What exactly is Netflix? A new TV? A new movie service? According to Mareike Jenner (2019), Netflix and other streaming services in the history of TV have shifted to a new paradigm in technology, content and marketing called TVⅣ. What does that mean? In the following, I would like to explain what Netflix and Stranger Things stand for, using Netflix’s signature work, Stranger Things, as an example.

Stranger Things is one of Netflix Original’s most successful series. It is currently in its fourth season and has record-breaking viewership. So what has gotten audiences so excited? Before we talk about Stranger Things, let’s look at what it is: a bizarre sci-fi horror story set in 1983 in the suburban town of Hawkins, Indiana, USA, about four children, their families, and the police officers who investigate them. The film is set in the 80s and is characterized by the music and culture of the time.

This has been discussed in many media and social networking sites, so that I won’t go into depth, but many of the Duffer brothers’ film influences are referenced in this drama. The science fiction works of Spielberg and George Lucas, classic horror films, and other works mentioned in this interview with the Duffer brothers alone are quite numerous.

Every Major Movie Reference in Stranger Things (WIRED Released on 07/25/2019)

Next, when we look at the film’s direction, such as the cut and split, we can see a lot of what might be called a very cinematic direction, which the films above may have influenced. In particular, while recent films are becoming more post-cinematic, this film, which references many films from the 1980s, appears to be more cinematic. The scenes above from the film’s influences are also quite classic in their presentation.

Also, let’s take a look at the aspect ratio. Most films usually use CinemaScope, which is 2.35:1. Since it is wider than normal TV (16:9), you will notice a band at the top and bottom when you watch it on TV at home. On the other hand, TV dramas are usually produced in 1.85:1 (≒16:9). So what about Netflix? The aspect ratio used mainly for series dramas from House of Cards is 2:1, with an aspect called UNIVISIUM. This is a universal and modern aspect ratio that is “in between” film and TV and is also smartphone-like.

Filmmaker Noam Kroll also states in his blog that the Netflix rules create a new aesthetic.

As we have seen, there are many cinematic aspects to the Netflix recommendation of binge-watching, which also takes the form of a series of dramas and allows the viewer to watch one season in a “cinematic” sequence. In short, Netflix productions such as Stranger Things may be a new type of content style that transcends the concept of TV dramas and is both “cinematic and dramatic”, like the aspect ratio, while also showing the cinematic aspect of the series.

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Refferences

• Mareike Jenner (2019). Netflix And The Re-Invention Of Television. S.L.: Palgrave Macmillan.

• Farnsworth, M. (2019) Every movie referenced by ‘stranger things’, Wired. Conde Nast. Available at: https://www.wired.com/story/stranger-things-movie-references/ (Accessed: November 1, 2022).

• Every Major Stranger Things Movie Reference Explained By the Duffer Brothers | WIRED. (2019). YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGGc1wGmgbM.

• Kroll, W.by N. et al. (2022) Why the 2:1 aspect ratio is now the fastest growing format in Cinema, Noam Kroll. Available at: https://noamkroll.com/why-the-21-aspect-ratio-univisium-is-now-the-fastest-growing-format-in-cinema/ (Accessed: November 1, 2022).

• Abreu, R., Rafael Abreu Rafael Abreu received his B.A. in English from Florida International Un and Rafael Abreu received his B.A. in English from Florida International University (2021) Watch: Is Storaro’s 2:1 the “perfect” aspect ratio? (video essay), StudioBinder. Available at: https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-2-1-aspect-ratio/ (Accessed: November 7, 2022).

Kenji Shimada 7/11/2022