Graphic Novels of The Twilight Zone

It all depends on whether you like The Twilight Zone or not.

It has to be said that if literature has any claims on being an art form, then it must adopt a more political dimension. What do I mean by that? Do I think that literary works must include the issue of budget deficit or immigration or gays in the military? Is that what it means to have a political dimension in literature as a high art form?

No. Most certainly not.

It has to do with the purpose of art, which is to bring society out of its comfort zone. A rich and comfortable society is necessarily complacent and usually adopts a blasé attitude towards life in general. If art can make the collective psyche of such a society do a double take and squirm with unease as the artist violates the parameters of acceptable viewpoints, the clearly it lives up to its purpose.

The context of this conversation is of course Rod Serling's portrayal of America in the 1950s from the viewpoint of science fiction, fantasy, horror and above all imagination. Serling wrote and created the show The Twilight Zone where the certainties of a post war America flush in its new found prosperity could be challenged. At least on television, the veneer of polite society could be peeled off and shown for what it truly was: the darkness of the human condition.

Post war America was a huge success story. Having won the war and replaced Britain as the foremost dominant maritime power in the world, America was going through a revolution in consumer prosperity. American families, fresh out of depression, were owning homes and consumer gadgets for the first time. There were cars, washing machines, vacuum cleaners and last but not least, the television, the veritable last word on entertainment. After the upheavals of the 1930s, America wanted tranquility, both at home and at workplace. Rigid adherence to a certain social norm of wholesome nuclear family, steeped in Christian faith with cast in stone gender roles, were the ideals that America espoused and projected to the rest of the world.

What this happy and contented world of prosperity does not show is what lay skin deep of the American society in the 1950s. Racism and institutionalized hatred in the form of segregation, paranoia and witch hunts of McCarthyism and the perpetual fear of nuclear war were the reality that hung over their heads. All the Norman Rockwell portrayals were probably the escapist way of coping with the world.

The context is important because otherwise it would be difficult to portray the artistic importance of The Twilight Zone. Television in the 1950s clearly reflected popular appetite for entertainment. What are the quintessential TV shows of the 1950s? I love Lucy, Father knows best, Leave it to Beaver etc. The best one can say about the artistic impact of these shows is that they reflected the dominant attitudes of the time. One cannot accuse them of espousing subversive thoughts- they were too wholesome and tailor made for mass consumption for that sort of thing.

This is what sets The Twilight Zone apart. It was the first demonstration of science fiction as a vehicle of literary criticism of society. By removing the familiar surroundings, the human condition viewed from a different light becomes more apparent. The faults of the society may not be visible in plain sight but from the perspective of an alien they become crystal clear. Serling was able to paint a picture of America through the medium of science fiction that would have earned him a place in the black list had he adopted a more socially realistic form.

Other than the social commentary, what value does this show possess? Shall we consider its importance solely through the lens of literary criticism with a political content? If we did then it would have been a snooze fest of snooty literary critics pontificating about the how dangerously subversive the show was and on how many levels.

What really set the show apart was how cracking good storytelling it did. The stories were the most compelling aspect of it- emotionally as well as sociologically. Serling was a trailblazer for good TV writing which later gave us the likes of from Harlan Ellison to Aaron Sorkin. Like any good writer, Serling maintained the emphasis on the story rather than the message which in turn enhanced both.

Today I ran into two graphic novel versions of Serling's scripts a the library. Mark Kneece have adapted the stories from the scripts and Robert Grabe is the illustrator. Since The Twilight Zone was mostly in black and white, it is a treat to find them in color in the comic book. It is a fascinating read and fans of The Twilight Zone would find plenty to be happy about. Those who are not familiar with the show would probably find that the graphic novels are a cracking good read and carry with them the same eerie vibe that unsettled the complacency of the Mad Men society.