![]() ![]() “Under certain circumstances, Miss Tyler, the state does provide for the extermination of undesirables,” Dr. We naturally feel incensed that this gentle soul is condemned by a society determined to change her, exile her, or kill her. It’s a human face.”Ī face that belongs to a woman who just wants to smell the flowers and feel the night air. Deeper even than that misshapen skeletal mass. Bernardi is trying to express his frustration over her case, he says: “I’ve looked underneath those bandages … Deeper than that pitiful, twisted lump of flesh. One nurse remarks that if she had a face like Miss Tyler’s, “I’d bury myself in a grave somewhere.” And when Dr. ![]() Serling could be very efficient with his writing he keeps stressing her humanity, even as he sets us up for that scene. Lines like this also condition viewers to expect horrendous ugliness at the final unveiling. I just wanted people not to scream when they looked at me. The very first thing I can remember is a little child screaming when she looked at me. Ever since I can remember, ever since I was a little girl, people have turned away from me. It’s pretty bad, isn’t it? I know it’s pretty bad. ![]() Maxine Stuart is such a wonderfully expressive actress that although we have nothing but her voice and gestures to go by, we can’t help feeling touched by her plight, which Serling so poignantly describes: Bernardi) and others the black-and-white photography by George Clemens the soundtrack by Bernard Herrmann the make-up by William Tuttle … and, of course, a script by Rod Serling that is both a pointed critique of a totalitarian society and a sensitive portrayal of a lonely woman.Īll of these elements come together beautifully in the show’s opening scenes, which - considering they involve conversations between people whose faces are entirely obscured - are remarkably compelling. Everything clicks: the direction by TZ veteran Douglas Heyes the acting by Maxine Stuart (Janet Tyler under the bandages), Donna Douglas (Tyler unwrapped), William D. I consider it the series’ finest, in fact. The famous unveiling scene is the episode’s centerpiece, but it’s remarkable how powerful the rest of the episode is, from first frame to last. Lesson to be learned … in the Twilight Zone. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, in this year or a hundred years hence, on this planet or wherever there is human life, perhaps out among the stars. Because the old saying happens to be true. Where is this place and when is it, what kind of world where ugliness is the norm and beauty the deviation from that norm? The answer is, it doesn’t make any difference. Serling’s closing narration begins as they walk away: The operation a “failure”, Miss Tyler tries to flee, but is soon escorted away by a handsome man named Walter Smith to a colony of others with a similar “condition.” Only then do we see their faces, with distorted cheeks, twisted lips and pig-like noses. ![]() When the bandages come off, the doctor and nurses recoil in horror from her … very attractive face. It’s a major operation mandated by law to help people deemed ugly blend in with society. The story, in capsule form (here’s the last exit for those who have never seen the episode): Janet Tyler is in the hospital, her head encased in bandages, awaiting the results of a procedure intended to make her beautiful. Perhaps more importantly, who sets the standard?Įnter Rod Serling, and an episode of The Twilight Zone called “The Eye of the Beholder.” His 25-minute tour of a world where ugliness is a crime presents us with a terrifying specter: a society where peer pressure has been given the force of law, and conventional notions of beauty are turned on their head. “Conform or be cast out,” Geddy Lee sings in the Rush song “Subdivisions.” The question is, how far will we go to do so? What will it cost us? And what happens if we fail? The desire to fit in can exert a seemingly irresistible force. Nearly all of us do at one time or other. “I want to belong,” pleads a woman whose face is swathed in bandages. ![]()
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