Obsession in Rod Serling’s “The New Exhibit”

Obsession in Rod Serling’s “The New Exhibit”

Obsession in Rod Serling’s “The New Exhibit”

“Passion is a positive obsession. Obsession is a negative passion” is a famous quote from the author Paul Carvel (Paul). Indeed, while having a passion is seen as a healthy way through which people blossom themselves, obsession, on the other hand, is a term which bears a negative connotation and which indicates people’s state when they take their passions beyond a rational level. In The Twilight Zone’s episode “The New Exhibit”, Martin Lombard, who is insanely fascinated by the dark aspects of human nature, ends up being a murderer. The story of this episode suggests that when people have obsessions, they may unconsciously embody the traits of the objects of their fascination and may not realize this problem in time. Indeed, Martin’s sinister behaviors and actions, the statues’ symbolism of Martin’s admiration and his final realization of his embodiment of the evil side of human nature all showcase that the protagonist unconsciously manifested malevolent characteristics and only realized it once it was too late.

Martin’s sinister behaviors and actions show that he has evolved to resemble the object of his obsession; he personifies human’s evil nature. In addition to moving the statues in his house without his wife’s consent, Martin locks his wife from the basement, dupes her by saying that they will only stay for a couple of days, and does not listen to her when she complains about the fact that he has “been paying more attention to these murderers than [he] ever did to [her]” (The New Exhibit 15:34). By prioritizing the statues over his real human relationships, Martin shows that his obsessions have caused him to mistreat his relatives. Then, when Emma and her brother go to the basement to

turn off the conditioner and make the statues melt, Martin saves them by killing his wife and brother-in-law. Moreover, when Mr. Ferguson visits him to talk about the possibility of moving them away, Martin puts his...

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