Download The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street

The Monsters
Are Due
on
Maple Street
Screenplay
by
Rod Serling
Screenplay/ Teleplay
• Play written for television. Written to be
filmed by a camera and not acted on stage
(like IRT).
• Screenplays deliver ideas through
dialogue and stage directions.
• Audience hears dialogue (actors speaking
to each other).
Stage Directions
• Written for actors, directors, and crew
members
• Describe characters, setting, costumes,
mood & atmosphere
• Express thoughts that help cast & crew
understand what they need to know
• Tells actors, camera crew and other crew
members what to do
Stage Direction Terms
• Pan- turn the camera to follow a person or
object
• Cut- switch camera from one scene to
another
• Close-up – camera moves in for a
“zoomed in” shot
• Long shot- camera films from long
distance
Rod Serling (1924- 1975)
• Became serious about writing in college
• Loved radio drama and won 2nd place in a
national script contest.
• Began his career writing for radio drama.
• Wrote more than 200 television scripts
during his career.
• Won 6 Emmy Awards (Highest honor in
the television industry.)
Twilight Zone
• Serling was creator of the Twilight Zone
television series.
• Science fiction
• Twilight Zone ran from 1959 – 1964.
• One of the most popular shows in
television history.
• His writing became know for surprising
twist endings and thought provoking
social commentary
Social Commentary
• Serling wanted to write teleplays about
important social issues.
• Television executives thought his topics
were too controversial.
• In the 1950’s & 1960’s television censors
banned scripts that questioned American
Society.
Twilight Zone Settings
• Serling used the science fiction & fantasy
genres to deal with social issues such as
prejudice and intolerance.
• He had more freedom because his teleplays
were not realistic.
• The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street aired
March 4th, 1960.
Background
• Monsters was written during the Cold War
(1946 – 1989), a period when the U.S. &
Soviet Union were engaged in a nuclear
arms race.
• Fear led to suspicion and people were
often accused of being Communist spies.
• A lot of anti-communist sentiment in
the U.S.
HUAC
• House Un-American Activities
Committee (special committee of
Congress)
• Held hearings in which prominent
Hollywood actors & directors (and other
Americans) were interrogated about
involvement with the Communist party.
• Actors & directors were “blacklisted” for
alleged involvement with the Communist
Party
Mob Mentality
• People in a crowd often act differently
than they do when they are alone.
• People in a group may laugh louder, feel
braver, or get angrier.
• Sometimes a crowd can even become
dangerous.
• Examples- reactions of sports fans after a
championship (after Detroit Pistons’ NBA
Title)
Meteors
• Streaks of light that can be seen when
debris from a comet or asteroid enters the
Earth’s atmosphere
• High speed and friction with molecules in
the Earth’s atmosphere usually cause it to
burn up producing the light trail.
• If large enough a piece known as a
meteoroid survives to lower altitudes and
can cause a sonic boom
Setting = 1960’s
•
•
•
•
No cordless phones
No cell phones
“Regular” phones do not use electricity.
Phone calls often still went through an
operator.
• No Ipods or cd players.
• “Portable” radios were battery operated.
• No remote starters for cars.