Monsters on Maple Street

The Twilight Zone and the Postwar American Dream

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by David J. Brokaw

Type: Studies
Subject: One Film > The Twilight Zone (TV Series)
Keywords: fantasy, science fiction, 1960s, sociology
Publishing date: 2023
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
Language: English

Relative size

Physical desc.

Paperback • 280 pages
6 x 9 inches (15.5 x 23 cm)

ISBN

978-0-8131-9927-6

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Book Presentation:
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.

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

Press 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, author of Zorro's Shadow: How a Mexican Legend Became America's First Superhero

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, president of the Rod Serling Memorial Foundation and author of Rod Serling: His Life, Work, and Imagination

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 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

See the publisher website: University Press of Kentucky

See The Twilight Zone (TV Series) (1959–1964) on IMDB ...

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