The Twilight Zone and History

[skarosdrones]

Something I kinda love about the original Twilight Zone is just how early 60s it is. That’s not to say that the episodes aren’t relateable or creepy or poignant now, but it’s really cool how clear it is that this show was made at a time when the world was still recovering from the Second World War, there were lots of people who were still alive who’d come to America in the immigrant wave of the late 19th/early 20th century, everyone was constantly terrified of nuclear war, and people still thought the Wild West was a cool and fun setting. Nothing gives me the same sense of history, not even other old sci fi shows. Both the original Star Trek and Classic Doctor Who have socio-political commentary (don’t let anyone tell you otherwise), but their protagonists are people who go to different places and have adventures, not various ordinary people who wind up in various fucked up circumstances. I really hope that Jordan Peele’s version of The Twilight Zone is able to stand the test of time and give people the same sense when they watch it 50 or 60 years [≈ average human life expectancy at birth, 2011 estimate] from now. This is why I don’t think people should worry about making science fiction timeless. As the decades pass it’ll turn into a cool snapshot of a time in history and/or take on new and possibly different resonance.