

 

 

 

Introduction

This forth analysis dives into the examination of memes through a critical lens, Queer Theory, and how it is present in television in the year 2022. Through both the semiotic and discursive meanings of three memes, queerbaiting is revealed to be included in the script of the popular series Stranger Things most directly through one of the lead characters; Will Byers. Since the first episode of the first season of the show, Will’s sexuality has been in question as the Duffer Brothers included various scenes where Will is teased, called homophobic slurs, and referred to as different by both classmates, close friends, and family members making his childhood and early teen years quite challenging combined with his connection to the upside down/Vecna. This led to a series of theories over the years about Will Byers’ character being gay. In early years, these types of theories were turned down by the two brothers who crafted this genius plotline and those who were cast in it. These comments towards Will and his behavior were just labeled as his way of navigating the awkward stages from boyhood to adulthood. Fast forward to the most recent season, season 4, of Stranger Things and the creators and cast have different responses to these public theories from fans than in years past. In an article recorded/written by Savannah Walsh, Noah Schnapp said “Now that [Will has] gotten older, they made it a very real, obvious thing. Now it's 100% clear that he is gay and he does love Mike” (Vanity Fair, 2022). This hints at the fact that either Noah’s character, Will Byers had not discovered his true sexual identity in the young age that he was in past seasons of the show or it simply was not a part of the original script. The second part of the prior sentence is a possibility given Maya Hawke’s character, Robin Buckley and her romantic development on script and on screen. When she was introduced on the hit show in season 3, her and Joe Keery’s character Steve Harrington, immediately had a special connection. This led many to believe the two characters would end up together until Robin came out to Steve in a powerful scene for queer identity in episode 7 of that season. The inclusion of this scene is crucial in proving this theory in that it was not an original part of the script given the fact that Robin and Steve were initially written as love interests to one another. This shows that although there were many signs pointing towards Will Byers being gay in early seasons of the show, it could have not always been the case.

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Meme #1: Season 1, Episode 1

The first meme that is pictured above, comes from the first season and episode in which audiences were first introduced to the hit television series Stranger Things and its beloved cast. Structurally, it shows a very flustered looking woman in an office-like setting which happens to be Will Byers’ mother, Joyce. The text at the bottom includes three brief descriptions of comments made in regard to Will and her ex husband Lonnie which lead viewers to believe that the boy’s mother is very much aware of his sexuality, but is in denial. Therefore, semiotically, her body language and quick way of flipping the focus of the discussion also alludes to this. Discursively, the details above come together to showcase the low public representation level of queer culture during the 1980s. This specific parenting style and sense of fitting the “societal norm” during this era is shown through Joyce’s sense of refusing to believe or inability to accept her son’s sexuality in just this scene alone. This is one of the initial examples in which Will Byers’ sexuality was hinted at to the public eye in which queerbaiting was kickstarted in the series and then continued into Season 4. 

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Meme #2: Season 3, Episode 3 

The second meme comes from Season 3 of Stranger Things which was released in 2019. Structurally, it is a vertical, double framed meme that shows Will Byers and his closest friend Mike Wheeler pictured in a heated moment under a garage door on a rainy night. The top box includes text, “It's not my fault you don’t like girls,” which was a line said by Mike in the episode. In the meme, Will’s picture box is shown with the text “Ya Mike, it's kinda your fault.” While in the actual scene Will then goes silent with a look of shock and disappointment, semiotically, this meme suggests that Will’s inner thoughts are focused on how Mike might have somehow figured out his sexuality. To back up this claim, Mike could have worded the sentence differently like, “It’s not my fault you don’t like El” or something more along those lines to directly address Will’s potential jealousy to Mike and Eleven’s current relationship. Discursively, through the lens of Queer Theory with a focus on queerbaiting, this scene further showcases how another figure in Will Byer’s life makes it known that they are aware of his sexuality in the least sensitive way and then later flips the focus onto either another person or topic that is associated with the situation/discussion at hand. This not only is an accurate representation of queer culture in this decade and beyond, but contributes to the commonly seen trend of queerbaiting throughout the show integrated directly into the storyline of the main character, Will Byers.

 

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Meme #3: Season 4, Episode 8

In this third and final section, I chose to include two memes from the same scene as a cluster in order to fully convey my argument of queerbaiting being present throughout the series, Stranger Things, which was most recently showcased more than ever in Season 4. Structure wise, the first meme includes a picture from an emotional moment with both Will Byers and Mike Wheeler. For context, Will had been working on the gift of a painting for Mike for months which was revealed to him in that car ride. Semiotically, one can tell from Will’s face alone that the interpretation of the painting was not fully received openly on both ends between the two boys. The text pictured below goes on to describe how the characters in the series time and time again fail to recognize Will fully and respect him. This points towards the idea of a joke in that the deadly villain, Vecna might treat Will better in a season’s ending that already points towards a potential connection between him and Will connecting to the start of the show. The second meme structurally has a picture of the singer, Adele, on the jumbotron at a basketball game with a very disinterested or disappointed expression on her face. It also includes the words, “me when will showed his drawing and it wasn’t a gay pride flag.” Discursively, this alludes to the fact that this scene did contribute to queerbaiting in this season when Will’s sexuality was once again teased at being fully revealed. 

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Conclusion

All in all, through these three sections of memes one can now analyze the series Stranger Things through the Queer Theory lens with a focus on queerbaiting. This issue is shown to not only be present since the start of the show in 2016, but the current day. Tying back to the introduction at the start of this forth analysis, it took a build up of over six years of public speculation for Will Byers’ sexuality to be revealed through an interview (not in the show’s screen time) after the most recent season, Season 4, was released. This is shown through just these memes and show alone, that the entertainment industry and society still has so much more to learn when it comes to their knowledge in diversity, equity, equality, and inclusion.

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Reflection

Personally, I found deciding on a lens and theme/topic before looking for memes to be the most challenging part of this forth analysis web page. After deciding to focus on Queer Theory and the series, Stranger Things, the analyzation process went quite smoothly as I am passionate on the subject matter. I decided on more simple and dialogue driven memes because I felt that they would most directly showcase to anyone who views my site. I did this also in chronological order of the show in the case that they have either watched or will watch it in the future to form their own personal take on my viewpoint. I found my analysis process to be effective in that it helped me more deeply think about characters in film and how they can be used to directly represent a time period, creator(s), or culture. On a lighter note, I purely enjoyed the way that we as a class were given the ability to use memes as a way of analyzing sophisticated lenses represented in an endless number of signs in the world around us. It brought back a nostalgic feeling to me and helped in the process of completing this analysis overall.

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