If you consider numbers tattooed on wrists, you most likely consider Auschwitz and Holocaust survivors with numbers inked on their forearms. However for some followers of “Stranger Issues,” Netflix’s cult favourite horror present, they consider Hawkins, Indiana, and its superpowered heroine, Eleven. They usually’re getting their very own wrists tattooed with 011 in her honor.
“Stranger Issues” has all the time performed with Nazi themes; there are experiments carried out on numbered kids with shaved heads, held captive in a lab, evoking Dr. Mengele as a lot as MK Extremely. Whereas the present’s creators, the Duffer Brothers, haven’t instantly talked about the Holocaust, the references appear apparent sufficient — and the pair attracts closely from administrators corresponding to Steven Spielberg.
However, apparently, the followers solely picked up on the shallowest of meanings behind the tattoos — that it’s a particular marking for youngsters with superpowers — and determined to show their fandom mettle by marking themselves in the identical manner. The present has even reposted these tattoos to its official Instagram account. And followers appear confused by those that have criticized the selection; quite a few posts deny any similarity between the numbered wrist tattoos and the Auschwitz prisoner numbers tattooed on forearms.
“The tattoos look vastly completely different from those within the Holocaust, these have been on prime of the arm, with a unique font, whereas those in ST [Stranger Things] are smaller, and go on the wrist. I simply suppose persons are attempting to attach dots that aren’t there,” wrote one commenter on the “Stranger Issues” subreddit.
“There isn’t any connection to the Holocaust within the present so there isn’t any hidden which means that would give them an argument,” said another Redditor. “Like what’s subsequent, scream at a dude who has his granny’s dying date on his arm as a result of there are numbers in it?”
“The tattoos look vastly completely different from those within the Holocaust, these have been on prime of the arm, with a unique font, whereas those in ST [Stranger Things] are smaller, and go on the wrist. I simply suppose persons are attempting to attach dots that aren’t there,” wrote one commenter on the “Stranger Issues” subreddit.
“There isn’t any connection to the Holocaust within the present so there isn’t any hidden which means that would give them an argument,” said another Redditor. “Like what’s subsequent, scream at a dude who has his granny’s dying date on his arm as a result of there are numbers in it?”
RELATED: Your tattoo was forced on you at Auschwitz. Mine honors your memory.
Admittedly, whereas the Holocaust is probably the most well-known instance of prisoner tattoos and numbers, it’s definitely not the one one. In antiquity, tattoos, typically with the identify of the Roman emperor, have been inked onto prisoners’ foreheads as a sign of punishment and dehumanization. And inmates have been assigned numbers to assist observe them for hundreds of years, as much as at this time.
And “Stranger Issues” just isn’t the primary fictional work to recreate the observe. In “Les Miserables,” Jean Valjean is understood by his prisoner quantity, 24601, and in “Squid Recreation,” the members in a sadistic homicide recreation are recognized by the numbers on their uniforms.
However most fictional worlds keep away from tattooing these identifiers on the forearms of their characters, most likely to keep away from the overt Holocaust affiliation; “Stranger Issues” has made no such effort. Altering the font or dimension of the numbers, or shifting their location by a matter of centimeters, just isn’t ample to eradicate the connection to focus camps. (The Auschwitz numbers, which have been tattooed by hand, additionally diverse in dimension, writing fashion and placement.)
Followers unwilling to acknowledge the Holocaust resonance are paving the way in which for specious arguments — would a swastika not symbolize the Nazi regime if it was inexperienced? As antisemitism and white nationalism rise, will individuals deny the historic parallels as a result of we’re American, not German, and the propaganda is unfold utilizing computer systems as an alternative of bodily posters?
Sadly, this mindset is changing into more and more widespread; individuals argued that “Squid Game” was not a critique of capitalism as a result of the present by no means talked about the phrase, even supposing the present was about individuals taking part in a homicide recreation for wealthy individuals’s leisure as a result of they’d no different hope of survival. “Don’t Look Up” was one of the vital heavy-handed motion pictures I’ve ever seen, but individuals missed its warning about local weather change as a result of it didn’t point out the time period; critics even complained that its messaging was ineffective as a result of it was too refined, not as a result of it was too didactic.
