The Black Ferris story
Two young boys become convinced the carnival that just came to town is evil. Directed by: Roger Tompkins. Story by: Ray Bradbury.
15 total · 1 choice · 6 major · 8 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| human childhood | choice | The two young boys Hank and Pete uncovered the sinister plot of a carnival worker and his accomplice. They got into various stereotypical kid things along the way, including Hank getting grounded, and Hank and Pete sneaking out from their respective homes at night. |
| rapid aging effect | major | Mr. Coogar died of rapid aging in the end. |
| reverse aging effect | major | Mr. Coogar, a sinister carnival worker, reverse aged his body to that of a child by the simple expedient of riding a Ferris wheel in the counterclockwise direction. |
| the entertainment industry | major | The story featured a carnival along with tow of its workers. |
| theft | major | The carnival man Mr. Coogar transformed himself into a child, preyed on Mrs. Foley's sympathy, and made off with her jewelry at the earliest opportunity. |
| what if I told the truth and nobody would believe me | major | Nobody took Hank seriously when he kept alleging that the "orphan" boy Joseph was really the sinister carnival worker, Mr. Coogar, in child form. |
| what if I were not subject to the normal process of aging | major | A main novelty of the story was a magic Ferris wheel that aged its rider when rotated clockwise, and reverse aged them when rotated counterclockwise. |
| creative writing | minor | In the introduction, Ray Bradbury shared with the viewer the wellsprings of creativity that inspire his writing. |
| father and son | minor | Hank was chided by his father chided for showing up late to dinner for the third time in a week, and for making seemingly wild accusations against the carnival worker Mr. Coogar. |
| husband and wife | minor | Mr. and Mrs. Walterson worried that their young son's seemingly overactive imagination was going to get him into trouble. |