kiirotoao - Tumblr blog

kiirotoao · 12 hours

Text

Will Byers Re: Gender Expression

This is a topic that I have I've included at least partially in other analyses regarding Will, although I don't think I've actually made it into it's own post despite maybe answering an ask about it. I may have engaged with this conversation lightly, although I've felt compelled recently to try and make a whole post about it.

What is Will's gender expression within the universe of the show, and how does it operate in the narrative?

Gender Expression in the 80's vs. Now

Ideas about gender were different in the 80's than it is in the 2020's. If we plucked Will out of the show and compared him to other boys now, would he be considered gender non-conforming?

Even if Stranger Things takes place in the eighties, is also still a show that is being written now by people who are working with a more modern idea of gender, as opposed to being actually made in the eighties by people who may share the same ideologies of the time. Eighties films are a lot more rigid in ideas of gender, and a lot more lax when pulling out "fag" as a joke whenever a male character showed any sign of sensitivity.

So if the creators want a character that does not conform to the gender norms of the time period then this would have to be supported by the text. Thankfully, this idea of gender non-conformity is one of the earliest characterizations of Will in the show with the Hopper-Joyce police station scene.

Will's non-conformity to his gender is highlighted with a point of contrast from Hopper. When he goes missing, Hopper tries to calm Joyce by using his own experiences and other boys his age as an example.

But that doesn't work, because in Joyce's own words, "He's not like you, he's not like most." and the rest of the conversation suggests that this is related to his perceived queerness. He's sensitive, he likes art (not mentioned in this dialogue, but important to his character) and he wears clothes that other kids don't like. Since Will isn't actually present for most of the season, this dialogue is important for his characterization.

We do see a little bit of his character in the opening. It's fleeting, but it's still there. When Will races home to escape the demogorgon, we see him pet Chester upon arrival. Will's life is in danger, but he takes the time to greet his dog— a small, but important bit of character work. After failing to outrun the monster and contact the police, as a last resort, Will runs into the shed where he hastily loads a rifle, and holds up the phallic, destructive weapon in front of him.

As the monster closes in, he freezes and lowers the weapon, choosing not to go the violent route.

Language and ideology surrounding gender and sexuality change overtime, and in the age of social media, this change happens even more rapidly. Would Will label himself as gender non-conforming, or any other related labels? Of course the idea of gender roles and identity did exist in the eighties, but would Will have access to that knowledge and vocabulary, especially within a small conservative town in Indiana with not much internet access? But that's not really the point. It's not about whether or not Will Byers would identify as gnc by today's standards, the question is "Is Will Byers considered gnc within the setting of the show" in which the text states this.

Is Will's choice to non-conform a conscious one? Well, whenever Will's gender expression is contested, or the more masculine option is present, Will continues to be himself. Lonnie took Will to baseball games to get him to like more "manly" things, but Will sticks to what he loves. When all of his friends got him Star Wars toys for his birthday, all he wanted to do was make art instead.

Production and Noah's Casting

The Montauk pitch deck gives us a look into the creators intentions with Will, including that he doesn't fall into the 80's idea of normalcy. Not everything in the pitch deck made it into the show, such as Mike's birth mark or Joyce being a "tough, long island mom" but this initial characterization does make its way into the show and is supported by the evidence I provided above.

Considering that Will is not on screen for much for season one, he needs to create a strong impression with the audience right off the bat, and a lot of that has to come from the actors appearance. How he was cast, as is the case with any character, is vital to communicating this characterization.

In an interview with Teen Vogue, casting director Carmen Cuba said the following:

“Noah’s audition was really special because it really informed our need for finding someone who was young and innocent but who had a strong charisma that would keep the viewers interested in why these kids were so dedicated to finding him,"

It's not that Noah was necessarily a feminine kid (although I don't know him personally, so I can't say for sure what he was like at that age) but choosing a boy who was two years younger than his intended age, and much smaller than the rest of his co-stars, is definitely intentional.

As actors age and their bodies change in unexpected ways, especially under circumstances as unexpected as a global pandemic, there are still things that production can do to maintain this same characterization. Post-pandemic Noah was seen as "buff" by audience members (even though he isn't really that buff) but the ST costuming department did make the conscious decision to cover up the muscle on his upper arms.

This simple costuming decision is also much more ethical then forcing child actors to make drastic changes to their body, such as forcing Noah to lose weight in order to fulfill that small and scrawny look he had in earlier seasons. (I really don't like that they did have David Harbour do this, although David is at least a much older adult who consented to that dramatic shift in body weight)

Will Plays a Feminine Role in the Narrative

Will’s femininity doesn’t just extend to his characterization, but the role that Will plays in the story, especially in seasons one and two, is one that is often occupied by female characters, which I’ve talked about before. Many of the inspirations for Will’s character are women (Laura Palmer and Regan Macneil) and many of his contemporaries are women too. The character in the show who serves a similar function to Will but for the side plot is also female (Barb).

In the introduction to her book, Men, Women, and Chainsaws, author Carol J. Clover talks about the discrepancies between male and female roles within horror, and stories in general.

“In fact, of course, males and females are not evenly distributed over the categories. The functions of monster and hero are far more frequently represented by males and the function of victim far more garishly by females. The fact that female monsters and female heroes, when they do appear, are masculine in dress and behavior (and often even name), and that male victims are shown in feminine postures at the moment of their extremity, would seem to suggest that gender inheres in the function itself—that there is something about the victim function that wants manifestation in a female, and something about the monster and hero function that wants expression in a male.”

Will’s role as the victim may not be exclusive to men, as Will himself is an exception to this, but the role itself is a feminine one. This post isn’t about El, but since El is essentially the hero of the story, it may be no coincidence that she is styled as gender ambiguous. She wears her pink dress in the climax sure, but she tears off the blonde wig and her shaved head is exposed for the final confrontation with the demogorgon. The internal conflict that El finds herself in, between monster and hero, are two male roles.

A quick side note on El and her own gender expression, I believe that what the first season is getting at is that the forcing of El into this male role while also denying her of her femininity is a tragedy for her character, and the answer isn’t to take that masculine side away from her but to allow her to explore her feminine side to become whole. If this is the intention of the show, however, they haven’t quite reached that point yet.

Clover goes on to explain more about this narrative discrepancy:

"Jurij Lotman has suggested that there are really only two 'characters' (subject positions or functions) in myth: a mobile, heroic being who crosses boundaries and “penetrates” closed spaces, and an immobile being who personifies that damp, dark space and constitutes that which is to be overcome.”

The monster of the show is coded as male (even before we knew there was an actual male behind it) with its penetrating vines, and Will choosing to point the gun at the demogorgon in the beginning of the show was a masculine act. Will’s decision to lower the gun, and evade the monster through fleeing and hiding rather than attack, was a feminine one.

Of course what makes Will unique from his female contemporaries is the fact that he is a boy, which must be providing some kind of gender commentary, otherwise Will could have just been a girl. I do think the show is trying to say something positive with this. While people in town may suspect that his girlishness is the reason he was targeted in the first place, Will survives not in spite of this, but because of this. Will’s decision to run and hide, the feminine one, made him outlast the demogorgon much longer than he would have otherwise.

I have speculated before on Will’s future role in season five, which is admittedly the more masculine role of “hero.” One that takes inspiration from other male characters such as Frodo Baggins, Harry Potter, and even Jesus Christ himself. If Will is to “penetrate” the Upside Down by choosing to cross into it of his own will, this would be a masculine act. But this act of masculinity doesn’t have to come at the expense of his feminine role and characteristics. Will doesn’t have to overcome his feminine traits, being soft, sensitive, or into art, in order to come into his own. And on top of that, Will being the hero doesn’t have to erase his feminine role in the story. The victim-hero is another role in horror that female characters often take up, usually in the form of the final girl. If Will is the hero then there comes the question of “who is the victim?” and the answer doesn’t have to be a different character. Will is now the hero, and he’s still the victim. The person he is saving is himself.

#holy fuvk #I got chills #I needed this today

315 notes · View notes

kiirotoao · 15 days

Text

Byler and Confrontation 1.5: The Importance of Season 4

Byler being immediately comfortable with each other in season 4 would have been too easy. Too obvious. No other pair is as close as Byler, and if they kept in contact, their relationship’s progression would have been so clear that it wouldn’t even be interesting, and that’s why I think that Byler is plainly intentional to end up together in slow burn fashion.

Imagine the airport scene but they hug with all the emotion of true best friends (which, they are, and that’s a canon fact that Mike asserts and Will agrees with in s4e4, but I digress-) meeting again, crashing into each other, joking right off the bat, being comfortable like they easily could have been. Will comments on Mike’s ridiculous outfit and Mike defends himself and Will laughs and Mike’s forgotten how much he missed hearing that laugh. Then Will would give him the painting and Mike would be blushing, and the story’s over! Even if they dance around their feelings for the rest of the show long, they could have instantly recognized that something’s changed and yet stayed the same, and they’d be a unit again. Or should I say, a team?

I feel like there’s no other way to treat Byler other than subtly vying for each other’s attention (Will looking at Mike longingly, Mike turning to Will for wisdom) or blatantly vying for each other’s attention (Will the Wise, Mike Wheeler in general), and to go full blown best friends attached at the hip from day one in California would have been way too romantically charged. Not necessarily openly, but just in the way it’s easy to doubt, to have brows raised.

And what good storytelling would that be? To just seal the deal the second they meet? We know that they miss each other. Will was ready to give him that painting. And yeah, it takes Mike a whole business day to realize how much he misses Will, too, but that type of love that reaches out doesn’t originate from only that business day. So do they just flat out hug and say, “God, I missed you so much” ?? Of course not! Because that’s immediate intimacy. That’s honesty with no side effects, and that’s something that doesn’t happen in any well-created nor real life love story.

Once upon a time, the end? There’s no way! No one would be as invested.

And I’m not saying that I don’t want Byler to be so strained, or I don’t want them to be happy. I want them to be so happy. And seeing their mistakes and growing through them only makes that happiness more and more apparent whenever they come around. Because they find each other, in the end. They forgive and work through things and their chemistry abounds through tough moments, and that’s what makes them amazing to me. Literally look at every other ship in the show. Jopper fought all season long during season 3 because Hopper was jealous and Joyce was a stressed-out boss ass bitch. Jancy fought in seasons 1 and 3 before and after they learned more about each other and worked through their biases. Lumax had that fight at the arcade where Max didn’t believe what Lucas was telling her.

Anger often breeds hate, but sometimes, it creates something beautiful in people who, deep down, want to figure something out about each other: steadfastness.

Simply put, their story grows.

Which is why they couldn’t hug. Which is why they barely spoke. Which is why they lashed out at each other. Which is why it took a whole business day to rejoin as a team. Which is why their forgiveness is all the more sweet. Which is why their relationship is all the more sweet. Which is why they prove to know each other. Which is why they’re so good together.

Look at them!! Look at Mike, chuckling at five damn words. And this was BEFORE they truly amended fences!!!

I love how hardships bring Byler together. I don’t know about you, but I’d want a partner who doesn’t avoid the rough patches but strives to love me through them - because they will happen! No one is perfect! And no, I don’t mean fight and you will find love. But when you love, you will fight. And that’s what I think is what happens when Byler fight.

So I can’t wait for it to happen one more time, probably about the lie of the painting being commissioned, for everything to fall apart only to come back together because they realize it’s all one giant story of misunderstanding and internalized homophobia and repressed feelings - a final and urgent fight that demands them to let everything out in the open and truly realize that they are the love that each other seeks.

And, I mean, I don’t know, I think that it would be pretty cool to write a slow burn romance amidst all the love triangles and love-at-first-sights and tragic losses. With bonus unique notes of being childhood best friends with deeply-explored queer coding. Just saying.

#byler #byler analysis #Byler brainrot #lowkey shitpost #I feel so bad for cursing on this blog idk why but I was impassioned so. oops #hehe #thinking about their fights again #stranger things analysis #BYLER IS ENDGAME #special thanks to Conan Gray’s the final fight for putting me through this lmao

34 notes · View notes