Функции интермедиальности в сериале "Очень странные дела"

Философия. Журнал Высшей школы экономики. 2026. Т. 10. № 1. С. 189–216.

Fomina E., Афанасьев В. А.

The article is devoted to the realization of intermediality in the series “Stranger
Things” (2016–2025). The specific approach of the Duffer brothers, the creators of the series,
to recreate the atmosphere of the American 80s allows us to feel the sense of nostalgia, mainly
achieved with the help of intermedial inclusions peculiar for the depicted era. In particular,
the focus lies on the “geek culture”, which the main characters undoubtedly belong to, that
determines their own cultural background and worldview. It turns out to be especially important
within the artistic reality of the series. Thus, media culture becomes a feasible force in
the struggle of heroes against supernatural creatures. The conducted analysis of examples of
intermediality in the series (in the form of references to iconic films, literature, music, tabletop
role-playing games, etc.) allows us to identify the individual meaning of each element considered
as well as to figure out several their functions, namely: sociocultural (revealing the image
of USA in the 80s), nostalgic, plot-forming and compositional (allowing to predict scenarios for
the development of storylines), psycho-emotional (giving the opportunity to immerse oneself
in the psychological state of the heroes), characterological (helping to reveal the images of the
heroes from new sides due to their interaction with types of art), cognitive and educational
(helping the main characters understand the importance of the knowledge acquired during
the game for surviving in the Upside Down and fighting its creatures), genre-forming (making
it possible to implement the main aspects of the horror genre with the help of genre clichés).

Keywords: ностальгия, fantasy, фэнтези, интермедиальность, Nostalgy, intermediality, horror, хоррор, Stranger Things, Duffer, Geek-culture, D&D, очень странные дела, Даффер, гик-культура, Dungeons and Dragons