Red Room Confusion in Stranger Things Goes Viral

Stranger Things is a series with many great qualities, but one that especially fills us with joy [...]

By Jamie Jirak

Stranger Things is a series with many great qualities, but one that especially fills us with joy is the series' intense amount of '80s nostalgia. The show reminds viewers of the pop culture and technology of the time, which can occasionally baffle the younger viewers. Someone recently took to the Internet to inquire about the "red room" Jonathan Byers is always working in during the show. Of course, he's working in a darkroom, developing photos, but it turns out that's not a practice being taught in the digital age.

"In Stranger Things, we frequently see Jonathan go inside this to 'refine' his photos or something. I don't quite understand what happens here. He puts the photo in water, and somehow this makes it more clear? An example is in the first season when he refines Barbara's photo and sees a little bit of the Demogorgon. Is this an old film technique, and if so, what is it called?," someone asked. You can check out the original post here.

Here's the post's best response for all you Gen Zers out there (no judgments!):

"A darkroom is a workshop used by photographers working with photographic film to make prints and carry out other associated tasks. It is a room that can be made completely dark to allow the processing of the light-sensitive photographic materials, including film and photographic paper. And for why it's red: When making black-and-white prints, a safelight is commonly used to illuminate the work area. Since the majority of black-and-white papers are sensitive to only blue, or to blue and green light, a red- or amber-colored light can be safely used without exposing the paper."

While it's understandable that a younger person wouldn't be aware of this practice, the inquiry is certainly making a lot of us feel old. Here are a couple of hilarious replies to the above tweet:

"*feels herself aging like she chose the wrong grail in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade*," @Djinnkitty wrote.

"Sometimes in old films the lead avatar dips a bird's feather into black liquid and moves it around on paper in order to download their latest email. Is this some sort of granddad's coding technique and if so what's better about it than the normal way of communicating?," @johntonta jokingly wondered.

Stranger Things 3 stars Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Noah Schnapp (Will Byers), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Sadie Sink (Max Mayfield), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Dacre Montgomery (Billy Hargrove), Maya Hawke (Robin), and Priah Ferguson (Erica Sinclair).

Stranger Things 3 is now streaming on Netflix.

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