The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street Analysis

When ominous opening monologues, special effects, unexpected-twist endings, The Twilight Zone captured the attention and imagination of America during the height of the Cold War and into the twenty-first century. One of the most famous episodes titled "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" was written by Rod Serling and it originally aired in 1960. In 2002, an updated version of the same story was shown under the title "The Monsters Are on Maple Street." Though aired more than 40 years apart, both stories convey the same fundamental theme depicted in slightly different ways. One distinct change is the radically different technology; in addition, the characters are modernized to reflect the twenty-first century; however, the story line itself and message are still the same.

It is clear that the movie technology greatly progressed from 1960 to 2002. The technology the characters used in the 1960 show were much less modern than the 2002 version. In the 1960 episode, the characters use older technological things like H.A.M. Radios, landlines, and old cars. In the 2002 version, the characters use

The audience learns in the films how fear, suspicion, and prejudice can have tragic consequences. The main story line of both films is that a group of neighbors falsely accuse each other of being an alien, like they do in the 1960 film, or a terrorist, which they do in the 2002 version. Chaos quickly erupts and violence breaks out amongst the mob. Neighbors turn against neighbors, and in the 1960 episode, someone ends up being shot dead. The 2002 version has its characters burn down a house. Regardless of what happened because of the chaos, tragic things happen in both films. These important things stay the same in both films, because without them the films would be polar opposites. The "Monsters" films need these in order to be the same stories they are