‘The Twilight Zone’ (2019) Recap: ‘Not All Men’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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I have to admit, that as I settled in to enjoy another episode of Jordan Peele’s iteration of The Twilight Zone, I was clueless as to what direction the show was going to go in this week. For last week’s episode and its traditional Zone-style of storytelling threw me for a loop, in a good way, since it was quite the surprise to see the series step away from the brilliant social commentary it has focused upon in its first year. But it didn’t take long for me to realize that last night’s tale, aptly titled, ‘Not All Men’, was going to return the series to its grand exploration of the darker parts of the human condition, since this particular tale took the time to tackle toxic masculinity, and it accomplished that by providing us with one wild tale, involving a meteor shower that brings out violent tendencies in only men. But let’s be honest, the plot is merely there to carry the story’s examination of the toxic behavior men exhibit and it handles its exploration in harrowing fashion.
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Because this is an episode that made me uncomfortable, since it plunges us into a world where the worst parts of masculinity are on display and well, being uncomfortable is the point. For this episode is quick to point out that a lot of things that men do, aren’t healthy in the slightest and using the meteors as a plot device to amplify that behavior and demonstrate the ridiculousness of all of it was a genius stroke storytelling wise. Because you simply look at this kind of stuff as it plays out and shake your head, while at the same time, what you see gives you pause, due to the fact that you’ve seen it in the real world on a fairly consistent basis and while that alone could have carried this episode, this story had more unsettling things to say upon the matter, since it also took the time to address rape culture in America as well.

Because in the first ten minutes of this story, our main character, Annie, is assaulted by a meteor enhanced man named Dylan and how she is forced to handle this nightmare the day after it happens, is perhaps the most powerful part of this story since it brings together everything we’ve come to learn about how sexual assault is handled in our society today. For Annie knows that if she says anything about Dylan, no one will listen, because he’s a dynamo at his job, and regarded as a stand-up guy and the audience is never spoon fed the penalties that she will face for speaking up about what Dylan has done, you simply feel it when other characters speak of him and seeing Annie cringe whenever his name is brought up or when she knows she has to keep silent because speaking the truth will cause harm for her is infuriating to watch because you know Annie is in the right, and deserves justice and the sense of hopelessness that surrounds her as a result of this, in turn, surrounds you.

Yet, the series still had more to say, because it also looked hard at how we let toxic masculinity propagate by being so dismissive of it. For instance, saying ‘boys will be boys’ when we see that kind of behavior happen, rather than call it out for what it is, is part of the problem and that shows up in this episode on several occasions in order to hammer the point home, and all of these lessons truly come together in the ending of this tale. For when we learn that the meteor may not have done anything at all, is chilling to say the least because it just goes to show that all of the men in this town saw the meteors as an opportunity to let loose and unleash the rage they’ve been carrying within, because there’s zero chance they have to pay the price for their crimes since hey, it was the meteors’ fault, and the power of that was not lost upon me since it spoke volumes to how so many men unleash their fury via social media because of the anonymity it provides.

Yet, as this series is wont to do, it tried to look at a potential solution for all of this and it made it clear that this is a fundamental problem that has to be addressed with young men as they are growing up and we have to teach them about how to deal with their emotions and how their actions impact others and provide them with a solid understanding of right and wrong. But that is of course, easier said than done, and until a concerted effort is made to instill that into young minds, we will remain in our own Twilight Zone where men choose to unleash their rage in ways that make the six o’clock news and that’s perhaps what made the closing shots of this story with the Narrator so sobering, since the shooting the news highlighted on a laptop is almost commonplace now. Heck, I live in Colorado and had to hear about another school shooting that a young man committed just the other day and well…it’s always a tad frightening when fiction mirrors reality and that’s why this one stays with you, because despite its Dawn of the Dead-esque vibe at times, it echoes everyday life and that just speaks to why it is so important to have this series back on the air, because it is helping us to reflect upon where we are, and how we can be better. Until next time. 

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