Summary:

Dying, Jason forces his family to wear masks that represent their ugly natures in order to get their inheritance, but their faces end up looking like the masks.

 

Bechdel Test:

  • Passes!
  • Emily and her daughter, Paula, talk

 

Gender Roles of Important Characters:

  • Jason
    • Masculine (5)
      • Self-reliant, defends own beliefs, analytical, willing to take risks, willing to take a stand
    • Feminine (4)
      • Not susceptible to flattery, soft-spoken, tender, does not use harsh language
  • Emily
    • Masculine (5)
      • Defends own beliefs, assertive, strong personality, willing to take risks, individualistic
    • Feminine (0)
      • NA
  • Wilfred
    • Masculine (5)
      • Willing to take risks, willing to take a stand, acts as a leader, individualistic, ambitious
    • Feminine (1)
      • Soft-spoken
  • Paula
    • Masculine (5)
      • Defends own beliefs, independent, strong personality, willing to take risks, self-sufficient
    • Feminine (0)
      • NA
  • Wilfred Jr.
    • Masculine (5)
      • Defends own beliefs, independent, athletic, forceful, aggressive
    • Feminine (0)
      • NA

 

Analysis:

This episode had some disrupted gender roles in the fact that some characters were more androgynous and some exhibited the opposite gender roles. Of course, there were still some traditional gender roles. Overall, this episode seemed to really praise the idea of having a mixture of both feminine and masculine characteristics. At the very least, it showed how important feminine characteristics, as the “bad characters” are bad because they seem incapable of showing certain feminine traits, like being compassionate or sympathetic, qualities you would think would abound, considering the characters are watching their father/grandfather die. In the way that it showed feminine characteristics as something positive for everyone (showing the several characters that exhibit them as positive and punishing the characters who don’t exhibit these traits), this episode was progressive. It also passed the Bechdel Test, which aids in this even more.

Shared by: Grace White
Image Credit: The Twilight Zone, CBS via Netflix