The Twilight Zone ran five seasons from October 2, 1959 to June 19, 1964. Each episode of the show tells a different story. The show was hosted and narrated by Rod Serling which usually misspelled as Sterling and I was guilty of that as well.
According to Smithsonian Magazine article titled, “An Early Run-In With Censors Led Rod Serling to ‘The Twilight Zone'” it was the trial of the fatally murdered Emmett Till that encouraged Serling to want to tell the story ‘around the racism that led to Till’s murder.’
Some episodes focused on the aftermath of war and made the viewers look at society in a whole new light.
- For example, the episode “Deaths-Head Revisited” about a man named, SS Capt. Gunther Lutze who was in charge of the concentration camp, Dachau. He is faced with the evil he has caused to the victims. Lutze asks a question about a noise and one of the victims starts off a powerful explanation, “Strange that it should disturb you, it never use to, Captain. When your victims screamed, you weren’t so sensitive. But now they are not screaming, no, they are reacting.”
- Another example, the episode “Monsters Are Due On Maple Street” is about paranoia taking over the residents on a residential street. This episode makes the viewers take a look at who the real monsters are.
There are many more episodes that touch on topics and if you look carefully you will see a lot of familiar faces. Some of the episodes, I will say are creepy and might freak out the viewers, especially children.
Opinion:
Rod Serling was a genius when it came to science fiction. I have watched the first season of the remake from 2019 and nothing lives up to the original, nothing has done it justice. Every time I have watched the show, I say that Rod Serling is very handsome. It’s the suit, voice, and even the cigarette.
References:
Mansky, Jackie. “An Early Run-In With Censors Led Rod Serling to ‘The Twilight Zone.'” Smithsonian Magazine. 1 April, 2019. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/early-run-censors-led-rod-serling-twilight-zone-180971837/#:~:text=The%20Twilight%20Zone%20is%20actually,and%20cannot%20view%20the%20horizon.
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