To Serve Man is the 24th episode of the 3rd season of The Twilight Zone(1962). It is known to be based on the story by Damon Knight which is also called To Serve Man. This particular episode is very significant because it is one of the few occurrences where an actor breaks the “fourth wall” (an imaginary wall supposed to be at the front of a stage; represents the boundary between a play and its audience.) and actually speaks to the audience at the episode’s closing. This particular episode has gained wide acknowledgement and positive response, shown by its reference in a lot of movies and shows like Madagascar, Supernatural, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and The Simpson’s “Tree house of Horror”. It has been accepted as “A Must See” from places …show more content…
“To Serve Man” has become one of those episodes of this show that gets so often shown in high schools because it promotes those sorts of thoughts at a time when many teenagers are starting to really question everything they were raised with in earnest. Adolescence is a time of rebellion, and “To Serve Man” paints a scenario where rebellion is called for, but everybody is lulled into complacency by basic creature comforts. The Twilight Zone couldn’t afford to do a full-scale alien invasion, so it instead adapts a Damon Knight short story where the classic theme of a few aliens subduing an entire human population crops up. The Kanamits seem like they would be so easy to fight back against, but nobody does so. They’re too blinded by the stuff they’re …show more content…
I still like “To Serve Man.” I just have my doubts about its place as an all-time classic episode of the show. By and large, it’s all about the ending, and once you know the ending, then the rest of it becomes that much easier to pick apart. I guess what I’m trying to say is that “To Serve Man” is the perfect episode of the show is what you primarily value about it are the closing twists, because the closing twist is a doozy. But what I tend to value about the show are strong stories, great guest performances, and the eerie sense one gets as the show throws our political ideals and values underneath a science fiction or horror microscope. “To Serve Man” is a very good episode of this show, with some very good moments, a great ending, and some interesting subtext. Yet I don’t know if I’d call it a great one. Its reputation, such as it is, rests entirely on three words, blurted at the end and not really enough for everything else to stand
The power of blind obedience taints individuals’ ability to clearly distinguish between right and wrong in terms of obedience, or disobedience, to an unjust superior. In the article “The Abu Ghraib Prison Scandal: Sources of Sadism,” Marianne Szegedy-Maszak discusses the unwarranted murder of innocent individuals due to vague orders that did not survive with certainty. Szegedy-Maszak utilizes the tactics of authorization, routinization, and dehumanization, respectively, to attempt to justify the soldiers’ heinous actions (Szegedy-Maszak 76-77). In addition, “Just Do What the Pilot Tells You” by Theodore Dalrymple distinguishes between blind disobedience and blind obedience to authority and stating that neither is superior;
The people of Hawaii and other Pacific Island Nation groups have experienced great injustice from their colonial powers and the acts of imperialism. Lands were seized, cultural practices banned, language lost, and people were even forced to move away from their homes for the purpose of bomb testing. The United States and other countries abroad sent out representatives to do their work for them; in return their future actions would be justified in describing the Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders as savages that need to have wider powers enforced upon them; thus resulting in a tangled web of political mythologies.
Cormac McCarthy once said, “I think the notion that the species can be improved in some way, that everyone can live in harmony is a really dangerous idea.” (Overview) This quote leaves us with the impression that humanity as a whole is innately violent, and we will explore this idea by examining “Blood Meridian.” This paper consists of three main topics, all of which have subtopics. The first topic explores the Western setting of “Blood Meridian” and its effect on human behavior. Its subtopics are the absence of responsibility, the failure of manifest destiny’s ideals, and seeing the west as an escape from the past and time. The second topic delves deeper into the nature of Cormac McCarthy’s quote; it asks whether humans are inherently violent. The subtopics for this section are racism and hate as a drive, greed as a drive, and the metaphorical significance of two events in the book. The last topic is man’s need to be led and the way their leader leads them. The subtopics for the last section are the parallel between Hitler and Judge Holden, and the Judge’s general philosophy including the way he leads the men.
Fromm explains that humans obey orders because of “fear, hate, and greed”, which, in the end, harms humanity (Fromm 125). Agreeing with this idea, Zimbardo states that “self-aggrandizement” is accomplished by “self-deprecation” of others (Zimbardo 109). Christopher Shea’s experiment also backs up the claim that people act for themselves. Shea would concur with Fromm that humans behave greedily (Shea). In contrast, Shea would not believe that people behave to put others down, which is Zimbardo’s beliefs (Shea). Jessup wished to express his authority by giving orders and allowing himself to advance even higher. Jessup harmed Santiago to advance personally; in addition, Dawson and Downey obeyed orders to gain approval from Jessup. Fromm may argue that Dawson and Downey followed commands due to fear. Zimbardo would believe that they thought completing the order was the correct action to be taken. The article “Human Obedience: The Myth of Blind Conformity” also connects with Zimbardo’s viewpoint. The article explains why people become passive and eventually deem their actions as correct (Human Obedience: The Myth of Blind Conformity). Zimbardo would not consider humans to be passive just blind to the truth. “Human Obedience: The Myth of Blind Conformity” would reply that individuals need to rely on their mind and not listen to commands. Both authors believe the marines’ actions
In order to be able to conquer a people, one must dehumanize them and believe they are insignificant/inferior. This mode of thinking is used to justify any atrocities committed by the conquerors.
In Vonnegut's novel, Galapagos, the narrator, Leon Trout, attempts to understand humanity's cruelty after witnessing the Vietnam War's brutality and lack of purpose. As a marine in "...a nearly endless, thankless, horrifying, and, finally, pointless war..." (Galapagos 254), Trout struggles to come to terms w...
guise of alien. Thus we may learn a fresh respect for courage and why so
Kurt Vonnegut's novel Slaughterhouse-Five; or The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death is, as suggested by the title, a novel describing a crusade that stretches beyond the faint boundaries of fiction and crosses over into the depths of defogged reality. This satirical, anti-war piece of literature aims to expose, broadcast and even taunt human ideals that support war and challenge them in light of their folly. However, the reality of war, the destruction, affliction and trauma it encompasses, can only be humanly described by the word “war” itself. Furthermore, oftentimes this term can only be truly understood by those who have experienced it firsthand. Therefore, in order to explain the unexplainable and humanize one of the most inhumane acts, Vonnegut slants the hoarse truth about war by extrapolating it to a fantasy world. Through this mixture of history, reality and fantasy, Vonnegut is able to “more or less” describe what he believes truly happens in war yet, at the same time, reveal a greater truth about humanity's self-destructive war inertness. Vonnegut's use of fantasy in Slaughterhouse-Five unveils mundane war misconceptions as it rallies action against war through a comparison and contrast between the Tralfamadorian world and philosophy and Billy Pilgrim's existence and war experiences.
I also hypothesize that belief a human supremacy is nothing more than a myth that people continue to believe and act upon as response to this supposed mentality of superiority. Throughout the novel I also assert that modern civilization...
When we go see a movie we never really know every detail about it. Sometimes people don’t even know who directed the movie. As I researched the movie District 9 there were many things that I didn’t know about and I’m sure a few of us didn’t either. We never really know little details because that’s not we go to the movies for because we just want to see the big picture ,well that’s how I am I only see the movie on the screen and that’s all , I never really go into depth of what I am watching unless of course its base on true events . But as I watched district 9 I wondered how they got the aliens make us feel so bad for them to make us the viewers want to help these creatures. So as I researched I found a few things that were pretty amazing, things we didn’t know about. I will be focusing on the hidden thing in District 9 that wasn’t ever brought to our attention. Another thing I will talk about is this viewer Emily Perrin who tells other viewers what District 9 has taught us .
Chen, Raymond, Ed. The Simpsons Archive. "Treehouse of Horror II" 6 Nov. 2000. 6 Sept. 2011.
Racism is a dark word; it is as black as the night, as black as the soul of those that harbor this hate. Yet, I want to talk about racism - not just in far away places, but here in the United States. Actually, I want everyone to talk about racism. Only by talking about it can we begin the process of overcoming past and present injustices.
Gasping for air, Taytum woke up from her nightmare. The same nightmare she had been having for years now. The night both her parents were killed. The night of the invasion. The aliens came down from the sky without any warning leaving a trail of bodies on their arrival. The government managed to drive them off the planet, but everyone knew it was only a matter of time before they returned. The government started every step to protect our planet from another attack. Taskforces were assigned to study the aliens, their home, their language, their biology, their culture and even their habitat. The childhood trauma drove Taytum to join these missions. Many years of hard work and dedication, Taytum is now the leader of the taskforce that is studying
When you work for peace or any other aspect of social change, there are often hardships to overcome. You must believe deeply that what you are doing is right, or else you may become discouraged and give up. I have found that there are no easy solutions to problems involving social change. When you commit yourself to creating a better world, you are most likely committing yourself to a lifetime of effort.