Most of the reviews focus on the obvious here, the concept of beauty and the extremes that people will take to achieve it, as well as the importance the state or society put upon it. Actually if beauty was the only thing going on here, the other episode, Eye of the Beholder is really a much better episode.
But I have always felt that there is a lot more that is going on here, besides the desire to be beautiful. In the end, what was the real shock, was that it wasn't enough just to be beautiful, one had to be forced to believe it. THAT was the scary part.
The girl just wanted to be herself. Yet, in this futuristic society, being oneself was no longer allowed, you had to be what others expected of you. That's the real danger in society, as the dregs of the 60's slowly disappear and we all through the internet and mass media get more and more into group-think, where we're told what we like and don't like, what's appropriate to wear or not, who is to be considered a celebrity or not. That episode was a warning of what may happen in the reaction to the liberal times when it was aired. That we're letting society dictate more and more of what we are to be, shows that much of the message here has been lost.
As we learn more and more about our genetic makeup and what genes can cause problems, and how they can be re-manipulated, the desire to also reduce any future individuality will go hand in hand with the advances of being beautiful. And we won't even realize it.
But I have always felt that there is a lot more that is going on here, besides the desire to be beautiful. In the end, what was the real shock, was that it wasn't enough just to be beautiful, one had to be forced to believe it. THAT was the scary part.
The girl just wanted to be herself. Yet, in this futuristic society, being oneself was no longer allowed, you had to be what others expected of you. That's the real danger in society, as the dregs of the 60's slowly disappear and we all through the internet and mass media get more and more into group-think, where we're told what we like and don't like, what's appropriate to wear or not, who is to be considered a celebrity or not. That episode was a warning of what may happen in the reaction to the liberal times when it was aired. That we're letting society dictate more and more of what we are to be, shows that much of the message here has been lost.
As we learn more and more about our genetic makeup and what genes can cause problems, and how they can be re-manipulated, the desire to also reduce any future individuality will go hand in hand with the advances of being beautiful. And we won't even realize it.