By Owen Quinn author Photos copyright Netflix
So, yesterday, I saw a deluge of hate against Stranger Things for the scene where Will comes out to his friends. Cries of woke echoed across the land. An agenda is being pushed by these big corporations like Netflix. We don’t need this in our entertainment. Even comedians like Australian Isaac Butterfield posted a video crying about the woke agenda and telling them to suck a fat one. While it’s nice that Derek’s catchphrase has caught on, it’s a pity they didn’t bother to actually pay attention to the story and put the scene in context both historically and storywise. But then again, posting hate upon it just shows that people are closing down when they assume it’s woke. That’s equally unhealthy.
There is no one more antiwoke than me. It ias dangerous, it excludes and tries to form a fantasy on the masses rather than fact. I hate it and will fight against it. As Billy Connolly once said, PC is the language of cowardice. But this instance jsut shows how easily people throw this term out without thinking first.
So, the first thing you need to know is that Stranger Things eason 5 is set in the 80s, 1987 to be precise. Now the 80s was a time where gay people had much to fear. Aids had been dubbed the gay plague by the medie, sending the public into a frenzy that they could catch it off a gay person. The Hollywood actor Rock Hudson was exposed as being gay and having lived a secret life in Hollywood. They kept his image as a straight man going up to the point they arranged a fake marriage so people would not suspect his sexualitycould. Such a thing cost the studios money at the box office. He starred in the soap opera Dynasty where his physical appearance sparked rumours that exposed his secret. He shared an onscreen kiss with Linda Evans and people asked had she caught the disease from that kiss.
Of course not. But there was no real understanding on AIDS but slowly that changed. Princess Diana would be seen to shake hands with people with the disease.
HIV could be caught from infected blood used in transfusions and many including children, were ostracized by communities who feared they would catch it too just from being near a person with it. I’m seeing parallels here with people not arming themselves with knowledge about things and just going off on one. Queen singer Freddie Mercury was also a victim of it , dying in 1991and there was a real fear among people. It was neither a plague nor caused by gay people. Liberace and Rock Hudson also died. Teenager Ryan White became the post child of AIDS and a major part in educating the public about the disease. Can you imagine coming out in those days when a mere twenty years earlier, you were arrested and put in prison for being gay. By coming out, you put a target on your back because of people’s ignorance of the subject. People looked at you differently, fearfully.
Hence movies like Philadelphia starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington, were made to help the masses understand the disease. Television shows began to feature it. Dynasty featured the first gay character on mainstream television with Blake Carrington’s son, Steven. The soap never shied away from any aspect of Steven’s sexuality from his family’s reactions to wanting to be accepted for who he was. Equally, Eastenders’ Mark Fowler caught HIV and was treated like a leper by the likes of Peggy Mitchell. But by exploring the storyline, viewers were educated by Mark’s story. And he was straight too.
I personally know people whose families disowned them because of their sexuality. And while I understand it is hard for parents to come to terms with it, making that kid a pariah is not the answer. But to be fair, that generation were brought up on certain standards and a life of life society expected them to follow. Being gay upset that apple cart. Thankfully, it is better now and much more but we still have a way to go.
So, against this background, can you really claim that Willk’s coming oput scene is woke? No, it’s a true reflection of the time, back then and still now.
So when Will is captured by Vecna, he is able to locate Max’s location by digging into Will’s head. He sends the demodogs to kill her. Caleb, Vicky and Robin will also be caught in the crossfire. And all because Vecna broke Will by showing him what would happen if he revealed his sexuality. Will states that Vecna showed him a future where his friends and family turned their backs on him. He would be alone and with the added threat of Vecna and his masterplan, being alone right now is not the best idea. Vecna is essentially blackmailing Will in the most horrendous way.
Sadly, this fear of losing the ones you love, the ones that you expect to love you unconditionally, no matter what, is terrifying for those wanting to come out to the world. And this is still a reality to this day but as I said, it is getting better. What do you do when your religion condemns you for being who you are? Living a lie is preferable to being killed for it.
Will’s speech is beautifully written because it is a speech that fits 1987 and kids today. It is timeless as it addresses the fear of coming out and being slightly different to what your family expected you to be. Will is not just speaking to his friends and family but every single person out there watching, struggling to reveal themselves.
That isn’t woke. That is us being human and decent enough to give kids like Will the safety net and security that who they are is ok and they should fully embrace it. They don’t have to be labelled. They don’y have to be ashamed. They can be husbands, fathers, mothers, wives, foster parents. The only thing stopping them is how others sees them Let me tell you, there is no better night’s craic that being in the company of gay people. There should be no divides between us and shether you are gay or not, it shouldn’t matter.
So how does this play into the story and why the end of episode seven? Vecna no longer has any hold over Will. He can fully tap into the hive and help bring Vecna down. Released from the burden of shame and fear, Will is a powerful weapon now. When all his friends and family say that he will never lose them, it is the defining moment of the series. These kids have been to hell and back and are now all that stands between Vecna merging the two worlds. They have gotten here through fear, pain, happiness and love. Love transcends all and that group hug symbolises what every person coming out should have. Robin, the lesbian character, is an intricatepart of this as it is her story that helped Will come out. Without her, Will might have kept his secret and Vecna could still have power over him.
Remember, Dustin also confessed that he can’t lose anyone else after Eddie. Jonathan and Nancy have confessed their real feelings for each other. Steve has told Dustin how Eddie’s death affected him and his pain at seeing Dustin suffer. Hopper confessed to Joyce his fears that Elle may never have a normal life and that Kali may be right after all. Not forgetting Max telling Caleb that he was all she needed to find her way home from her year long coma.
There are no more secrets. Everything is now out in the open and they are a powerful force standing together to save the world.
But remember that this entire coming out scene, may give someone else the courage to be themselves and smash those closet doors once and for all. That is why this scene is the most pivotal moment, not just of the series but of television 2025.
So next time, the naysayers diss an important scene like this, remind them to stop, get their facts right and then form an opinion instead of jumping on the bandwagon with all the other sheep.
The Time Warriors and Beyond 