'the Twilight Zone' Where Is Everybody?
Season 1. Episode 1
“Where Is Everybody?”
Originally aired on Oct. 2, 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.
“Where Is Everybody?”
Originally aired on Oct. 2, 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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The episode opens with a man who doesn’t know who he is
walking to a town devoid of other people. There are vestiges of people being
nearby – a jukebox plays, coffee on the stove boils, a cigar left in an ashtray
still burning, a phone rings. While all of these things point to people being
around somewhere, the man is unable to find anyone. Even a call to the operator
yields a recording. While “Where Is Everybody?” primarily addresses the issue
of isolation, it also addresses the issues of identity and observation.
Human beings typically identify themselves in terms of the other. The identity of mother, father, sister, friend, are all identities of relationships. Nationality is a relationship to country. Race is a relationship to other people of the same outward appearances. If there is no other person to use as an identification marker, many people will feel their identity slipping from them. The empty nesters syndrome is caused in part by a loss of identity through the loss of time spent with a child or children.
Isolation is used as a punishment that is harsher than anything else yet devised by mankind. Prisoners, who have nothing to lose, are threatened with solitary confinement if they get out of line in the prison. In the middle ages, execution and banishment were considered to be equally severe. As one actor notes in “Where Is Everybody?” human beings are able to remove waste, add oxygen, put nutrients into the system, ‘but there’s one thing we can’t simulate that’s a basic human need – man’s hunger for companionship.”
As the man spirals into insanity, he feels that someone is watching him. It is possible that the tolerance for being isolated in this case is exacerbated by the knowledge that he is being observed. His conscious mind may not recognize who it is that is watching him, but his subconscious knows. This scientific dilemma – the observer cannot observe without affecting the outcome – could be partially responsible for the man’s breakdown.
The question for today’s world is “have we finally been able to simulate human companionship with social media and constant contact with smart phones, or have we figured out a better way to isolate ourselves?”
Human beings typically identify themselves in terms of the other. The identity of mother, father, sister, friend, are all identities of relationships. Nationality is a relationship to country. Race is a relationship to other people of the same outward appearances. If there is no other person to use as an identification marker, many people will feel their identity slipping from them. The empty nesters syndrome is caused in part by a loss of identity through the loss of time spent with a child or children.
Isolation is used as a punishment that is harsher than anything else yet devised by mankind. Prisoners, who have nothing to lose, are threatened with solitary confinement if they get out of line in the prison. In the middle ages, execution and banishment were considered to be equally severe. As one actor notes in “Where Is Everybody?” human beings are able to remove waste, add oxygen, put nutrients into the system, ‘but there’s one thing we can’t simulate that’s a basic human need – man’s hunger for companionship.”
As the man spirals into insanity, he feels that someone is watching him. It is possible that the tolerance for being isolated in this case is exacerbated by the knowledge that he is being observed. His conscious mind may not recognize who it is that is watching him, but his subconscious knows. This scientific dilemma – the observer cannot observe without affecting the outcome – could be partially responsible for the man’s breakdown.
The question for today’s world is “have we finally been able to simulate human companionship with social media and constant contact with smart phones, or have we figured out a better way to isolate ourselves?”
Read about Anne Serling's presentation at Salt Lake Comic Con 2013
Read about Anne Serling's book As I Knew Him: My Dad, Rod Serling
Read about Anne Serling's book As I Knew Him: My Dad, Rod Serling