MovieChat Forums > Stranger Things (2016) Discussion > Isn't it a bit weird they still call her...

Isn't it a bit weird they still call her Eleven?

posted 5 years ago by Mister Babadook (2623)
16 replies | jump to latest

I don't get why they don't use her real name, Jane, just seems strange they'd continue to call her by her lab number she was labeled with from when she was being held against her will and prodded like a lab rat.

I get it in season 1 she didn't know anything else cause she was born at the lab and grew up there being called Eleven, it made sense she thought that was her name. But then in season 2 she found out about her mother and her real name, so i don't get why in season 3 shes still fine with being called Eleven.

[–] Tyalt (280) 5 years ago

Yeah that is weird

[–] ComputerBlue (316) 5 years ago

Yeah it’s weird. I think it’s also weird she still speaks like she’s just learning the English language, she’s been around normal speaking adults her whole life, spent a couple years watching tv and being around normal people.

Why use lot word when few word do trick, I guess.

[–] chrisjdel (2714) 5 years ago

The first season I thought of Kurt Russell's character from the movie Soldier. He'd been raised in an artificial environment too, trained not to act or speak frivolously. The minimum number of words functionally required. He continued to address people as "sir" even after the military discarded him. He was learning to be more human, but you had a strong sense he'd never be completely normal.

Eleven was young enough when she escaped that she'll probably seem no different than anyone else after a while. But it's not surprising, having spent most of her first 12 years in that lab, it takes more than a couple of years to lose the habits grilled into her there. Every season she gets more chatty and less reserved. As far as her name, I guess she's decided so far to stick with the safe choice, a variation on what she's always been called. Elle is a real name so it works. That could always change in the future though. At some point she may decide to start using her birth name.

[–] AmeriGirl26 (12280) 5 years ago

I liked the name "El" better than "Jane." It reminds me of the French name "Elle," and rolls off the tongue better. "Jane" is one of the most boring, over-used names in the history of western civilization, and there's nothing "plain or boring" about El in the least.

[–] Mister Babadook (2623) 5 years ago

And theres nothing wrong with the name Elle or El, but as i said it represents her being a lab rat, why would you wanna go by a lab number you was assigned to while being held prisoner? I don't care how unique or pretty a name it is, if it was a name i was given by some evil scientists that held me prisoner as a lab rat my whole life i wouldn't want it or even wanna hear it again, and no not even a short version of it.

It would be like if you was held prisoner by some guy your entire life up until age 14 and he gave you a nickname and then after you get away you find out your real name, but you choose to continue to go by the name your captor gave you, it'd just be messed up and weird. You'd think if anything she'd go by Jane just to honor her mother that gave her that name, continuing to go by Eleven is kind of disrespectful to her mother.

[–] Master (1494) 5 years ago

Jane because Jane Doe right?

[–] chrisjdel (2714) 5 years ago

No, that's the name her mother gave her. Jane Ives.

[–] Master (1494) 5 years ago

yes I know, but I also feel Jane Was chosen because Jane Doe by the writers, just they way John Smith was chosen by Stephen King in the Deadzone.

[–] chrisjdel (2714) 5 years ago

Also the name of one of the main characters from The Man in the High Castle, John Smith. About the most generic American name there is.

Jane Doe. Plain Jane. Can't speak to why Matt and Ross Duffer made that choice. Elle sounds more interesting though, the kind of name a French model would have.

[–] Utpe (658) 5 years ago

Nicknames tend to stick with you throughout your lifetime.

For example, my mother has been called by a sobriquet due to a simple mispronunciation from her niece in the 1970s. To this day, my cousin still refers to her by it.

Maybe she doesn't mind being called El (or hates going by Jane).

[–] kuku (3510) 5 years ago

Besides that, 'El' doesn't sound like a dog name or anything like that. 'Ella' is a real female name, and 'El' could be its nickname.

[–] Bowilly (171) 5 years ago

In a sense the name El was given to her by Mike, quite possibly the first person to show her kindness. When asked she refers to herself as El, the name that she chose of her own free will. Knowing her real birth name, I would say that she prefers El to Jane.

[–] Frogarama (12942) 5 years ago

Might also be a hidden reference to 80s show Blossom.... she had a character named Seven, loved that name. Favorite number too. Also Blossom is now huge from Big Bang Theory, she aka Miriyam Bialik is a legit scientist, the Stranger guys may be fans.

[–] jeepgirl (3) 5 years ago

She identifies as El/Elle at this point - she's known that name her whole life. It's a beautiful name and more power to her for going with it.

[–] chrisjdel (2714) 5 years ago

There's something to be said for taking a name meant to dehumanize you and embracing it, making it your own.

[–] ThrillerTalk (1118) 5 years ago

I'm ok with it. The way I see it is they kept the name as her nickname that she and her friends mutually like.