POV: Stranger Things is our very own Back to the Future

Despite stumbling in its five season journey, Stranger Things never forgets to make nostalgia feel real and like a journey back to ourselves!

When Back to the Futurereleased in 1985, it wasn’t merely another sci-fi adventure. It became a pop-cultural digest of what it means to revisit the past, not as an escape but as a way to return to the present with clarity. Marty McFly’s journey wasn’t just about altering timelines; it was about understanding where one comes from to navigate one’s future better. The idea that sometimes you need to travel back in time to understand who you’ve become, or who you need to become, has lingered through decades of storytelling. For 90's kids, arguably the generation that stands at the crossroads of analog and digital childhoods, who grew up on cassettes, Cartoon Network, cable television, and dial-up internet, Stranger Thingsbecame a similar cultural phenomenon.

Even though the show is set in the 1980s, it feels familiar regardless of when you grew up. It's like our personal time machine that merges memory with myth, reminding us of a childhood defined by simpler joys, slower afternoons, real friendships, and endless imagination. In many ways, the show functions like our own Back to the Future - a journey that feels like stepping into a familiar time only to come back to today feeling more informed about who we were, and in turn, who we’ve become.

Also Read: POV: Why Wicked means a lot to me as a Wizard of Oz fan!

Here’s why I think so!

Dungeons & Dragons is the return of childlike imagination

One of the biggest things about the show is Dungeons & Dragons. For the kids of Hawkins, D&D isn’t merely a game, it’s an act of world-building, collaboration, and unfiltered creativity. Watching Mike, Lucas, Dustin, and Will fiercely debate rules, build campaigns, and plan all-night sessions is a reminder of a time when imagination wasn’t a hobby; it was a way of life. For 90s kids, this feels deeply familiar. We may not have rolled 20-sided dice, but we created entire universes using nothing more than playing cards, business boards, pillow forts, or made-up games during power cuts. Hours flew by without phones or distractions. Today, coordinating a simple meet-up requires two weeks of calendar syncing and three follow-ups. Hence, D&D brings back the joy of spontaneous play and reminds us of a version of ourselves who didn’t need adult permission or a Google invite to have fun.

The Upside Down is all about rediscovering wonder in a cynical world

It's a strange idea but hear me out! The Upside Down is an iconic concept in modern pop culture. Beyond the creature design and eerie visuals, it symbolizes a world our adult selves have stopped believing in! A space where the surreal coexists with the real, time and space make logical sense but logic altogether doesn’t diminish magic. As kids, we believed in things without question like ghosts in the school bathroom, secret creatures in the backyard, UFO sightings or mysterious shadows behind the curtains. Growing up in the post-truth era has trained us to be skeptical, analytical, and cautious. We’re encouraged to be informed at all times, leaving very little room for wonder. The Upside Down challenges that cynicism. It invites us to remember what it felt like to believe in worlds beyond our own, something like ET or Harry Potter with its magic, hope and light. Even in its horror, it reignites the imaginative instinct we didn’t even realize we’d lost.

Vecna and the Mind Flayer acts as monsters mirroring mental health

Even though it might just be my way of looking at things, monsters of the show often represent more than physical threats. The Mind Flayer spreading through vines, quietly taking over minds, feels eerily similar to how anxiety creeps into one’s life - slow, silent, and suffocating. Vecna, on the other hand, feeds on guilt, shame, buried memories, and unresolved trauma, mirroring the emotional battles many of us fight internally. For 90s kids who grew up in a world where mental health, trauma or anxiety were rarely acknowledged, these metaphors are striking. Back then, emotional struggles were brushed off with “be strong” or “don’t think about it" but fiction became a safe space where these feelings could exist without judgement. In that sense, the show continues that tradition by giving shape to invisible battles. It provides a language for emotions we once felt but couldn’t accurately articulate.

Eggos, walkie-talkies, malls and more show you that nostalgia hides in the details

While Eggos may not be universally nostalgic for Indians, their emotional purpose is. They represent the small, comforting, everyday objects that instantly pull us back into childhood. Remember that Phantom cigarettes or the shocking chewing gum? What really hits home are the walkie-talkies - symbols of an era when communication itself felt exciting and secretive, like using landlines. Then there’s Starcourt Mall, which mirrors the experience of walking into your first Indian mall - the neon lights, escalators that felt like a ride, food courts with unfamiliar smells, and the thrill of seeing so many brands in one place. Even the Russian conspiracy plotline in the show aligns with our own childhood myths like the collective hysteria around Jaadu (Koi Mil Gaya), pencil (Shakalaka Boom Boom), ghost stories whispered during school trips, or school rumours that spread faster than any Upside Down vine. From Walkmans playing music, Hellfire clubs to old scary houses with a scary story, these details make Hawkins feel oddly similar.

As these kids grew into protectors, the show becomes about coming of age 

One of the most powerful aspects of the show is how it handles coming of age. The kids don’t just grow older, they grow up in crisis, navigating impossible situations that no adult around them fully understands. They fight monsters, face loss, hold terrifying secrets, and yet maintain a sense of loyalty and bravery that even grown-ups struggle with. The town may see them as troublemakers or even cult members, but despite the paranoia surrounding them, they choose to fight. They choose honesty over fear, responsibility over safety. Watching Steve Harrington transform from a popular high-schooler to a fiercely protective “mom friend” is one of the show’s biggest emotional arcs. No wonder the internet collectively refuses to accept the possibility of him dying in Season 5! 

And as the show heads into its final season, theories swirl across the internet. While Vecna’s eventual defeat seems inevitable, many believe Will is the key to it. As he becomes the psychic map of Hawkins that Vecna used to shape the Upside Down, Will may also be the one who can destroy it, making the possibility of him sacrificing himself painfully real. Another theory suggests that Mike, unable to cope with losing Will back in Season 1, subconsciously built the entire narrative as a way to process his grief turning the whole story into a metaphor for grief he couldn’t let go of!

Whether these theories come true or not, the hype is real and proves that Stranger Things has transcended fiction. What started as the first time of us being introduced to long format storytelling has turned into a shared memory, a cultural archive, and a mirror. When a story moves beyond plot and characters to become part of who we are, it stops being a show and becomes something bigger. 

What did a journey into Hawkins remind you of? Tell us in the comments below!

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