#stranger things queercoding

[bylerpining]

closets in stranger things

season 1

season 3

season 4

season 5

some interesting things i noticed:

there's closet imagery in every season except s2, which is the season focused on developing mike and will's relationship. mike wasn't trying to hide himself; he was openly protecting and caring for will the whole season, and almost completely separated from el during this time.

el is directly involved in almost all of these scenes. in s1 mike literally hides her in his closet (he's unintentionally pulling her into the closet with him aka their straight-passing relationship). and again in s4 she's crying in a closet, which isn't mike's but it's played back to back with mike and will's fight about their relationship, and connected by the song "in the closet (at rink o mania)."

in s3 the closet is open, bathed in yellow, framed right in between them. mike takes out will's bear from the closet, el is holding it (stand-in for will?) and mike also brings up will randomly in this scene ("and will, too!").

in s5 they're sitting on what resembles an open closet (i know it isn't a closet but it looks like one ok) again surrounded by yellow. they're no longer inside it or standing in front of the closet; they're out in the open.

[lunabug2004]

Oh how I love helping people see the light 🤩

[gayofthefae]

Reminder that a crew who knows that triangles are a reclaimed symbol from their history in the Holocaust, that a black ring on the right middle finger is code for asexuality (seen on Robin as well)

Know that Will not getting the boy isn't just not good, but bad representation.

You can't get that specific with your research into codes many modern queer people don't even know anymore then okay dumb about "sad queer person isn't good?"

He's safe. He's fine. He's in love.

[ell1039]

literally the most chalant nonchalant „cool“ i‘ve ever heard in my entire life. you can practically see mike internally screaming in this scene

[thewisewill80sbyers]

queercoding || byler + open closets

[wqndertwins]

“you see, michael? you see what happens?” SHUT UUUUUP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP IM GONNA FUCKING END ITTTT

[theladyrebecca2]

Bylers: have you watched the movie Billy Elliot (2000)?

I watched it for the first time a few weeks ago, and oh my god... I was casually enjoying this queercoded coming-of-age story set in the 80s, following Billy (short for William, I happily noted with my Byler brainrot), only to have a mini heart attack when it was revealed Billy's best friend's name was Micheal.

Guys. I have to talk about this movie, and its possible inspiration for some aspects of Stranger Things.

Okay, so this movie came out when the Duffer Brothers were only 16 years old; it was such a hit that it was turned into one of the world's most famous musicals, which eventually came to the USA/Broadway in 2008 when the Duffers were 24 years old.

I can't help but wonder if, like Harry Potter and E.T. and all the other movies that the Duffers grew up with, this was another story that might have captured their hearts as they were growing up.

Plot

Here's a breakdown of the movie (or at least, the most relevant points I want to highlight), with some info taken directly from its Wiki page because that means I can finish this post quicker:

Billy Elliot is a British coming-of-age comedy-drama set in Northern England in the 1980's.  In 1984 Billy Elliot, 11 years old, lives with his maternal grandmother, his widowed father, and his older brother - the latter two working as coal miners during the 1984-1985 mining strikes under Margaret Thatcher. (For those who don't know UK politics, Thatcher was the Prime Minister when Reagan was President of the US. Both governments were right-wing/conservative).

Billy's father is heavily depressed, grieving his late wife and struggling to make ends meet for his family during the strikes. He sends Billy to the gym to learn boxing, but despite Billy's efforts to enjoy it, he's unwilling at heart.

We first meet Billy's best friend outside the gym. Michael watches intently as a boy walks by - I noticed this and immediately filed it away as potential queercoding...

Billy is unkindly pushed by the boy as he walks past, which indicated to me that Billy - and probably Michael too - are likely seen as outsiders or losers.

Billy wants Michael to join him in the boxing class, but he's quick to reject the idea. Hitting boys for sport isn't something Michael finds fun at all.

Boxing = acceptable masculinity and conformity, much like baseball is used as a metaphor in Stranger Things. Once inside the gym, Billy notices the ballet class using the gym after the boxing session, and despite it being an all-girls class, decides to join in. Even though he clearly enjoys it, Billy is nervous what other people will think of him.

He only opens up about it to Michael. They briefly ditch the other boys in their sports class, taking a different route so they can speak privately. Michael encourages Billy to continue dancing ballet, to just be himself and have fun. Michael is queercoded further by sheepishly admitting he thinks Billy would look good in a tutu.

Billy is taken aback at Michael's admission, but makes no comment. The scene continues with them in high spirits and laughing together.

Billy hides his ballet shoes under his bed mattress, keeping his lessons a secret from his dad and brother (+ I couldn't help but notice the blue-and-yellow:

The scene above flows directly into a scene of Michael and Billy at school, and we can see Michael's adoring gazes at his best friend (notice the lyrics 'don't look back and I love you' sort of lining up with the moment):

Soon it becomes clear that Billy truly has a rare talent for ballet: the class teacher, Mrs. Wilkinson, believes that he's talented enough to study at the Royal Ballet School in London. She advises him to attend the upcoming auditions, and dance professionally instead of becoming a miner like his father and brother. Billy visits Michael at his house for advice. Michael answers the door wearing his sister's dress, startling Billy, who looks around quickly to check if anyone else can see them. Michael insists he's "just dressing up", and once inside, applies lipstick onto Billy so he can join in on the fun.

Michael likes that Billy is doing the thing he truly enjoys, but he doesn't like the idea of Billy having to move away to London. He expresses that he'd miss him. This scene makes it clear that Micheal and Billy can only truly express their true selves around the other.

When Billy's father discovers that Billy is taking the ballet classes instead of boxing, he forbids Billy to continue. He fears Billy will be considered gay. Billy doesn't seem to care too much now what other people think of him; he loves dancing, and that's all that matters.

(Bonus: Billy fires back at his dad with a comment about the kind of lads that like wrestling...)

Whilst things are tense with his Dad, Billy remains passionate about his dancing. He secretly continues his lessons with the help of Mrs. Wilkinson. Meanwhile, Mrs. Wilkinson's daughter, Debbie, expresses romantic interest in Billy... but he seems unsure on how to proceed with her approaches. After pillow fighting, when given a clear opportunity to kiss her, he doesn't take it.

Eventually, Debbie asks Billy if he fancies her. He skirts around the question, making it clear that he's never considered Debbie romantically.

At the end of this scene, Debbie explicity asks Billy if he wants to "see her f*nny" (yikes)... Billy, uninterested and arguably uncomfortable, brushes her off with a firm "nah", and walks away. Whilst I'm sure many would argue that this doesn't necessarily mean Billy isn't straight, I think having him explicity reject her advances here, along with everything else in his narrative, is heavy queercoding.

Anyway. Moving on.

When Billy's older brother is arrested during a clash between police and striking miners, Billy misses his audition for the Royal Ballet School. Mrs. Wilkinson decides to tell Billy's family about the missed opportunity, but Billy's father and brother are outraged that Billy has continued with his ballet. Whilst his brother and father judge him, Micheal freely allows and even celebrates Billy.

At Christmas, after building a snowman together, Micheal wonders out loud if maybe Billy should just run away and join a dancing troupe somewhere else. When Billy tells him not to be stupid, Micheal concedes... he doesn't want Billy to go anywhere.

When Billy complains that his hands are cold, Micheal places them inside his own coat. The boys share a charged moment. Billy seems confused; Micheal shy (+ notice the rainbow Xmas lights framing Billy).

Billy learns that Michael is gay, and has feelings for him. Billy acknowledges that just because he likes ballet, it doesn't mean that he's gay too. This could be confirmation that Billy isn't gay - maybe he's ace, or unlabelled, or still questioning - and yes, it's absolutely true that his love of ballet is no indication either way of his sexuality.

But whilst this scene is, on a surface level, an unrequited love confession, it's also not explicit confirmation on Billy's sexuality (just like him turning down Debbie wasn't either). It's just very interesting when you compare the way Billy handles Debbie's feelings for him, to how he handles Micheal's feelings for him.

Note that Debbie is placed as Billy's female "love interest" in the same way that Micheal is his male "love interest" - both of them parallel the other in their feelings for Billy, and both of them express that they'll miss Billy if he goes to London.

Billy and Michael then sneak into the empty gym together. Billy gives Michael a tutu to wear, and they share a very sweet moment. Billy can dance, become his true self; meanwhile Micheal can wear something feminine, also feeling more like his true self (bear in mind he's just come out to Billy moments before this too).

They're both completely free together.

Unfortunately, on his way back from the pub, Michael's father notices that someone has broken into the gym. He fetches Billy's dad, who watches Billy from the sidelines, and realises his son is truly passionate, and truly talented, about his dancing craft.

Although stunned at first, he resolves to do whatever it takes to help Billy attain his dream. This is a huge turning point in the movie - Billy's family have come to accept him. They love him, no matter what.

There's another scene of Billy and Michael at school, which I think underlines how close the two of them still are. (This was also the scene where I heard Michael's name said for the first time, and practically fell out of my chair...)

With the help of his family and the community, Billy is finally able to attend his next audition in London. Sometime later, the Royal Ballet School sends him a letter of acceptance, coinciding with the end of the miners' strike, and Billy leaves home to study in London - but not before saying goodbye to Michael, reciprocating the kiss on his cheek.

In 1998, 25-year-old Billy performs as the Swan in Swan Lake whilst his father, brother, and Michael and his (assumed) current partner or friend watch with awe and pride from the audience.

Sexuality

Okay, so, disclaimer: it seems the mainstream reading of Billy and Michael's relationship is that Michael is gay but Billy is not. I can't help but disagree with this take! I don't condemn it, but I just don't think that's what this movie was telling us (and I don't understand why they included certain scenes otherwise, e.g. the ones with Billy rejecting Debbie, or Billy reciprocating Michael's kiss on the cheek).

Giving Michael an unrequited crush on his best friend is frustratingly a lot more palatable to a mainstream audience, so I'm wondering if the time it was produced/released (90s/early 00s) is the main factor here, or whether they expanded on Billy's sexuality in the musical version to make him more hetero?? (and the musical is definitely the most famous version of the story these days). However, in this movie, Billy already makes it very clear to Michael halfway through the movie that he accepts him as gay, and that their friendship is not ruined by Michael's romantic feelings for him - so why then would we end the movie with Billy echoing Michael's romantic sentiments by kissing him on the cheek at the moment of their parting? And a somewhat flirty "see you", promising they'll see each other again? It's a very bittersweet moment either way. The two best friends will likely be separated for many years whilst Billy attends the school in London, although I'm sure the audience can expect them to keep in touch via phone or letters. In fact, that's confirmed by the canon narrative, because how else would Michael have known that Billy was debuting as the Black Swan when they're 25 years old? Billy's father and brother act like they haven't seen Michael in many years, but recognise him from Billy's childhood. Maybe Billy and Michael have been in contact the whole time. Maybe Michael moved out of the small country town long ago, and found himself in the big city, just like Billy did? I'd like to think so. Michael is shown to have a partner or friend at the end when they're adults - perhaps this is another reason why the mainstream audience read Michael as gay, and Billy as not? There's no indication either way that Billy has a partner, man or woman - it's left completely open. The existence of Michael's potential partner suggests that Billy and Michael aren't currently together, but that's it! Personally, I just couldn't help but read Billy's kiss to Michael at the end as Billy coming to terms with his budding sexuality (or that he was, at the very least, now open to the idea he may not be heterosexual, and is no longer ashamed or afraid of it). I think that was a powerful character arc for its time.

To me, Billy is dealing with internalised homophobia throughout the entire movie. He fears being perceived as gay because of his interest in ballet, and denies it several times. The fact he loves to perform ballet is NOT relevant to his sexuality! This is a point made explicit in the movie, and I love that. But what is relevant is that he rebuffs the girl who has a crush on him, yet reciprocates a romantic gesture with the boy who has a crush on him. Like, hello?? The subtext is crying out.

Byler nation, I'm begging you to watch this movie so you can form your own opinion on this.

Themes

The themes of Billy Elliot echo many of the themes found in Stranger Things, including grief, family, love, self-acceptance, and most notably, the celebration of the non-conforming. Homosexuality and "queerness", a taboo subject in the 1980s, is also at the forefront of this story.

Billy is not Will, and Michael isn't Mike - rather, they're both a mixture of each. Will, Billy and Michael are all from poor, working class families. Mike and Billy share a position where two members of the opposite sex harbour romantic feelings for them. All four of them subvert gender norms in different ways, some more obvious than others. Michael's self expression and even gender exploration is found through trying on makeup, or crossdressing; Billy's self expression is found through the art of dance. Both of them reject the restrictive inhibitions (and forced conformity) of their community... just like Will, and hopefully Mike come S5. Like Will's escapism into art, fantasy and DnD in Stranger Things, dance is a metaphor for Billy's passion, as well as his escape and frustration.

"Billy's subversion of traditional masculine "gender performativity" is highlighted against the contrast of extreme masculine working-class society. With this focus, Billy Elliot has the position of being "the first mainstream British entertainment to directly interrogate homophobic prejudice as a function of patriarchal society.

The impact of its empowering message of acceptance entered public discourse and education campaigns thanks to the prominence and financial success of the show." - x

Bonus parallels

I just wanted to add this particular moment because... well, you know. I'm making this post for the threads it shares with Stranger Things.

(Context: Billy is answering a question about how it feels when he's dancing).

And then, here... a letter is read from, from Billy's deceased mother, addressed to him. Dear Billy.

And finally:

So what do you think, Byler nation?

[kdkdnfuiahuag]

“i think there is someone he likes, because he has been acting… weird.”

i think about this quote a lot because, if you think about it, it doesn’t actually make that much sense in context to will. we all know that by this point it is a canonical fact that will is in love with mike, and since el is talking about will in this part of the letter, we automatically assume it must be about him, right?

except that doesn’t make sense. throughout season four, will really isn’t acting strange; he isn’t out of character, he’s not behaving differently, he’s not being “weird”. sure, he seems a bit more in his head and has a lot more longing glances and stuff, but that isn’t significant enough to be pointed out in the first line about him in the very beginning of the season.

if will isn’t acting significantly different i’m season four, why put that line in?

it’s because it’s not about him.

who do we see acting weird in season four? who’s being strange and distant? who’s “out of character”? who’s changed?

mike.

this line is in there because they want you to notice that mike is acting weird, they’re explaining why, too. “i think there is someone he likes…” is what el says to explain his behaviour, and as pointed out time and time again in hundreds of different ways, all of mike’s “weird” behaviour and change in character can be explained by his feelings for will.

[moonlight-froggy]

Mission: Act straight

(and that is only s4)

[miwiheroes]

Dropping Byler Evidence Every Day Until Season 5

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁ Day 11: End of Season 3 pt 2/3 . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁

Welcome back to this series after a one-day break because of my exam, and again I'm gonna talk about the end of season 3 aka one of the most damning pieces of evidence that it's basically a fucking paradigm of the byler fandom atp <3

So here we have it, the scene where Mike probably (definitely) realises something is wrong about his relationship with El. Up until this point in the season, we have seen that Mike is desperate to grow up, and he does this by trying to emulate his parents' by getting into a relationship with a women, thinking about it logically rather than emotionally, right?

I think that as an audience, when watching S3, we were kind of waiting for Mike to have his proper character development moment, because obviously, he was kind of a jerk all season with his attitude towards Will and El. I'm still surprised that the GA believed his character was put in a blender and shat out, because this season and this SCENE literally gives you that last minute realisation and character development.

But unfortunately, and here's the kicker: it really is just too late. El and Will are gone, so he can't really do anything about his realisation that things are wrong.

Just wanted to put some things in perspective first, so here we go!

1. The Bear

So first of all, we start the scene with El trying to reach for the teddy bear which, BY THE WAY, is in Will's closet in his room. It is also definitely his bear that can be seen in his room in season one.

Therefore, this bear is a representation of Will. He literally gets taken out of the closet by Mike here as well. It is important to know that this bear represents him throughout this scene, because we can then keep in mind that El is holding him the whole time all this subsequent stuff plays out. The bear is between Mike and El, basically a litttleee foreshadowing moment to the imagery in S4 where Will is seen between Mike and El multiple times.

(this is where i realise how long this post is going to be bc there's so much to unpack here help)

2. Growing Up Issues No. 1000000

AnyWAYS so Mike then says something that perpetuates the whole S3 narrative and arc they set up for him trying to reject 'childish' things and associating childish things with Will.

"I was thinking you could come up here for Christmas. And Will too! Then we'd all have cool new presents to play with. ...Sorry that made me sound like a 7 year old."

Right after he mentions Will and the fact that he's excited to see him and everyone, he immediately feels childish. And the fact that he's been feeling like he needs to grow out of his feelings towards Will this season means he's thinking about those feelings here, however unconsciously. But he's only trying to grow up in a way he thinks he has to, there's no indication to the audience that this growing up is a good thing. (it always ends in Mike feeling self-conscious or an argument with Will)

3. Saying I love you

El then tries to remind Mike about the time that he 'talked about [his] feelings' and his 'HEART' (oh my goawsh), and he instantly looks put on the spot and definitely remembers what he said to her, obviously, but doesn't want to repeat it. He says stuff like:

"I don't think I follow." - he doesn't really remember something like this without a blatant reminder because he doesn't want to.

"Oh yeah. That. Man, that was so long ago." - when he says that it's 'so long ago', it feels like he's trying to play down what he's saying, backpedaling so that he can come up with an excuse to why he doesn't actually want to say that anymore. His excuse here is that it was a long time ago, EVEN THOUGH IT WASNT REALLY HAHA.. This his way of saying he doesn't really feel like that without actually saying it, so not to hurt her feelings.

"No, it was like heat of the moment stuff, and we were arguing and..." - again, these are just more excuses so that he can explain himself. Hmm, maybe it's that they are technically broken up here still, so he might just feel self-conscious in case she doesn't love him back. But here's the thing - they would have made him look much happier when she says 'I love you too' if this was the case, right? And they would have made him able to say I love you in S4 if he was just self-conscious she didn't love him back right?

"I don't really remember... What did I say exactly?" - Oh he definitely remembers. So this has to be yet another case of Mike trying to get El to say I love you for him, so that he doesn't have to say it. He doesn't really want to lie to her like that, so saying the words himself would feel wrong. It would be much easier just to agree with her if she says it. I talk much more about how he has already done this in the supermarket in this post. Go have a little read <3

Now, when El starts to walk up to him and puts her hand on his face, he looks utterly weirded out. It's a very strange thing to be looking like when your girlfriend might love you back, which is what she thinks Mike wants. The kicker is that El is unfortunately being presented as naive in thinking that she's making him happy by saying 'I love you too'.

This is Mike's face right after his gf says I love you btw yeah really cute and romantic.

This same sentiment of irony can be seen later when we get a shot of her smiling when she walks away from him, before cutting to a shot of the opposite of what she expected: which is Mike looking confused. Again, Duffers love subversion.

I think a lot of people think that Mike looks confused in this little part here because he also acted confused when El asked him about his feelings. So people think that, what, he just found out that El knew he loved her? No. He wasn't actually confused about what he had said ages ago, he was pretending to be confused. He clearly already knew that she had heard him, anyone can surely see that he's just trying to get her to say it for him, right? Why would he be confused about something he already knows (that El knows he said I love her)? Why would he look so shocked instead of happy that she said it back?

4. The kiss + Closet Imagery

This is literally the most blatant ass queer coding that I've ever seen. If this was any other show, it would definitely be called queer coding because I mean it is literally a girl initiating a kiss that the guy does not respond to at all, WHILST BEING IN FRONT OF A FUCKING CLOSETTTT

I barely need to analyse anything here, as you can see, El just kisses him and he doesn't do anything with his hands, he has his eyes open, and it frankly is a bad kiss, sorry but-

There isn't much stake in the argument that he's just confused and shocked as well. IN STRANGER THINGS there have been surprise kisses before (see Jancy season 2) that the directors easily made have good chemistry because they are good directors... they don't do this stuff by accident.

How else do I know they are great directors? Because they put Mike directly in front of a closet while El isn't. The Duffers fucking love background symbolism, they love symmetry. They even had some of this symmetry earlier in the scene with Jancy!:

(the window symbolises their love being open with one another or the fact they can be free with each other etc)

Not only does this closet get positioned right behind Mike in the shot, there is also a LIGHT on that is positioned right where his head is. This portrays that he's thinking about something new, like he's just been given a new perspective on something. (Also why would there be a light in the closet unless it's to draw ur attention to it??)

So why would a kiss from El, that he's had numerous times, conjure up a new idea? Why would it be that he loves her, when he allegedly already knows that because he said it ages ago? It's not an idea about El, it's him discovering the truth.

I talk more about how light symbolises truth in one of my very early analysis posts on this app here, but basically, light often symbolises the truth in film, and the fact that a light is IN THE CLOSET AND POSITIONED WHERE HIS HEAD IS just shows that he's thinking of the truth, which is not what is right in front of him.

AND THE BEAR THAT SYMBOLISES WILL IS STILL IN BETWEEN THEM. OH MY GOD,,,, this scene is literally just- the byler endgame scene I fear holy moly

So as we all know, afterwards, Mike stands there as if he's just realised something.

Based on what I've already said, that Mike can't just be realising that El figured out that he said "I love her", that Mike can't just be processing that she loved him (because wouldn't he be happy and the writers could have written a cute moment), and the fact he has lightbulb moment, this is him realising that something is wrong with his relationship. He realises that he doesn't want this.

The closet is fucking clear as day here, like it just all comes together in this perfect way I love it.

Keep this in mind for when I talk about the Hopper monologue at the end, because he just realises here he doesn't want this relationship, and during the monologue part he regrets everything he's done over the course of season 3.

This whole season he's kind of confused and trying to figure out what is wrong with him and why he feels so hurt by everything, but here is when he realises why, which is why it is a good closer of his arc. It is also supposed to be ironic that it's completely last minute. Meaning it is too late to do anything about it, leaving a good space for S4 to come along.

[strange-anni]

When you don't know what you're looking for but also know exactly what you're looking for Steve Harrington in 3x03 and Mike Wheeler in 4x01

[lunabug2004]

Do y'all ever wonder how much different Byler and the story of Byler would be if they didn't decide to keep El alive after season 1? Especially regarding Mike's internalized homophobia... hmm 🤔

I think they were always going to end up together... but sometimes I wonder if the writers kinda wrote themselves into a hole accidentally by keeping El alive and it unfortunately resulted in the massive amounts of people refusing to see facts (and also the need to hide Mike's POV resulting in the GA pm completely turning on him).

[gayofthefae]

Thinking about "Zombie Boy" and the 80s and the couple of kids who back away from Will when he walks through the courtyard at school and how everyone knows about his daily doctors appointments and the implications of Zombies and spreading sickness.

And what this article actually says

They wrote Zombie Boy on this article. While everyone in the show brushes over it as "Will got lost in the woods", the article details the events as

"Six days later, local police, led by Chief Jim Hopper, found Byers alive in an abandoned cabin a few miles outside of Hawkins."

"Lost in the woods" is a euphemism for a euphemism for a euphemism. He was in the upside down. But it seems to me they're sticking to their 1x04 news story of "suspecting foul play", euphemistically saying in another layer that he was kidnapped to a cabin outside of Hawkins, but phrasing it with the plausible deniability that he got so lost in the woods he ended up multiple miles outside his town in a cabin. Even if that really is the story they were pushing, with how easy it was for me to read that as kidnapping, think how easy it was for a town who already believed it.

Will Byers' classmates believe he was kidnapped. Parents are telling their children it was by "some other queer". He leaves school frequently for routine doctor's appointments at a special facility. It is 1983. They avoid touching him.

They nickname him "Zombie Boy".

[ell1039]

whenever i have byler doubt i just have to think about the rink o mania fight with mike getting defensive after being asked „and us?“ and saying „we‘re friends. we‘re friends“ like no one. ABSOLUTELY NO ONE. would say this to their best friend after not contacting them for months and not even being able to hug them after seeing each other at the airport. like for me this is the ultimate proof. i don‘t even have to think about other scenes i mean why would mike say it THAT defensive if he hasn‘t thought about will romantically at least once ????? not even to mention that it‘s the typical „we‘re just friends“ trope depicted in several romantic relationships in so many different media

[mirrorballdazai]

bylers lets chat!!!! when did you become a byler and what scene did it for you?

[soogmcgoog]

whenever I hear a mileven say “there have been no signs of Mike being gay” I start to get nervous bc im like wait what 😰 and then they say “they’ve been building up mileven since season 1” and I realize they have no clue what they’re talking about.