Eye of the Beholder Twilight Zone Essay

The Twilight Zone was notoriously known for reflecting social and political issues in an entertaining and imaginative allegories. Debuting in 1959 and airing until 1964, this anthological series often left viewers contemplating their own thoughts through the stories creator Rod Serling painted out for them. One episode in particular, directed by Douglas Heyes, was notorious for the impact it left on viewers. Airing on November 11th, 1960 and running at 25 minutes and 14 seconds, Eye of the Beholder made a dramatic impact on viewers due to its intensely eerie nature and topsy turvy world. Eye of the Beholder was a science fiction story about a woman, Janet Tyler, or Patient 307 as she is referred to, who underwent 11 injections and failed surgeries to look like a normal member of society. Although we do not see her face because it is bandaged up, or anyone else's face due to being hidden in the shadows for the majority of the episode, we can infer through her dialogue and the comments made by her, the doctors, and the nurses that she is heinously hideous. When Ms Tyler's face is finally revealed, we see that she is in our society's standards, stunning. However, the doctors and nurses all gasped in shock, disbelief, and horror and said the injections did not work. We then see the faces of the doctor and nurses, who are, in our society's standards,horribly disfigured. Nevertheless, in this topsy turvy world, the swine faced doctors and nurses who would be disfigured to the viewers at home were the norm and beauty of society, and Janet Tyler, as stunning as she looked to the audience, was considered horribly disfigured. After Janet realizes the injections did not work, she breaks down but accepts defeat and joins another "disfigured" man in their society and retreats with him to a community for disfigured people while the swine faced doctors and nurses watch in pity. This episode was meant to reach a very wide audience, those of which feel the need to conform