Technology is a phenomenon that has been explored throughout all mediums of art and entertainment. It is not only the driver of development and advancement, it is the one variable in life that has no limitations or boundaries. This is primarily the role of technology in entertainment; often predicting an enriched future full of progression and answers to commonly asked questions in current society. In the television series’, The Twilight Zone: Number 12 Looks Like You and Westworld: The Hosts Become Conscious, the answers to the aforementioned questions address, consecutively, the costs of achieving physical perfection and the effects of obtaining access to complete fulfillment of one’s wildest pleasures. By mirroring their respective sociopolitical eras in which they were created, The Twilight Zone and Westworld both reflect the outcomes and challenges that arise when technology meets man’s greatest desires.
The Twilight Zone episode, whose mantra assumes the phrase “ugliness is a thing of the past,” aired on January 24th, 1964. In the episode, the protagonist, Marilyn, is closely examined as she separates herself from the rest of the girls her age through her refusal to undergo “the transformation” that is meant to eliminate all of her imperfections. This surgery was created on the basis of using technology to improve society, specifically through the process of eradicating the ills of inequality and injustice by reshaping the definition of beauty. Everyone is the same and therefore, no one is of comparison. However, another important component of the surgery is that it is completely numbing in terms of inward emotion and turmoil. This is depicted when Marilyn tries to explain her emotions to her best friend and her mother to no avail. They both saw nothing beyond the value of becoming attractive. This episode depicts the dangerous sacrifices that must be made in order to achieve absolute physical perfection: the sacrifice of one’s soul.
Number 12 Looks Like You wholly reflects the sociopolitical era in which it was born into through its explicit exploration of the future of plastic surgery in terms of society’s growing vanity, combined with the discussion of mankind’s obsession with physical perfection. In our assigned class reading on The Twilight Zone entitled, “Landmark Television,” Derek Kompare states that, “regardless of a perceived historical trajectory towards or away from progress, certain programs have come to confluence of key variables at particular moments” (Kompare 299). Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone is classified as being one of these “programs” and thus it is clear that he uses this platform to predict society’s future from a 1960’s perspective.
In the beginning of the 1960s, plastic surgery propelled into one of the most prominent procedures in America as technology evolved more and more. The 1960’s marked a landmark era in terms of reconstructive surgery because of vast new scientific developments. Specifically, according to the international news medium, Reuters, in 1962 surgeons “Thomas Cronin and Frank Gerow unveiled the practice of using a substance called silicone for breast implants,” (Reuters 2012). Prior to this, silicone was only used to treat skin imperfections, thereby classifying Cronin’s work as a true scientific breakthrough of that era. In addition to this, American Society of Plastic Surgeons member, Hal B. Jennings, “was appointed Surgeon General of the United States by President Nixon, becoming the first and only plastic surgeon to date to achieve this public service honor” (“ASPS”). Following these developments, the trajectory of the demand for plastic surgery propelled upwards. The airing of The Twilight Zone episode in 1964 took on the weight of this fast-growing industry and projected it into futuristic terms; predicting what would happen if society continued on this silicone driven path, daring to question what we would consequently lose in the wake of such technological gain. For Marilyn, it was her soul; her ability to see past the plastic, and her interest in more than just looks. When society finally pushed her to her limits, practically forcing her to undergo the transformation, she became another carbon copy, another depthless, shallow girl, and thus just another number 12. In this way, Rod Serling expressed his enmity toward society’s means of overcoming inequality and injustice by way of succumbing to absolute physical perfection and vanity.
Similar to The Twilight Zone’s critique of societies’ impulses toward perfectionism in the 1960’s, the series’ Westworld reflects prominent issues of today, as it first aired in 2016. In Glen Creeber’s book entitled, “The Television Genre Book,” he discusses how on the surface, the genre of science fiction would seem to take its audience beyond the confines of the social constructs of race and the elements of gender through “discourse of fantasy and futurism” (Creeber 61). However, he contradicts this assumption by stating, “the metaphorical transformations always speak about the historical time in which the production takes place” (Creeber 62). Affirming Creeber’s discussion, Westworld utilizes this method to critique society’s trajectory toward a technology-ridden future from a modern perspective.
In the episode shown in class entitled, “The Hosts Become Conscious,” main characters Ford and Bernard notice strange activity among the hosts in the park. They soon discover that some of the hosts have gained consciousness including one in particular named Maeve, who not only begins to remember her prior life, but also starts to exercise her agency in her quest to escape the park. Through this chaos of creation, this episode of Westworld touches on the possible consequences of mankind trying to “play God” in the sense of creating and controlling human life through artificial intelligence. Similar to reality, with the invention of self-driving cars and other formerly unimaginable technological advancements, there is a fear of accelerated tech growth becoming too powerful and developing the ability to one day cause us harm. In a 2019 article posted on Big Think, CEO of Tesla and Space, Elon Musk, shares in an interview, “I'm very close to the cutting-edge of AI, and it scares the hell out of me. It is capable of vastly more than anyone knows, and the rate of improvement is exponential.” This quote represents the growing 21st century fear of just how powerful our technology is. In this way, Westworld reflects and encompasses this modern concern for the propensity of rapid technological developments and initiatives to one day “turn against” society.
While both The Twilight Zone and Westworld have themes that revolve around the future and technology, their methods of execution in projecting their message to society differ. In The Twilight Zone, Rod Serling’s physical presence at the book ends of every Twilight Zone episode in which he provides verbal commentary and a summary of the lessons to be learned, solidifies the central message of the episode so that the audience walks away with the upmost clarity on his critique of current sociopolitical issues. His role as the omniscient narrator helps guide the audience through the twists and turns of each episode. In contrast, this element is not present in Westworld. The audience is given room to conjecture their own analysis of the message after watching each show, providing a more objective platform for sociopolitical discourse.
The production and distribution of both Westworld and The Twilight Zone, contain differences in terms of their history. Westworld is an American science fiction television series that is produced by HBO. Its origin lies in the 1973 film also entitled Westworld. Warner Brothers had originally considered remaking the 1973 film, however, after American producer, Jerry Weintraub’s success with HBO’s show entitled, Behind the Candelabra, he was able to convince the network to take on the project. In order to gage the audience’s take on the concept of Westworld prior to its airing date, HBO held virtual-reality exhibits to increase the accessibility of Westworld’s uncanny 3D experience. After much success with this initiative, HBO renewed the series for more seasons following the pilot.
In regard to the production and distribution history of The Twilight Zone, from 1959 to 1964 it was ran under the television production and distribution operations of CBS. Prior to this however, creator Rod Serling wanted to branch out and produce work that was more controversial than the others in his repertoire. He felt that a science-fictional setting would give him more freedom in expressing controversial ideas than a realistic one. After his first script was rejected and shelved, it was later picked up by writer, Bert Granet and produced as an episode of Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse until later being solidified under CBS.
In the assigned class reading entitled, “American Television Industry,” authors Curtin and Shattuc express their take on how new technologies have affected the television industry, “new technologies caused social and economic change…transforming American media, society, and culture” (Curtin & Shattuc 11), emphasizing the importance of technological nuances in American television. Therefore, it can be reasonably assumed that the discussion and portrayal of technology in television is just as pertinent in driving social and cultural evolution. Science fiction/fantasy as a genre on US television is important because it creates a universal depiction of relevant social issues, carving a platform for meaningful dialogue about the impact of our technological choices as a society. Just as The Twilight Zone forced its audience to weigh the effects of altering one’s body toward perfection, Westworld reminds us to be wary of the power that we have to create such advancements.
Science fiction/fantasy both as a genre on television and as an audience of active fans shows us a mirror of ourselves and a projection of our future, both good and bad, when we fail to see it for ourselves. For an audience of active fans, HBO has proved that the 3D virtual reality experience is truly what fans desire, and to have that in a form of television through science fiction and fantasy, they are able to transport their active fans to another dimension with each episode. Likewise, CBS has shown that science fiction/fantasy as a genre is important in uprooting controversial topics in a more engaging and universal way through a fictional setting. Thus, it is clear that science fiction/fantasy is a vital aspect of American television.
References
Curtin & Shattuc. American Television Industry.
Creeber, Glen, et al. The Television Genre Book. BFI Palgrave, 2015.
Dickinson, Kevin. “Autonomous AI.” Big Think, Big Think, 5 Oct. 2018, bigthink.com/technology-innovation/fear-future-technology?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1.
“History of ASPS.” American Society of Plastic Surgeons, www.plasticsurgery.org/about-asps/history-of-asps?sub=The%2B1960s.
How to Watch Television. New York, 2013.
“Science Fiction Studies.” Rick Worland -- "The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limiuts, and TV Political Fantasy 1959-1965", www.depauw.edu/sfs/backissues/68/worland68.html.
“The Lure of Forced Utopia: Twilight Zone's ‘Number 12 Looks Just Like You.’” Shadow & Substance, 9 Feb. 2018, thenightgallery.wordpress.com/2018/02/09/the-lure-of-forced-utopia-twilight-zones-number-12-looks-just-like-you/.
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