These days, many people watch streaming shows with the subtitles on, whether they are hard of hearing or not, and sometimes, a particular caption garners attention. In the case of Stranger Things season 4, it was "[tentacles undulating moistly]" – and now the show's subtle author has addressed it.
"I will admit I was trolling a little bit with that," Jeff. T explained in a new interview with Vulture. "Also, in the past year or two, I've been watching ASMR streams to figure out which words elicit that kind of response in people, so I'll grab them and put them in my word bank. 'Moistly' pops up a lot in those ASMR streams.
"I try to stick to genre-appropriate language. People brought up the squelching, but that palpable pressing sound is meant to evoke disgust and horror. If I was doing a Regency-era picture or a stoner comedy, I'd change my language and shift accordingly, but I tried to be respectful of the genre."
watching stranger things 4 with captions means subjecting yourself to phrases like “tentacles undulating moistly” and “gate pulses wetly” and yes captions help my auditory processing but at what costJuly 4, 2022
Jeff T. went on to note that he and his team often try and use sillier descriptions where appropriate, too, in an attempt to showcase the Netflix series' ever-changing tone to deaf viewers.
“When it comes to a show like [Stranger Things] where you have something so fun and upbeat like when they're riding along in the pizza van, and then all of a sudden, something completely different happens, it's our job that the deaf community can still understand that complete switch of atmosphere," he said. "If we aren't doing that, we aren't doing our jobs correctly."
Talking about the internet reaction to the descriptive captions, subtitle QA editor said: "It's exceptional news for us. Subtitling for the deaf and hard-of-hearing is first and foremost an accessibility feature. That's why it's there, but to see it be opened to a new audience is unbelievable. In my entire career, I've never seen anything be so well received."
If you can't get enough of Hawkins-related content, check out our breakdown of the Stranger Things season 4, Volume 2 ending and how it all sets up Stranger Things season 5, or our spoiler-heavy list of who dies in Stranger Things season 4, Volume 2. If you're not keen to dwell on the darker stuff, though, we've rounded up all of the fun Stranger Things season 4, Volume 2 Easter eggs here.
