When creating a show or film set in a specific period with frequent references to that era pop culture, it is critical to conduct extensive research to nail that era. If not, someone from that era will probably sigh and tell you that you've got it all wrong.
This is what happened on the set of Stranger Things with Matt and Ross Duffer. Winona Ryder, who plays Joyce Byers in the Duffer Brothers' series, was frequently present on set to ensure that the creators maintained 1980s accuracy.
David Harbour revealed in an interview with Harper Bazaar that the Duffer Brothers would frequently have to change the scripts after Ryder fact-checked them.
"She'd say, 'This song actually came out in '85, and you have it in '83," Harbour explained. "She knew all of the minute, tiny details that they didn't even know about, and they had to change things in the scripts based on that..." It's pretty epic how wild her mind is and how it goes to all these different places."
As a teen icon of the '80s, Ryder knew the intimate details of the era's pop culture as she lived it. The details that define a specific time are incredibly important for understanding the culture of your show, especially when nostalgia is a huge element in Stranger Things.
While serving as the show's fact-checker, Ryder also played a mentor to the child actors on the show.
"I want kids to understand, it doesn't happen," Ryder explains. "It's really unusual. And I always say to them, 'Work is the reward!' Because when I was that age, it was so hard to enjoy the fruits of my labor.
"This business is brutal," Ryder continued. You're constantly working, but if you want to take a break, they tell you, 'If you slow down, it'll stop.' And then it slowed down. So you're told, 'It's going to be impossible to return.' Then it changes to, 'You're not even in the conversation.' It was, like, brutal."
"It's so interesting when you look at the early aughts," Ryder said of her transition from teen star to her return on Stranger Things. It was a particularly cruel period. There was a lot of cruelty out there... And then I remember returning to L.A. and—it was a difficult time. And I wasn't sure if that chapter of my life was over."
Ryder's mentoring of the breakout child stars and the Duffer Brothers demonstrates that there is much we can learn from the generation that came before us to help sharpen our skills as filmmakers. We should be grateful for what they went through during that time.
Research is essential and enjoyable, but you can learn a lot from those who grew up in the era you want to represent. Use your time wisely, and respect those who can provide intimate details about a period.