The tattoos in the show have parallels with one of history’s darkest events
Stranger Things fans have been warned not to get tattoos on their wrist similar to that of Eleven because of the historical connotations behind this.
In the Netflix show, Eleven has a tattoo on her wrist which reads ‘011.’ This was given to her by Dr Brenner when she was part of his research project at the Hawkins National Laboratory.
Throughout the series, we see Brenner refer to the children he is experimenting on by their number, dehumanising them by getting rid of their names.
The number on Eleven’s wrist has become an iconic symbol of the show, particularly after the latest series, leading some fans to get similar tattoos on their wrists.
Photos of some of these inkings by fans have even been shared on the official Stranger Things Instagram page.
But one Twitter user has now put together a thread explaining why, in their opinion, it’s not okay to get tattoos like this.
This is because the tattoos and their dehumanisation are reminiscent of a real-world atrocity – the Holocaust.
In the thread, Emily explains that prisoners taken to Auschwitz would get similar tattoos.
She writes: “It was a process not only so that the Nazis could keep track and records of people, but also to dehumanise people.”
heres an informational thread on why getting a tattoo like this is really bad and the history behind it
tw// talking about the holocaust so mentions of violent things and genocide and just hatred and bigotry in general pic.twitter.com/YvJESTV3XL
— emily (@sapphicsvoid) May 31, 2022
“They no longer had a name because they weren’t deemed significant enough TO have one. They were instead referred to as a number only.”
they werent deemed significant enough TO have one. they were instead referred to as a number only. it was also used to identify dead bodies for their records. there were different numbering sequences that meant different things such as specific ethnic groups pic.twitter.com/x18mb1azJZ
— emily (@sapphicsvoid) May 31, 2022
Along with links to books and sources for people to learn more about the historical significance of such tattoos, she added: “Obviously the tattoos make sense in the context of the show, but are not appropriate to do in real life just because you are a fan of the show.”
These views have been echoed elsewhere.
Many found the thread to be informative and agreed with its message.
tortured and abused. like if you facing it from just stranger things the context is still horrific (of course not comparing the horrific-ness to the holocaust but the parallels of torture and abuse running themes of both)
— emilton (@HeyItsEmilton) June 1, 2022
But others didn’t see the problem, with one writing: “Girl they just watched stranger things leave them alone!!”
Another pointed out that “context matters” with the tattoos.
but the tats they have are digital numbers like that you see on digital clocks which is completely different. i see people with number tats and it's for happy occasions like birthdays/anniversaries etc. so context matters as always.
— m'kei (@halfshikamaru) June 1, 2022
The first seven episodes of the fourth season of Stranger Things are now available to stream on Netflix, with the final two episodes of the season being released on July 1.
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