'the Twilight Zone' The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine
Season 1. Episode 4
“The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine”
Originally aired on Oct. 23, 1959
Written by Rod Serling
Spoiler Alert: You should only continue reading if you have seen the episode in question. The Twilight Zone’s themes are revealed in subtle ways that shouldn’t be ruined by reading an essay before you have seen the episode.
“The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine”
Originally aired on Oct. 23, 1959
Written by Rod Serling
Spoiler Alert: You should only continue reading if you have seen the episode in question. The Twilight Zone’s themes are revealed in subtle ways that shouldn’t be ruined by reading an essay before you have seen the episode.
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Does it matter if isolation is imposed from the outside, as in “Where Is Everybody?,” or if it is self-imposed? In this century, it may seem as if self-imposed isolation is the person’s own fault. Someone who chooses to be isolated will suffer the effects of that isolation, which may include loneliness and insanity; the same effects that someone, whom outside forces isolate, will suffer.
In this episode of the Twilight Zone is that someone who wants to lose herself in film can do so literally. A medium like film is much harder to lose oneself in than an interactive medium like the Internet where interactions with bits and bytes are often mistaken for interaction with friends and family. It is the face-to-face time that helps remind people that they are a part of the human race, and that there are others who are of the same race.
The choice, therefore, doesn’t make a difference. It is up to society to bring people together if for no other reason than to preserve itself as a society. While people are choosing to lock themselves in virtual boxes with smart phones, they are also choosing to fall into the insanity that comes with isolation.
In this episode of the Twilight Zone is that someone who wants to lose herself in film can do so literally. A medium like film is much harder to lose oneself in than an interactive medium like the Internet where interactions with bits and bytes are often mistaken for interaction with friends and family. It is the face-to-face time that helps remind people that they are a part of the human race, and that there are others who are of the same race.
The choice, therefore, doesn’t make a difference. It is up to society to bring people together if for no other reason than to preserve itself as a society. While people are choosing to lock themselves in virtual boxes with smart phones, they are also choosing to fall into the insanity that comes with isolation.
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Read about Anne Serling's book As I Knew Him: My Dad, Rod Serling