OCR A-Level Stranger Things Genre Theory

A complete OCR A-Level Media Studies lesson exploring genre, hybridity and Todorov’s Narrative Theory in Stranger Things Season 1 Episode 1.

This fully editable PowerPoint (.pptx) lesson focuses on Stranger Things, Season 1 Episode 1: The Vanishing of Will Byers, for OCR A-Level Media Studies Paper 2: Evolving Media, Section B – Long Form Television Drama.

The lesson explores how Stranger Things uses genre and narrative to engage audiences, beginning with the significance of the opening Dungeons & Dragons scene as a narrative device that foreshadows monsters, quests and danger. Students recap key episode knowledge including the final shot, mise-en-scène, LFTVD conventions, 1980s codes, child protagonists and adult protagonists.

Students then analyse how Stranger Things works as a hybrid genre, combining science fiction, horror, teen drama and mystery/thriller. The lesson explains how genre hybridity broadens audience appeal by combining monsters, government labs, supernatural powers, suspense, friendship, family conflict and coming-of-age conventions.

The second half of the lesson focuses on Todorov’s Narrative Theory, applying equilibrium, disruption, recognition, attempt to repair and new equilibrium to Episode 1. Students consider how the episode both follows and challenges Todorov through its open ending, cliff-hanger, flexi-narrative and multi-strand storytelling, encouraging continued viewing and binge-watching.

The lesson includes printable sorting tasks, genre classification, narrative theory matching, sentence starters, word banks, formative assessment, a model response and self-assessment criteria.

This lesson covers:

OCR A-Level Media Studies
Paper 2: Evolving Media
Section B: Long Form Television Drama
Stranger Things S1E1
The Vanishing of Will Byers
LFTVD conventions
Genre theory
Hybrid genre
Science fiction
Horror
Teen drama
Mystery/thriller
Narrative structure
Todorov’s Narrative Theory
Equilibrium
Disruption
Recognition
Attempt to repair
New equilibrium
Open ending
Cliff-hanger
Multi-strand narrative
Flexi-narrative
Audience engagement
Binge-watching

What is included:

Fully editable PowerPoint (.pptx) lesson
Do Now retrieval task on Episode 1
Teacher feedback/model answer slide
Lesson objectives
Audience engagement discussion task
Nostalgia and audience demographics task
Genre hybridity explanation
Printable hybrid genre sorting task
Episode 1 example bank
Teacher feedback slides
Narrative structure terminology
Restricted, omniscient, open and multi-strand narrative recap
Todorov’s Narrative Theory matching task
Printable narrative structure worksheet-style slides
Formative assessment 10/15-minute writing task
Wo