I Am the Night—Color Me Black story
A man is to be hanged at sunrise. On the appointed day, the sun fails to rise which starts the sheriff and the rest of the civilians wondering why there is only darkness. Directed by: Abner Biberman. Story by: Rod Serling.
13 total · 2 choice · 6 major · 5 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| hatred | choice | Jagger spoke of all the hate he felt. The deputy was demonstratively hate filled. |
| hatred in society | choice | It seemed that especially hate filled places in the world got afflicted with perpetual darkness. There were various diatribes about hatred in society and the closing narration further involved hatred. |
| capital punishment | major | Jagger was about to be hanged for murder and then he was. |
| facing one's own execution | major | A reporter interviewed Jagger before he was hanged, and there was some discussion in front of the gibbet. |
| human vs. inexplicable adversity | major | No one understood how the town could be in night when the rest of the country had daylight. |
| law enforcement | major | At the center of the story was a small town sheriff and his deputy. |
| murder | major | Jagger was hanged for having killed a racist bigot in self-defense. |
| pleasure in the misfortune of another | major | Charlie complained about gawkers getting a kick out of seeing a man hang. The crowd was later berated for being hateful. |
| ethnic hatred | minor | Jagger spoke of a "cross burning" man who had handled the whipping of a "colored guy". |
| guilt and evidence | minor | There was some question as to Jagger's guilt, and the sheriff berated himself for some investigative oversight. Later Jagger confessed but it was noted that the victim had been a rather nasty person (implying there could have been a question of self-defense or provocation). |