List Of 80s References In 'Holly, Jolly' - Stranger Things, Episode 3

After reeling off a list of 80s confectionary, including Nutty Bars, PEZ, Smarties, Bazooka, Pringles and Nilla Wafers, Dustin holds a Millennium Falcon toy from 'Star Wars' in front of Eleven in the hopes that she will make is levitate with her powers.

A little while later while Eleven is home alone at Mike's, she turns on the television and flicks through the channels. We briefly see a snatch of Ronald Reagan's speech regarding events in Lebanon and Grenada, followed by the opening titles for 'He-Man' and a retro Coca-Cola advert.

When Nancy is asking her classmate if she has seen Barbara, a poster with the word "nevermore" is visible behind them. This is a reference to Edgar Allan Poe's poem 'The Raven', which could be a clue to the fact that Barb is already dead and Nancy would never see her again, like the main character of the poem would not be able to see his beloved Lenore again.

We see a poster of 80s megastar Tom Cruise on the wall while Eleven explores Nancy Wheeler's bedroom. Later in a scene featuring Nancy music can be heard that is very similar to that used in the 1983 Cruise movie, 'Risky Business'.

When Hopper is researching Hawkins National Laboratory at the towmn's library, he stumbles across information that links the lab's boss, Dr. Brenner, to the secretive MKULTRA Project. This is a reference to a real CIA project that was set up to research telekinesis and other forms of mind control and psychic abilities.