I liked Stranger Things when it first came out, but I would say there was a solid four year gap between when the first season came out and when I actually watched the second season. By the time I watched the second season, the third season was already streaming on Netflix with the fourth season announced. When Season 4 dropped, I could not get enough of it. I don't want to admit how many times I watched it, but it was several. I chalked it up to my anxiety and panic being at an all time high because the third round of COVID really just pushed down the gas pedal on my daily level of anxiety.
On my most recent rewatch, it occurred to me that it might be more than my need for stability at play. Stranger Things Season 4 is a love letter to Jaws. While there were definitely Jaws references in other seasons, this season holds the most. I'm aware of the many other horror movies and pop cultural references in the show. Despite only being alive for a few years in the 80s, it's kind of my sweet spot in pop culture. Likewise, if it's a horror movie, I've most likely seen it once or twice. I have my niche. To paraphrase Eddie Munson, season four is as unambiguous a sign of true love for Jaws as my cynical eyes have ever seen. I did not need to look the quote up if that helps you understand where I am right now in rewatch value. Given that Jaws is my favorite movie, I don't think I missed many if any of the references. To be honest, I'm not sure if the Duffer brothers meant to make all of the references I found.
1) The opening scene of Jaws is iconic. If you recall, it involves a late night swim in the ocean. It is also the first death in the movie. The swimmer's name in the movie is Chrissie, and she is the girl next door in terms of appearance. When they were casting, that is the look they wanted. Vecna's first victim? A cheerleader named Chrissie. Given that the Duffer brothers originally wanted to film in Montauk, I'm fairly certain that this reference was 100% intentional.
2) The most obvious references are in the episode titled "The Dive." When Steve jumps in to swim to the bottom of the lake, he drops his flashlight when he sees movement behind the gate. Hooper drops the shark tooth when Ben Gardner's decayed head pops out of the side of the boat. This scene gives us a third reference when Steve makes it back up to the boat and gets dragged under not once but twice when the tentacle grabs him. Before Spielberg gave the actress who played Chrissie whiplash from dragging her through the water, she had the same beats of getting dragged down and popping back up for air only to get pulled down again. Likewise, Eddie's reaction to Steve jumping in the water was pretty much that of Chief Brody in Jaws when Hooper went in so willingly at night. In fairness to Brody and Eddie, I'm a swimmer, and I wouldn't swim in a lake or the ocean at night.
3) Chrissie's cheer uniform and Steve's sweatshirt are both yellow which is the same color as Alex Kinter's raft in Jaws. The little boy is the second victim in Jaws if I don't count the dog. I spent most of Season 4 worried about Steve, and I suspect anyone who watched Jaws did so subconsciously due to the amount of Jaws connections surrounding his character. Color choices are never accidental in film and television.
4) Prior to realizing what the chiming of the clock meant, the simplistic four notes themselves reminded me of the theme song for Jaws. It's a nice reminder that you don't need music played at the highest volume to create suspense. Likewise, you don't need a kid's song in an eerie tone to build suspense which is a cheap movie horror trope. A few strategically placed notes are more than enough to warn the audience that something is coming. Sometimes, less is actually more.
5) There is a very strong argument to be made that Hopper, Owens, and Brenner are the Brody, Hooper, and Quint of this season. You have Hopper and Brody, both of whom are fairly reluctant heroes at the start, both placed in the role of the chief of police, and I would say a good argument could be made that sharks and monsters don't technically fall into police jurisdiction. Then, you have Owens and Hooper. They are both men of science who are experts in their field. Hooper brought more comic relief to the movie, but Stranger Things has a much bigger cast to work with, so the comedy is left to some of the younger characters. Either way, both are somewhat underappreciated for the knowledge and sense of reality that they bring to the table. It would not surprise me if Dr. Owens does not make it out of season five alive because Hooper wasn't supposed to make it out of Jaws alive. The character dies in the book, but Spielberg liked Dreyfus. Finally, you have Martin Brenner and Quint. For them, the work is extremely personal. Their intentions are a little more ambiguous, and because they can't separate their personal feelings from logic, they both make fairly reckless choices. As soon as I saw Matthew Modine in the opening scene, I immediately knew he would not be making it to season five. I find Quint to be a little more likable each time I watch Jaws because of his speech about the USS Arizona whereas Brenner traumatizes children.
6) You could legitimately put the shot of Brody and Nancy holding a gun side by side, and they would be fairly identical shots. The camera work on both is inspiring.
7) I teach a film class, and one of my guest speakers this year confirmed what I have always thought about Jaws. It could very well be its own standalone class in cinema. It hits the beats at the right moments, and it is broken into three very clear acts for me. I think Stranger Things managed to pull that off this season even with 20 some characters I had to keep up with during the season. In Jaws, we have the inciting incident of Chrissie's death and then the far less ambiguous death of the little boy. In Stranger Things, we once again have Chrissie's death and the less ambiguous death of the teenage boy. In Jaws, the second death makes it clear to everyone that there is a very real shark problem. In Stranger Things, the second death makes it clear that there will be a pattern to Vecna's killings. Act II always has the characters forming a plan, only to realize it's not the best plan. In Jaws, there is a false sense of relief when the fishermen bring back the Tiger Shark. It is indeed a scary shark, but it wasn't the shark. In Stranger Things, we see Max survive the attack which is promising but doesn't entirely solve the problem. We also see Dustin, Steve, Nancy, and Eddie survive the Upside Down, but their plan to get guns from Nancy's house is foiled when they realize they are stuck two years in the past. A for effort? Finally, we have the third act which has to be epic. Blood shed. Lives ruined. Not everyone can survive the final act or there aren't any stakes. If I am supposed to worry for Brody's safety, I need to know that he hates the water and just watched his two shark experts get "killed." In Stranger Things, you see every character fighting what appears to be a losing battle given that almost all of them are getting their butts handed to them. If someone didn't die in that battle, I would have been annoyed despite the fact that I like many of the characters. It's just not realistic to go into that level of a fight with a shark or monster and not take some giant hits. RIP Eddie. Possibly RIP Max. As much as I love Sadie Sink and know she is the strongest actor of the younger group, they should have let the character die because Act III has to be a bloodbath.
I write. I watch a lot of movies and television shows. I read. I teach literature and writing. I won a bet with a writer of The 100 because I bet I could predict at least two things in a season finale. He donated to the charity of my choice because I figured it out, so really, everyone won.
I have a fairly good idea of where the show needs to go in the next season and what will happen, so I'm excited to see if the writers actually take the show where it absolutely needs to go. Let's be real. Among other things that need to happen, you can't have every Byer and Wheeler survive the last season.
For those of you who think I've lost my mind and am not focused on the issues facing women, I absolutely have not lost my mind or lost sight of the fight ahead. Everyone needs a break from worrying. Everyone. This show was mine.
Give yourself a break.