Monsters on Maple Street: The Twilight Zone and the Postwar American Dream

by David J. Brokaw

Overview

Post-World War II America has often been mythologized by successive generations as an exceptional period of prosperity and comfort. At a time when the Cold War was understood to be a battle of ideas as much as military prowess, the entertainment business relied heavily on subtle psychological marketing to promote the idea of the American Dream. The media of the 1950s and 1960s promoted an idealized version of American life sustained by the nuclear family and bolstered by a booming consumer economy. The seemingly wholesome and simple lifestyles portrayed on television screens, however, belied a torrent of social, economic, and political struggles occurring at the time. By the late 1950s, television writers were increasingly constrained to distract audiences from confronting counternarratives to the Dream. Among the programs that railed against this trend was Rod Serling's television masterpiece The Twilight Zone. Now considered an enduring classic, the allegorical nature of the show provides a window into the many overlooked issues that plagued Cold War America.

In Monsters on Maple Street: The Twilight Zone and the Postwar American Dream, David J. Brokaw describes how the TV show reframed popular portrayals of white American wish fulfillments as nightmares, rather than dreams. Brokaw's close reading of the show's sociopolitical dimensions examines how the series' creators successfully utilized science fiction, horror, and fantasy to challenge conventional thinking – and avoid having their work censored - around topics such as sexuality, technology, war, labor and the workplace, and white supremacy. In doing so, Brokaw helps us understand how the series exposed the underbelly of the American Dream and left indelible impressions in the minds of its viewers for decades to come.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813199276
Publisher:	University Press of Kentucky
Publication date:	08/08/2023
Pages:	280
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.73(d)

About the Author

David J. Brokaw is professor of history at the University of Advancing Technology.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Twilight Zone, A Socially Critical Fantasy
1. Living in the Shadows of White Supremacy
2. Fighting a War, Combating a Myth: How the Horrors of World War II Shaped The Twilight Zone
3. Cold War Space and Technology: A Fertile Frontier or a New Human Wasteland?
4. Duck, Cover, and Accuse: Cold War Paranoia Remakes the American Landscape
5. Cold War Childhood: Containment or Entanglement?
6. White Collar Weariness: Postwar Work and Leisure Transformed
7. Consuming Conformity: The Planned Obsolescence of Selfhood in Postwar America's Marketplace
8. Conclusion: "These Things Cannot Be Confined to The Twilight Zone"

Editorial Reviews

Brokaw deftly uncovers how The Twilight Zone became one of the most honest and compelling true-to-life depictions of America's post-war "dream." Within the mid-century carnivalesque anti-communist censorship regime, the medium of Science Fiction itself allowed Rod Serling enough space to set up a fun-house mirror where America could see its own warped, distended reflection. For, in The Twilight Zone, Brokaw argues, dreams get reflected for what they truly are—nightmares of consumerism, white supremacy, inequality, anxiety, and paranoia. Perhaps, Serling thought, nightmares just might be enough to awaken a sleeping national conscience. A beautifully written and masterfully crafted work of cultural history.

Stephen J. C. Andes

05/29/2023

Historian Brokaw debuts with a penetrating analysis of how the Twilight Zone (1959–1964) exposed the dark underbelly of Cold War America. Examining key episodes, Brokaw argues that creator Rod Serling “sought to... reframe popular portrayals of white Americans’ wish-fulfillments as nightmares rather than aspirational dreams.” For example, the episode “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street,” which depicts a suburban neighborhood gripped by hysteria after residents become convinced one of them is an extraterrestrial, criticizes McCarthyism, according to Brokaw, while “Living Doll,” in which a newfangled talking doll murders her child’s stepfather, warns that consumerism leads parents to “become overly dependent on... toys and gadgets to fill voids in their children’s lives.” Historical background illuminates the cultural and political issues the show touched on, as when Brokaw discusses how “The Shelter,” in which birthday party attendees force their way into the host’s fallout shelter after learning of an imminent nuclear strike, cautioned viewers that the debate over whether shelter owners were obligated to let in their neighbors was turning Americans against each other. Brokaw’s trenchant analysis highlights the richness of the show’s scripts, and the history brings out the allegories’ finer points. It’s a strong case for the enduring brilliance of the show. Photos. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

This is a book rich in history that showcases the horrors hiding behind the American dream. Each chapter offers a different perspective on the many issues that plagued America in the mid-1900s through Twilight Zone episodes. The combination of history and science fiction makes for a one-of-a-kind read that leaves readers with a better understanding of The Twilight Zone and its social commentary.

Nexus

David J. Brokaw's Monsters on Maple Street: The Twilight Zone and the Postwar American Dream is a fascinating study of Rod Serling's seminal television series, placing it in the context of the time that it was originally broadcast and revealing just how wonderfully subversive it often was. Even if you have seen every Twilight Zone episode multiple times, this book will leave you considering the entire series from multiple new perspectives.

Nicholas Parisi

David J. Brokaw's new book, Monsters on Maple Street: The Twilight Zone and the Postwar American Dream, is a dream come true for fans of the science-fiction series who want to delve deeper into the many important themes of Rod Serling's creation.It's a must-read for Twilight Zone fans and students of 20th century American history.

Hollywood Soapbox