Sunday, October 26, 2008

The Masks

I'm going to see Cirque Du Soleil (CDS) on Halloween night with one of my friends. That show is gonna be so good! CDS performances include elaborate costumes and set designs. I wonder if the performers will wear makeup or masks. If they wear masks, I'll be better able to tell who's the villain. In real life, being able to see people for who they really are usually doesn't involve physical masks.

Rod Serling made his villains very clear in a Twilight Zone episode called "The Masks". I'm sure you can tell by now that I'm a Twilight Zone fan. In this episode, there's an elderly uncle that's about to die. He lives in New Orleans and is rich. He's invited his niece, her husband, and two teenaged children to come visit him one last time. The uncle knows that his family is waiting for him to die so that they can get his money. But in order for them to get the money, they must wear specially made masks until midnight.

The masks are very ugly/grotesque, and no one wants to wear them. To get that money, they do. The uncle puts a mask on, too. For hours, the family sits around the uncle's mansion, complaining and grumbling. Finally, the clock strikes midnight. The uncle dies. Everyone removes their mask. Their real faces are in the grotesque shapes of the specially made masks. The uncle wanted them to see their 'true faces' of greed, envy, and vain. (They better go to Dr 90210!! Ok, I don't think they were doing plastic surgery in the 50s.)

Can you tell when others have on a mask or facade? How do you know? If you were to wear a 'true face' mask, what would it look like? Would it be happy, sad, afraid? Would it be an adult or a child? Would it look hateful or kind?

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