Nostalgia e cultura pop : releituras da Guerra Fria e do pânico satânico em Stranger Things

Abstract

This dissertation falls within the field of studies on nostalgia in Pop Culture, highlighting as an object of analysis the series Stranger Things (Netflix, 2016-2022), a work that focuses on the fictional representation of the teenage universe of the 1980s. The aim is to investigate the nostalgic triggers proposed by the series, analyzing aesthetic, narrative and discursive aspects of the representations of the Cold War and the satanic panic in relation to the role-playing game (RPG). The research explores such thematic axes and their connections with the concepts of restorative nostalgia and reflective nostalgia defined by cultural theorist Svetlana Boym (2017). The study also sheds light over the nostalgia market in the context of streaming services and big data capitalism, starting from the discussions of researcherssuch as Ana Paula Goulart Ribeiro (2018) and Kathryn Pallister (2019) on Netflix's performance in this market. The methodologies used are stylistic analysis and contextual analysis. To operationalize the analyses, scenes considered representative of the way in which the series proposes nostalgic approaches to the Cold War and the panic surrounding the practice of RPG are highlighted. In the axis that focuses on the representation of the Cold War, the analysis focuses on the third and fourth seasons, examining the nostalgic triggers in the approach to the conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union, as well as their relationships with the geopolitical and ideological scenarios of the referenced period. by the series (Ronald Reagan's government [1981-1989]) and its production period (Donald Trump's government [2017- 2021]). The thematic axis that addresses the representations of satanic panic related to the RPG is centered on the fourth season, examining the ways in which the series references social panic events that occurred in the USA during the 1970s/80s/90s, relating such representations to circular-imagetic-magical thinking by Vilém Flusser (2008), superficial reading of texts and misinformation. Thus, this study aims to contribute with the reflections on nostalgia and mediatized memory in Pop Culture, investigating the means by which a nostalgic series dialogues with past and contemporary contexts.