Like a young girl whose unique talents are mined and exploited until she finally explodes, Netflix’s Stranger Things has been picked apart from every conceivable angle in our collective devious plot to create viral content. We’ve seen mixtapes and playlists; breakdowns of its many references, its title sequence, its soundtrack; ’80s sitcom makeovers; rap songs; pizza tributes; and programs to create your own Christmas light messages. And now there is Make It Stranger, a web tool that allows you to type in any two words and instantly have them rendered in the show’s eerie, Stephen King-paperback-evoking Benguiat typeface. Created by the font enthusiasts over at Nelson Cash, who previously sang the title’s praises, Make It Stranger allows you to put a little bit of Stranger Things into your everyday life, as though you yourself were a blog marking time until the next cultural obsession comes along.
What two words will you choose to “Strangify,” instantly making them more ominous, intriguing, and clickable? The titles of other TV shows seems like an obvious choice.
You’d watch that! Hey, how about some band names?
What else? Your own name? Seems a bit narcissistic, frankly. What about paying tribute to a recently deceased titan of screen and Yiddish theater? Goddamn, how about you think of someone else, for once in your miserable life?
Or maybe, like a young boy trapped in an alternate dimension, you can use it to send desperate messages to your loved ones pleading for their help. I sent this one to my wife!
Yes, there’s truly no end to the combination of two words you can type into this thing, then see them rendered in the font of a series you enjoy.
Now go forth and make some of your own.