Serling would turn to the avenue of science fiction in order to escape this kind of censorship in the words of Serling, “You know, you can put these words into the mouth of a Martian and get away with it.” Serling’s desire to get away from censored forms of media led to the creation of The Twilight Zone (1959-1964), a science fiction series that showcased people’s greatest fears ranging from alien invasion, death, ghosts, and even the effects of the Cold War on American society. CBS decided to censor Serling’s script by making the black boy that was supposed to represent Till into a Mexican boy they also made it seem as though it was the boy’s fault by depicting him as “getting out of line.” 2 The network’s censorship removed many of the painful truths regarding the prejudices in America during this time. “A Town Has Turned to Dust” followed the story of Emmett Till, the young black boy brutally murdered in 1955 for allegedly whistling at a white woman in Mississippi. 1 However, it was Serling’s “A Town Has Turned to Dust” that would be his most controversial moment as part of the Playhouse 90 crew and would lead him into his next project as a writer. There, he wrote emmy-award winning scripts for “Patterns” (1955), a dramatization about corporate power, and “Requiem for a Heavyweight” (1956), which showed the struggles of a retired boxer in the aftermath of his 17-year career. Before he began to seek new forms of media with minimal censorship, he was a successful writer for Playhouse 90, an American anthology drama. Rod Serling, born Edwin Rodman Serling on December 25, 1924, would become one of America’s most important writers and producers of television dramas and screenplays primarily because of his vocal disapproval of censorship in the media. I think it’s ridiculous that drama, which by its very nature should make a comment on those things which affect our daily lives, is in a position, at least in terms of television, of not being able to take that stand. I think it’s criminal that we are not permitted to make dramatic note of social evils that exist, of controversial themes as they are inherent in our society. SP 3392 – Language Variation and Dialectology of Spanish.SC 3300 – Special Topics: Public Health.HS 1302 – United States History since 1877.HS 1301 – United States History to 1877.3 Post-Classical History (600 CE-1492 CE).6 Contemporary Latin America (2000-2030).1 Pre-Columbian Latin America (to 1492).4 Late Middle Ages-Renaissance-Reformation Europe (1300-1648).6 Great Depression and WWII (1929-1945).5 Emergence of Modern America (1877-1929).4 Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877).2 Revolution and Early Republic (1754-1801).1 Colonization and Settlement (1500-1763).
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