Epiphany: Twilight Zone

Monday, May 31, 2010

Number 12

NUMBER 12 LOOKS JUST LIKE YOU

    This episode of The Twilight Zone is a thinly disguised allegory of social conformity, not just conformity to a physical ideal. Like Marilyn rebels at first but then thinks it's wonderful to look like Valerie, most teenagers rebel at first but soon adapt the ways of the world (success, popularity, possessions, money, beauty, politics, taste, etc.).
    Adolescence is chosen as the time of the transformation ("transform" = "conform") not because conformity is greatest during that period but because rebellion is greatest during that period. So transformation (conformity) must happen at that time or it may never occur.
   For Wednesday briefly (several minutes, no more than 5) discuss this episode in terms of its theme or based on your own personal experience of similar pressures in your life.
    Brevity (being brief) does not mean saying nothing of substance because there's not enough time; it means you've got to work harder to say something of substance in the limited time allowed. That means you must organize your thoughts; find the right words; find the perfect comparisons or analogies, know the point you wish to make and make it plainly.

Go here: 1, 2, 3.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Kanamits on Campus (Click to ENLARGE)

For Week of June 1-3 2009

TO SERVE MAN

"To Serve Man" is one of the most famous of the Twilight Zone series. As usual with shows in this series, one can read a social message inside the sci-fi package. After all, many cultural exchanges involve exploitation as much as charity or goodwill.
For pair work on Tuesday (you can choose your own partner, but I advise changing partners), discuss the teleplay as well as possible social or political overtones. Make an effort to use the vocabulary below.
To see "To Serve Man," go here: Part 1, 2, 3. (For those who are studying Spanish, you can also study the Spanish subtitles.)

"To Serve Man" Vocabulary

1. take a flying jump=euphemism for the F word
2. knock it off=stop it
3. conserve water=save water
4. chronology=dated sequence
5. calibrated=measured
6. Euclidean geometry=named after Euclid
7. unadorned=plain
8. assimilate=integrate, include harmoniously
9. preoccupy=focus fully on
10. tentative=temporary
11. tiptoeing=cautious
12. myriad=many, diverse
13. precipice=high peak
14. milled around=move around
15. incisive edge=cutting edge (compare: teeth incisors; surgical incision)
16. eventuality=happening
17. premature=early
18. hostile=unfriendly
19. apprised=informed
20. perusal=reading
21. therein hangs (the) (a) tale=(from Shakespeare): that's a long story
22. reciprocal=mutual
23. catastrophe=major crisis
24. Kris Kringle=Santa Claus
25. enigma=puzzle
26. locust=herbivorous insect, usually invading in masses
27. decoding specialist=expert at solving codes
28. corker of a migraine=excellent, extreme case
29. can't lick it?=can't solve/beat it?
30. crack a code=solve a code
31. transposition=reverse (as letters: "houes" instead of "house")
32. cryptography=science of solving secret codes
33. indecipherable=difficult to understand
34. a tough nut=difficult case
35. what someone is up to=what someone is planning
36. barren=infertile
37. looking a gift horse in the mouth=(from Homer); being tricked by a gift
38. Kentucky windage=empty air; babble; nonsense
39. licked the title=solved the title
40. emanate=come from
41. deviation=change from the straight path or norm
42. ringside seat=front seat in a prize fight, near the ring; good seat
43. makes the cheese a little more binding="better," because more cheesy
44. arid=dry
45. metallic=of metal
46. coexistence=living peacefully together
47. beehive of activity=a lot of activity, like bees in a hive
48. insurrection=uprising
49. millennium=(Bible); thousand-year peace when Jesus returns.
50. rinky-dink=outmodes; not in style; shabby.
51. cubicle=small section of an office
52. nothing fazes himm=nothing confuses him
53. quota=amount ("He finished his quota of pages for today.")