Humor

When Stranger Things landed on Netflix, many Gen Xers felt an immediate jolt of recognition. The bikes, the walkie-talkies, the wood-paneled basements…it all felt like stepping into a time capsule of a bygone analog era.

One fan from Vancouver, Jennifer Hill, says the show instantly struck a familiar chord. "I've loved the series since the first episode," Hill told Newsweek. "It immediately felt like a love letter to Gen X. I was born in 1974, and everything about it felt so familiar. Each episode feels a bit like flipping through an old family photo album."

While Hill gives the Duffer Brothers plenty of credit for recreating that era almost perfectly, she did notice one small detail that felt impossible to ignore. So she did what anyone in the modern day would do: she took it to Threads.

"The ONLY thing that Stranger Things got wrong was there needed to be at least 2 characters named Jennifer," she quipped. "It's not authentically the 1980s if there's not a Jenn K, Jennifer M, Jenny B, Jen G, and Jennifer L all in the same Biology class."

Hill had so many Jennifers in her childhood that she told Newsweek last-name qualifiers like "Jenny O, Jenny L, Jennifer M, Jen H" were a must. And those little key chains and pencils with names on them that you could get at the mall? For Jennifers, that was always a pipe dream.

Hill's post earned thousands of likes and hundreds of comments from fellow Gen Xers who lived through the same sea of Jennifers. One person remembered graduating in 1989 with "7 Jennifers, 7 Amys, 5 Kims, 5 Michelles, and 3 Lisas" along with a huge cluster of Roberts, Michaels, Jeffs, and Tims. Another person remembered a high school friend group made up of "Jennifer, Jenny, Jenn, Jen and Amy."

Steve, Dustin, and Robin from 'Stranger Things' media2.giphy.com

And this stance is warranted. According to Social Security data, Jennifer was the reigning name of the era, second only to Jessica. Amanda, Ashley, Sarah, Stephanie, Melissa, Nicole, Elizabeth, and Heather rounded out the top ten most popular names.

Of course, times have changed, and Jennifer is now ranked somewhere around #546. Still, even with the name being "basically an endangered species," Hill joked that "being forgotten by a show that gets so much of the 80s right feels strangely personal."

Names and other small details aside, people generally agree that Stranger Things perfectly captures that '80s feeling: the freedom of less technology, the pure magic of childhood boredom, the electric but nevertheless soulful music. And let's not forget the hairstyles.

With the two final installments of Stranger Things coming out in a matter of weeks, there's still hope for a Jennifer to make an appearance. And if that does happen, you know all the Gen Xers will cheer.