Hawkins Felt Like Home: The Emotional Attachment To Stranger Things
- Mar 1
- 2 min read
By Andrea Briones
The popular Netflix series Stranger Things left viewers—particularly those of Generation Z— heartbroken on New Year's after releasing their finale.
Set in the 1980s, the sci-fi horror show follows a group of kids and adults who uncover the supernatural mysteries and secrets of Hawkins, Indiana, including a portal to an alternate dimension called the Upside Down.
It explores themes of friendship, identity and fear while highlighting resilience and belonging.
Created by the Duffer Brothers in late 2015, the show struck a chord with a generation that never lived through the era firsthand. But why?
People feel a strong emotional attachment to “Stranger Things” due to the intense 1980s nostalgia.
Anemoia means “nostalgia for a time or place one has never known or experienced.”
This is what they crave.
Gen Z is known for reviving old trends like Y2K fashion. With “Stranger Things,” they seek a time when things seemed simpler and innocent—away from the current digital age.
Because of the show, songs from the era like Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) by Kate Bush and Purple Rain by Prince skyrocketed to the top of music charts.
"Running Up That Hill" by Kate
Bush.
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
"Purple Rain" by Prince.
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
But beyond reliving past trends and music, the show resonates with a generation that grew up alongside its actors.
The younger cast, including Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard and Noah Schnapp, are a part of Gen Z.
Throughout the show’s 10-year span, viewers formed emotional connections with its characters because they had depth and nuance.
Folks like Steve Harrigton, a former popular kid, showed audiences that people can change, and Max Mayfield, who masked pain and grief with a tough act, showed viewers the importance of letting people in.
Season after season, Stranger Things fans had something to look forward to, but now the show is over—just like their childhood.
The sorrow isn’t one-sided. Actors reported a profound personal attachment to the characters they portrayed onscreen.
“I definitely feel like I said goodbye to a part of myself,” said Brown, who played Eleven, in an interview with AP Entertainment. “It felt like a death…it was just a piece of me.”
Now that the show is over, people are coping through social media.
Thousands of TikTok users are referring to their grief as “PSTD: Post Stranger Things Depression.” From video edits to conspiracy theories, the fandom is reluctant to let go.
The most prominent theory to surface on the internet was known as conformity gate.
Fans went down a rabbit hole to examine plot holes and concluded that the ending was not real, hoping for a secret ninth episode. Sadly, for this fandom, the theory was debunked.
Now, all Gen Z can hold onto are the memories because this time, the Upside Down has been sealed away for good.
super insightful