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Mapping the fan conversation:  Netflix's Stranger Things

(Maps viewable on desktop only). 

Through LLM-based narrative analytics, we’ve mapped 9,764 Reddit posts about a few of Netflix's Stranger Things - for a uniquely empirical view of the conversation among viewers and fans. 

 

Axes of the map:  Inside vs outside, personal perspective vs pop culture.   The 5-cluster level shows the general “shape” of the content.  The center cluster is important – revealing that relatability is important.   None of the clusters or axes are pre-set – they are unique to this dataset and empirically formed, factoring trillions of possible cluster/axis combinations.  The is a key feature of narrative analytics: the ability to treat large samples of unstructured language - data that would normally be interpreted subjectively - and understand it empirically.

  

Now go to the detailed 25-cluster level by moving the slider on the lower right of of the map, and read on.  

Move slider to adjust level of detail

The positioning of each cluster matters.   In the 24-cluster view of the map above, Binge Watching,  Crying and Exclamations/viewer reactions clusters are next to each other, on the right side of the map, within the high level "viewer reaction"theme.  Their close adjacency signifies that they are similar concepts.   What else do you notice from browsing over the more detailed 24-cluster level?

How does the viewer experience vary by episode?

The map below is identical to the 25-cluster level of the map above - the only difference is that the dots are coloured by episode.  Click on the dots in the legend on the right to see the "narrative footprint" of one episode versus another.  

What is driving positive vs negative sentiment?

The below chart takes selected narratives from the above map, showing the sentiment score distribution for each.  For example, Exclamation's/viewer reactions is the most positive within the map.  Conversely, on the right side of the map, Movement, location and metaphysics is the least positive.  This corner of Reddit is not too happy with the show's depiction of the metaphysical relationship between the real world and the upside down.  How Reddit is that?

Narrative traction - which parts of the conversation are sticky?

Narrative traction is not the same as sentiment.  It is measured by the engagement of others, whether it be via reddit scores, likes, or shares.  The below map is based on the same clusters as above, but measures traction, rather than sentiment. The narrative with the most traction is Strength under duress.  This makes sense because it captures the type of tension that tends to draw people into a story.  As you can see, the stickiest narratives are not the same as those with the highest sentiment - in fact the most positive cluster in terms of sentiment above ranks last in terms of narrative traction.   

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