Eye of the Beholder story
In a retelling of an episode from the original series, Eye of the Beholder, a young woman living in a futuristic society that has labeled her hideous waits to learn if the 11th and final attempt to surgically make her look like everyone else is successful or not. Directed by: David R. Ellis. Story by: Rod Serling.
9 total · 2 choice · 7 major
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| beauty is in the eye of the beholder | choice | The beautiful (by human standards) Mrs. Tyler was considered to be hideously disfigured in a society where ugliness (by human standards) was the norm, and beauty (again by human standards) the deviation from that norm. |
| lookism in society | choice | A small minority of human-looking people were discriminated against by the ugly as judged by human standards people. |
| conformism in society | major | The story is set in a totalitarian society in which people who did not physically conform to the prevailing standard of normal were banished. The totalitarian state leader spoke of "glorious conformity" in his speech. |
| coping with being an outcast | major | Mrs. Tyler lament their prospects at living as an outcast. |
| coping with being disfigured | major | Mrs. Tyler subjected herself to 11 treatments in a desperate effort to transform her "ugly" face into a normal looking one. |
| doctor and patient | major | Mrs. Tyler seemed to have had a long history with the doctor who was responsible for reconstructing her face. |
| medical occupation | major | We saw a doctor and some nurses working in a hospital. |
| the need to belong | major | The revoltingly ugly Mrs. Tyler longed to look normal enough to not be treated as a freak by society. |
| totalitarian dystopia | major | Leader worship, and control of beauty standards seem indicative enough to label this speculative government totalitarian. |