#because Dustin has the confidence and arrogance of the child of a lesbian

[notmybabies]

If I am not mistaken the only Mondale/Ferraro sign we see in Hawkins is at the Henderson household. Go Claudia!

In the context of the signs being about homosexuality and rejection of forced conformity I think it opens up Claudia’s character in an interesting way. Because we never hear about Dustin’s father, I assume he and his mother moved to Hawkins alone, in ‘79 or ‘80. Being new and living all the while as a single working mother with a child with a visible disability is enough to make yourself stand out in a small town, but she isn’t afraid to go one step further and put out a Democrat sign in a sea of Reagan love. Truly a bad ass.

Reagan/Bush ‘84 and the Looming Danger of Homophobia

I was doing a rewatch of some of season 2 and I wanted to share an analysis on something that always caught my eye: the Reagan/Bush ‘84 campaign signs. I might have to rewatch season 2 more closely, but for now I’ll focus just on how the set pieces are used in episode 2x02.

Whenever these signs show up they are very eye catching. The sign is bright white and the text and colors are bold, whenever they show up ESPECIALLY during the nighttime scenes, they really grab the eye. These could just be there to establish that this is taking place during the ‘84 election season, but I think they have much more meaning on that based on when they show up.

The first time they pop up in this episode is when Jonathan is dropping Will off at the Wheelers house for trick-or-treating. The sign isn’t too visible as it’s covered by the mailbox, but it’s still in frame.

Typically the appearance of the Reagan/Bush sign involve Will, which is in part due to his focus in this episode but also due to his sexuality. The 80’s was a turbulent time to be gay, in big part thanks to the AIDS crisis and the Reagan administration’s negligence to act. The show never addresses AIDS directly, but it’s likely many viewers (especially older ones) would be aware of this history.

The Reagan/Bush ‘84 signs are meant to signal looming danger and represent the presence of homophobia.

I believe that the signs point to danger (pun intended) based on when they show up. Will has an episode while trick-or-treating, and the placement of the sign here could be a way to foresahdow this threat. Part of why I think this is not only the history behind it but also the selectiveness of when the the Duffers choose to show the sign. They could have placed one at every house to really hammer it in, but the choose only a handful of times to show it.

For example, this is a wide exterior shot where the sign could have easily fit in, but the yard is empty. This is also the part where the boys are joking around about nougat right before Max shows up. The tone is supposed to be humorous and fun.

In this shot when the party is getting candy in Loch Nora, we start with Lucas, Max and Dustin in frame while they have a lighthearted discussion. The sign is not in frame. Mike and Will are seen in the background but aren’t the focus.

When Lucas, Dustin and Max cross in front of a Reagan/Bush sign, this is when the focus shifts to Mike and Will.

Right after the above shot, it cuts to the POV of Will’s camera and Mike and Will have their conversation about Max’s presence. Mike then storms ahead, and we get the sign in two sequential shots:

Following this seperation, Will is called a freak by some strangers and then has an episode.

Considering the fact that the Mind Flayer is a representation of forced conformity, what with it being the remote control to a literal hivemind, it makes sense to pair its looming presence with the other looming presence of Reagan era homophobia. ESPECIALLY considering Will’s struggles with sexuality and the external forces at play there.

It’s also important to note that the Reagan/Bush sign is not just present with Will, but with Mike too. With Will it’s clearer because more focus is placed on him, and his encounter with the Mind Flayer makes the metaphor more obvious, but this ever present danger of homophobia effects Mike as well.

The next time we see the sign its this exterior shot of the Wheeler house, right before we get the crazy together scene where Will talks about his episode.

Now the crazy together scene is about safety and comfort, so why use a set piece that is meant to signal danger? Well, I think it’s there to show how the danger isn’t gone, both the danger of the Mind Flayer and the danger of homophobia. The boys are able to find momentary solace in one another here, but they are unable to escape what lies ahead. Even once they’ve gotten rid of the Mind Flayer at the end of the season, they are unable to get rid of that OTHER danger. Ronald Reagan is reelected in 1984 and serves a second term.

So earlier I mentioned how the sign was just as important to Mike as it was to Will. I think that’s easily seen by the fact that the sign is in front of the Wheeler house. From what I could tell, Mike is the only one out of the party members to have that sign in front of his house. (I could be wrong, again just going off of what was shown in this specific episode)

Now obviously Mike didn’t vote for Ronald Reagan in 1984, this is meant to shine some light on the type of household that Mike lives in and how that might effect his psyche. The Wheelers are a go with the grain, conservative type suburban family. The sign in their yard reinforces this. The Byers do not have the Reagan sign out front. That’s because the Byers are a much different type of household, one where Will might feel more comfortable being himself in.

In the two screenshots I showed that focus on Mike and Will, Will is seen with his back turned to the Reagan/Bush sign while Mike is seen walking voluntarily toward a house with the sign prominent. Furthermore, the sign behind Will is out of focus, while the one in front of Mike is perfectly clear. This is emblematic of their season 3 arcs. Will has chosen to turn his back on conformity, while Mike has decided to embrace it.