I just signed up for Box Of Dread. It's a horror subscription box; seems to be an assortment of collectibles, dvds, or magazines. I'm not really sure yet, this is my first non food related suscription box. I read that this month's theme is The Twilight Zone and I couldn't resist. At $14.00; it didn't seem to be a huge risk. I expected to find a blood spattered or black as night box, but instead the mailman handed me a fairly nondescript brown box. I suppose not everyone wants to broadcast their horror enthusiasm (but why not?). To the right is what was inside. *cat not included.
Imagine my excitement, as a food & horror blogger, when I discovered my dreadful merch was a lunchbox featuring the episode "To Serve Man." How did they know? All in all, this was a decent use of $14. A quick look on amazon reveals the lunchbox going for about $16 and the water bottle $7. I would not have sought out these items, but I'll definitely use that lunch box to transport my lunch cube around. I have a few too many water bottles, but some of the boxes came with travel coffee mugs (swap anyone?).
Speaking of To Serve Man, spoiler alert: Its a cookbook. The episode is so infamous, it is now the name of a common horror trope. And just why are we so obsessed with the idea of being farmed and eaten? Perhaps it is the simplest way to convey the survival instinct, but what really makes the idea behind "To Serve Man" so creepy, is the trickery- the idea that we are being lulled into a false sense of comfort. It makes us no more special than cows, and how insulting to be treated like a common animal. Not only are we preying on our fear of death, but also our deeply ingrained cultural emphasis on individuality and freedom. No matter that humans are living in peace, or that people depart Earth with a smile, the very concept of finding out we are not truly free is a horror in and of itself. (That and the way those meddling women like to destroy your manly, blissful ignorance.)Would you trade happiness for freedom? Freedom for happiness? Or would you prefer not knowing?
Reminds me of hearing about how the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre film was meant to be an analogue for people of how it feels to be cattle. The distorted face is sort of how a human's face would look to a cow, unable to really discern distinguishable features as we see them (sort of like how we don't really recognize individual cows that well). The relentlessness, the hanging on the hook, the inability to outsmart or escape the predator. Just helplessly being chased into slaughter. Chilling when I think about it that way... and very effective.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read "Eating Animals" I thought a lot about Texas Chainsaw. The statistics about slaughterhouse workers being desensitized to violence. Chainsaw speaks to so many things- our treatment of animals, the effect of the loss of human labor to machines, tradition vs rebellion, ... I love that movie. Bonus Twilight Zone that made me feel similarly about loss of freedom vs comfort: People are Alike All Over
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