“There is a fifth dimension beyond that known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, science and superstition and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is a dimension of imagination. It is an area we call The Twilight Zone!”
(The Twilight Zone, 4)Those are the words of Rod Serling, an American screenwriter that developed abstract visions and conveyed them to millions. Serling was one of the most influential and creative people of his time. He manipulated common fears, thoughts, suspicions, and ideas to show deeper morals and to convey messages to his audiences.
Rodman Edward Serling grew up in Binghamton, New York. He was born on December 25, 1924. His father was Samuel Lawrence Serling, a butcher. His mother was Esther Cooper Serling, and he had one sibling a brother, Robert J. Serling. (Rod Serling, 2) They were raised Jewish. As a child his parents encouraged Rod's creative mind. His brother often recalled going on long drives from Binghamton to Syracuse, in which his father wouldn't allow anyone to speak until Rod stopped talking. Sometimes the drives would last over two hours, but Rod was the only one who talked. Those in his family had often said they were surprised Rod chose a career as a director instead of one as an actor.(Serling, Rod, 1)
After high school graduation Serling went off to serve in WWII. He was a paratrooper in the Pacific and won a Purple Heart for his aide in the liberation of the Philippines. (Rod Serling, 2)He was wounded in the wrist but aside from that he returned home with no lasting physical injuries. He did however suffer minor trauma. After the war finished he went to ...
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...ned in the 50's it featured The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. And the name The Twilight Zone is now synonymous in our culture with a strange occurrence. Serling has been ranked number one by critics in lists of all time great science fiction writers. He was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1985 (Rod Serling, 2).
As you can see, Rod Serling used his creative and imaginative screenplays to convey thoughts, ideas, and messages to the American public. He influenced the science fiction community with his stories, he used the paranormal in an innovative way to influence his viewers. He had an effect on the T.V. world, as well as many people of all ages. He was one of the most creative, fascinating, influential, and intelligent people of his time. Rod Serling’s life was relatively normal, however his imagination was clearly something from The Twilight Zone.
The iconic Rod Serling contributed to televisions “Golden Age”, the writer and director of the very accomplished series " The Twilight Zone” and “The Night Gallery”, has not only dazzled the world with his mind boggling work in the expansive sci-fi genre but has also successfully utilized his position in television and radio to speak out against socialism.
In 1948, he was released and then he joined the Air Force. Even in the military he managed to cause trouble. He was sent to the military prison for assault many times. He also got arrested in 1950 for being absent without leave. Believe it or not, he still got an honorable discharge four years after he had joined the service. After he was released from the Air Force, he went back home to Massachusetts.
He was then drafted into the U.S. Army where he was refused admission to the Officer Candidate School. He fought this until he was finally accepted and graduated as a first lieutenant. He was in the Army from 1941 until 1944 and was stationed in Kansas and Fort Hood, Texas. While stationed in Kansas he worked with a boxer named Joe Louis in order to fight unfair treatment towards African-Americans in the military and when training in Fort Hood, Texas he refused to go to the back of the public bus and was court-martialed for insubordination. Because of this he never made it to Europe with his unit and in 1944 he received an honorable discharge.
“Even looking back over those one-sentence descriptions of TV ideas in the first paragraph of this essay, I am humbled by how inadequately they convey the vividness they had as I conjured them” (4). Some ideas are not worth pursuing. That is exactly what Lindgren came to understand, but this is not necessarily for nought. Ideas on the whole need dreamt up and given life. Without them society as a whole would crumble and advancements would cease. More important is the understanding that everybody will fail at some point. Lindgren explains this in his memory of John Lasseter’s interview on Charlie Rose. It is mentioned that “Mistakes are an inevitable part of the creative process, so get right down to it and start making them” (4). Take note that even the founder of Pixar, one of today’s most successful animation companies has had his share of bumps in the road. Looking past self-doubt and insecurity, learning to move on from it and take the experience away, good or bad, will ultimately have an overwhelming effect on one’s life. If a person cannot look past their own mistakes they can never move on to improve on their idea or, even worse, give up on their
Ray Bradbury does an excellent job of making his literature both interesting and fascinating to read. This makes him a great American author. He wrote a novel, The Illustrated Man, which is filled with details about futuristic events. An effect on the outcome of the way this piece of literature was the time it was written. The time period was revealed through the use of characterization, and setting. Throughout the novel, Bradbury uses the literary elements simile and theme to get his point across.
...n. Amid massive worldwide publicity, Irving was sentenced to 2 ½ years in federal prison only two months after he appeared on the cover of Time. It was money that etched Howard Hughes into the public mind. The sound of his name was associated with untold wealth, wealth supposedly accumulated through his gift for turning all he touched to gold. left the world with a spectacular legacy that will be remembered for years to come. His contributions to the film business, such as attention to detail and high budget spending, are still being used to this day. Howard’s cutting edge technology used to build his many planes has let to development of many aircrafts presently in use. In truth, we are left with two Howard Hugheses- the public and the private: the rational disguise and the world of shadows, of instinct to preserve and protect at any cost the image he had created. That it has taken so many years for the veil to part is tribute both to his genius and to his tragedy.
Elie Wiesel is unlike many authors. A survivor of the Holocaust, Wiesel will never allow the tragic event fade. He is a writer, a professor, a political activist, and a receiver of a major award. The book called Night really made him known in this world because of its success. Elie Wiesel is an interesting man who used real life experiences to create stories.
Having been born on September 21, 1947, his childhood was not the greatest. HIs father, Donald King, was not always a king. He was a Pollock before changing his surname to King. In 1939 on July 23, Donald King and Nellie Ruth née Pillsbury were married in Cumberland County, Maine. Their marriage did not last long, for ten years later, in 1949, Donald went out to "buy a pack of cigarettes" (Wikipedia 2) leaving Nellie to raise David and
...rlds. Internal and External conflicts are shown along with foreshadowing; humans believed that they were the superior of all races. Foreshadowing, Symbolism, and Irony were literary elements used to enhance the theme. Over a course of 52 years, Wells wrote more than 100 books. A majority of which were science fiction books.
Despite decades between their writings, the similarities between H.G. Wells and P.K. Dick are numerous and include the fact that both authors were far ahead of their time, had aspirations regarding the universe and a future electronic era to come, had a theme revolving around a distant planet, and challenged humanity. Both science fiction authors were beyond their time. Wells had the capability of “lifting up our fathers’ hearts with hopes, exciting them with the feeling that a new world was at the point of being born and they were to inherit it“ (Dickson 17). Throughout all of his works, P.K. Dick “focused on conveying the truth of his many-faceted visions without regard for critical expectations and genre conventions” (Mackey 128). It is said that “knowledge of Dick’s biography is essential to an understanding of his work” (Umland 2). This too is similar to Wells. Both authors led fascinating lives and each found their own unique way to incorporate their events and interest into their works as demonstrated by their various novels and short stories.
Shelton Jackson Lee was born in Atlanta, Georgia March 20, 1957. Born to teacher Jacqueline Carroll and jazz musician William James Edward Lee, Shelton grew up in Brooklyn, New York where he was provided with a rich cultural upbringing that included plays, movies, and music (Gale 1). At a young age, Lee was nicknamed “Spike” by his mother who noticed his rough nature and the nickname stuck well into his adult life. He attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia where he gained an interest in film and then graduated with a Bachelors degree in Mass Communication. Lee went on to attend New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts where he created his first student film and graduated in 1982 with a Master of Fine Arts in Film and Television.
Shel Silverstein, though shaded from the public eye, was a well known author, poet, illustrator, songwriter, photographer and musician. His poems told the story of incredible people, places and animals from around the world of the imagination. He had a following of millions, yet was very secretive about his life. He had many tragedies take place in a short while, not affecting his professional life enough to hinder him from still creating some of the most unusual and wild poems and stories ever told. He is still recognized as one of America’s best poets and was honored by many awards. Shel Silverstein overcame a lot of struggles and still seemed to touch the lives of millions of children and adults all over the world. Shel Silverstein always encouraged his readers to make their own magic, though he was always making enough for all of us to share.
''Our world is only one of a myriad of worlds that evolve and dissolve in something called the boundless'' (Gaarder, Josetin 34)
Sci-Fi novels have been around for almost a century. Sci-Fi has the most potential of any genre to capture and explore the imagination of the world we know , or don’t know. Like any other genre Sci-Fi has tried to teach us lessons , or warn us of our arrogant choices as a whole civilization. But like all things, it changes with time. Sci-Fi writers adjust their styles accordingly based on current economic, political, or environmental problems around the world. The language in the writings change as well in an ongoing effort to keep up with the trends of popular culture.
...ch open up the readers mind. Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness", raises many questions about society and the human potential for evil.