So I was talking to my friend about this show the other day. I was kind of surprised to see the hype around the new season because I don't know anyone still watching it. I'm not checking the subreddit or anything but I haven't even come across people discussing the show.

But the billboards...the commercials....the abundance of branded products and vehicles. I've been convinced they're gaslighting us into thinking it's some sort of cultural keystone show like Lost or GoT when they were on the air.

Am I wrong? Have I just been oblivious to the fan base? Either way, the marketing blitz is at least a little disproportional

[–] Ilandar@lemmy.today 2 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

I've been convinced they're gaslighting us into thinking it's some sort of cultural keystone show like Lost or GoT when they were on the air.

Am I wrong? Have I just been oblivious to the fan base? Either way, the marketing blitz is at least a little disproportional

I dont think you're necessarily wrong, Stranger Things is not an equivalent to those shows and it doesn't have the same scale of hyper-invested fan base. It does have very broad appeal and is very casual friendly, though. That's probably why the mass marketing campaign is being rolled out; everyone has heard of this show and many have watched at least some of it.

In a sense, it is a cultural event because it's a finale that a very wide spectrum of people will be tuning into. Stranger Things was one of Netflix's first big shows and has been a cash cow for a long time. It won't have the same kind of lasting cultural legacy as Lost or Game of Thrones, which modern shows are still frequently compared to, but in the moment I can understand why hype exists. It's a big thing for it to be ending.

[–] glimse@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago

It's a really weird blind spot for me, I haven't seen any "organic" discussions about the show in years!

[–] blackris@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago) (1 children)

I like it very much that you share your observations and ask instead of stating your experiences as a universal rule.

Almost everyone I talked to, has seen – and liked –the first part of the last season. The only "ad" I have seen, was a branded D&D book in a lokal (german) TTRPG store.

So your experience may wildly differ, depending on your age, location, social circles, hobbies, usage of ad blockers etc.

To be honest, I like the show very much. I cannot stand contemporary US culture for obvious reasons, but this nostalgic 80s thing is fine. What makes this show a thousand times better than GoT or (as far as I was told) Lost, is that the last season started out as an absolute banger instead of a rage inducing piece of shit. So I booked a ticket for the hype train. Just a few hours to goooooo 🚂

[–] glimse@lemmy.world 1 points 21 minutes ago

Well, this headline which goes completely against our conclusion so I have to reassess. That day I saw 2 billboards, 2 online ads, 2 trucks from different companies, a SoundCloud ad, and the TV commercial in the kitchen at work that sparked the conversation and no one we asked had watched season 4.

As for the compared shows, the last season of GoT felt like a betrayal and completely spoiled my view of the show as a whole. I will never recommend anyone watch it because of it so I think it's unfair that Lost's last season often gets associated with it. I think it had mixed reviews was because its primetime spot gave it a lot of eyes and many people wanted a big primetime ending that was never going to happen. The show does not end with a bang but it felt like a very natural conclusion to the story and, unlike GoT, previous seasons pointed to it ending this way. I walked away completely satisfied and, also unlike GoT, look back on the whole thing quite positively.

Damn now I'm thinking about Lost. You should give it a spin, it's a good show! And even if you hate the last season, it doesn't negate what came before at all

[–] scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech 1 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Not wrong, just corporations saw that hype is real and cultural phenomenons are profitable so now of course they just manufacture it.

Game of thrones -> The Witcher, Stranger Things, Rings of Power. All try to force the hype

A really obvious one is barbenheimer. Truly a weird cultural moment. So now every year they try to manufacture that hype again. Last two years was the same with wicked.

[–] glimse@lemmy.world 1 points 19 minutes ago

I feel like I saw just the normal amount of marketing for The Witcher and Rings of Power. This time seems excessive but this post is evidence that it's not for nothing