Spaceships and politics
Subtitle: the political theory of Rod Serling
By: Leslie Dale Feldman
Publisher: Lexington Books
Published: 2010
Place of publication: Lanham, Md
Language: eng
Number of pages: 155
ISBN-13: 9780739120446; 9780739120453
Subjects: Twilight zone (Television program : 1959-1964); Criticism and interpretation
Description: This book examines the political themes in The Twilight Zone. In this unique show, Rod Serling used fantasy and the supernatural to explore political ideas such as capital punishment, the individual and the state, war, conformity, the state of nature, prejudice, and alienation. He used aliens and machines to understand human nature. While the themes in The Twilight Zone often reflected political concerns of the time, such as the Cold War and post-industrial technology, the messages had broader political implications. This book looks at Serling's mechanistic view of the world and emphasis on fear through Hobbesian themes such as diffidence and automata.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 139-140) and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction; title: Human nature; title: The individual and the state; title: Fascism and modernity; title: Magic and optimism; title: Conclusion.