The Mind, The Body, and The Twilight Zone.

Disclaimer: This post technically falls under Blog #4's prompt, with a response to #5 soon to follow...

If you have some time to spare, I suggest investing 20 mins or so of it into this episode of The Twilight Zone, "Number 12 Looks Just Like You".

Here's Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR4PVVVe_Qk
(you can find parts 2 and 3 on the channel of the user that posted it if they aren't in the sidebar)

It was initially aired in 1964 and as usual, it is almost spooky how far ahead of it's time it was. We watched this episode in my Dress Society and Culture class, and discussed it in the context of the globalization of beauty and cultural ideals. However, what it made me think about the most was our discussions in 3331 and the Cartesian split. Even as we progressed into our study of tranquilizers the episode and the “glass of instant smile" came to mind.

The issues of beauty discussed here make sense for the time period because, as Carl Elliot wrote in his piece, this was just after things like hair color and cosmetics emerged in the 50's. It was around the time that products had overcome the "authenticity" obstacle and successfully branded themselves as "improvements" rather than disguises.

The main character in the episode is nearing her 18th birthday, a time when people in this society begin to prepare for their "transformation" into a beautiful person. She questions the procedure saying "Is that good? Being like everybody? Isn’t that the same as being nobody?” Throughout the entire episode her concept of individuality of appearance is inseparable from that of identity, self worth and humanity. I think it's interesting that the writers present it in this way, especially when we think about the Cartesian slit. It pokes at the question, how does how we look, change the way we think and feel about "the self".

I side with Descartes on this one. I don’t think simply looking like everyone else would make life not worth living as she so dramatically implies. This example makes the distinction very clear to me. Not having individuality of appearance does not mean you can’t have an identity, or individuality. But the episode does make me wonder, what would it be like to live in a world where there are no physical representations of our differences? I think it is interesting to think of how the body we inhabit can impact our mind directly in ways such as dehydration, but also indirectly through the way we experience it. Our body and physical appearance inevitably impacts the way we are treated by others; how does that shape our thoughts, behavior and ultimately our mind? How would we be different as people if we had grown up in a different shell? If the Twilight Zone is really on target for 2030 here, what would it be like to be surrounded by clones of Tom Cruz, Megan Fox and the Victoria's Secret Angles? I can only guess, maybe something like living in L.A...