From the very first season, Stranger Things has impressed audiences not only with its supernatural thrills but also with its emotionally grounded characters. At the heart of the series stands Joyce Byers, brilliantly portrayed by Winona Ryder, whose determination to find her son, Will, anchors the narrative in the very real fear and love of a parent. Her journey strikingly mirrors Richard Dreyfuss’ Roy Neary in Spielberg’s 1977 classic Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Roy is the everyman thrust into incomprehensible phenomena. People around him think he’s “absolutely bonkers” as he obsessively seeks answers about the alien encounters he experiences. Similarly, Joyce’s frantic search for Will, who vanishes into the Upside Down, positions her as a figure simultaneously heroic and misunderstood. Her community views her panic as hysteria, yet beneath the surface lies an unwavering moral compass and a refusal to accept uncertainty.
Joyce’s drive exemplifies the core of what makes Stranger Things so compelling: emotional authenticity. The stakes are extraordinary—her son is trapped in a dangerous, supernatural dimension—but the characterisation remains grounded in universal parental fear and love. Like Roy, Joyce faces a world where belief and scepticism collide. Her desperation compels her into action, and her obsession with connecting with Will mirrors Roy’s obsessive journey to reconcile his experiences with reality. Fans can see Joyce as both a modern homage to Roy Neary and a uniquely 1980s mother navigating the unknown.
What makes this comparison resonate is the emotional parallel rather than a literal narrative echo. Joyce embodies the idea that ordinary individuals, when faced with incomprehensible circumstances, must summon extraordinary courage. Spielberg’s influence here is thematic: obsession with the unknown, the tension between societal scepticism and personal truth, and the transformative journey these experiences impose on the characters. Stranger Things channels that spirit, ensuring that its sci-fi and horror elements never overshadow the emotional stakes.
While character parallels provide an immediate connection, the thematic resonance between Close Encounters and Stranger Things runs deeper, particularly in their treatment of the unknown. Spielberg’s film thrives on the tension of discovery: Roy Neary encounters phenomena that defy explanation, driving him toward a mysterious mountain where revelations about humanity’s place in the universe await.
Similarly, Stranger Things establishes Hawkins, Indiana, as a seemingly ordinary suburban town hiding extraordinary horrors. The Upside Down, with its monstrous inhabitants and eerie atmosphere, creates a palpable sense of dread and mystery. Characters must navigate the unknown while confronting both personal fears and external threats. The tension isn’t manufactured through constant shocks; it builds gradually, echoing Spielberg’s method of drawing viewers into a world where the extraordinary unfolds organically and threatens to upend everything the characters know.
Joyce’s experience reflects this thematic interplay perfectly. Her investigation into Will’s disappearance unearths a series of escalating, inexplicable events—from flickering lights and cryptic messages to direct confrontations with otherworldly forces. Her pursuit mirrors Roy’s obsessive journey, illustrating how knowledge and discovery often come with peril. Both narratives explore the emotional cost of seeking truth. In Close Encounters, the thrill of witnessing extraterrestrial life is tempered by personal upheaval. In Stranger Things, the urgency of maternal love is complicated by supernatural danger, showcasing that the pursuit of understanding and connection often demands immense personal sacrifice.
The series’ careful pacing allows viewers to share in these discoveries. Suspense is derived not from cheap shocks but from the constant sense of impending revelation, echoing Spielberg’s mastery of tension. The unknown is a character in itself: unpredictable, vast, and transformative. By engaging with the mysteries of the Upside Down, Stranger Things invites viewers to experience fear, awe, and wonder simultaneously, making the show both nostalgic and timeless.
One of the most fascinating aspects of Stranger Things is its ability to bridge generations, blending 1980s cinematic nostalgia with modern storytelling. The homage to Close Encounters of the Third Kind exemplifies this balance. The show doesn’t merely recreate the aesthetic of Spielberg’s work; it interrogates and expands upon it. Themes of obsession, familial devotion, and confronting incomprehensible forces are revisited through contemporary lenses and new character dynamics.
Joyce Byers’ relentless pursuit of Will illustrates how the series innovates within a classic framework. Where Roy Neary’s quest focuses on personal revelation and awe at the cosmic scale, Joyce’s journey is simultaneously intimate and terrifying. The stakes are immediate, visceral, and emotionally relatable. Audiences witness not only a fantastical struggle but also a very human one: the lengths to which a parent will go for their child. Spielberg’s influence is evident in the structuring of suspense, the escalation of tension, and the careful calibration of extraordinary events against everyday realism.
Furthermore, Stranger Things enriches its narrative with 1980s cultural signifiers—arcade games, Dungeons & Dragons, VHS tapes—rooting its extraordinary occurrences in a recognisable world. This approach allows viewers to experience both nostalgia and discovery, connecting younger audiences with the decade’s cultural touchstones while inviting older viewers to reflect on their own experiences with wonder, fear, and curiosity.
The influence of Close Encounters also manifests in the series’ visual language and pacing. Cinematic compositions, such as Joyce’s frantic interactions with government officials or her navigation through shadowed corridors of Hawkins Lab, evoke the tension and awe that Spielberg crafted in his iconic sequences. The homage is both explicit and subtle, informing the tone without overshadowing the original narrative. It positions Stranger Things as a contemporary study in storytelling: a synthesis of past inspiration and current innovation.
As the release of Stranger Things 5 draws nearer, audiences can anticipate continued explorations of this Spielbergian influence. The show’s narrative complexity and attention to character motivation ensure that even as the supernatural stakes rise, the emotional core remains firmly intact. By bridging nostalgia with innovation, the series maintains its relevance while honouring the legacy of classics like Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
The genius of the series lies in its ability to leverage familiar influences—Spielberg, the 1980s aesthetic, genre conventions—without becoming derivative. Joyce’s obsessive quest mirrors Roy Neary, the suspense evokes Spielbergian mastery, and the emotional stakes ground the narrative in relatability. Yet Stranger Things remains wholly original, demonstrating how homage and creativity can coexist to produce a series that resonates deeply with fans across generations.
In Hawkins, Indiana, the extraordinary collides with the everyday, echoing the wonder and awe of classic sci-fi while delivering a modern story infused with empathy, tension, and heart. As fans prepare for the next chapter, the influence of Close Encounters of the Third Kind serves as a reminder that storytelling thrives at the intersection of the known and the unknown, the nostalgic and the new, the human and the extraordinary. Joyce Byers embodies this synthesis perfectly, guiding viewers through the mysteries of the Upside Down with courage, obsession, and unwavering love.
Stranger Things continues to be a masterclass in how cinematic influences can inform storytelling without constraining it, proving that homage, when handled with care, deepens emotional resonance and narrative richness. The legacy of Spielberg’s work lives on in Hawkins, shaping how audiences experience fear, wonder, and the boundless human capacity to confront the unimaginable.
