Review: The Twilight Zone episode "The Masks" (Dec. 3)

SUMMARY

During Mardi Gras, a dying old man (Foster?) has his family come over for his last hours. Instead of what the family expected (discussion about his will and how much goes to them), Foster insists on making his family wear masks, specially chosen for each of the family members by Foster as his final "request" before he gives them the entirety of his ownings. After hours of what the family feels to be unbearable in their masks, midnight strikes and they take off their masks (as Foster dies) and realize that their faces are the images of their respective masks. 

THEMES

Obviously, there's a huge overarching theme of greed here- the entire reason that the family is there and the plot is existent is because the family wants to have Foster's will in the first place, waiting for him to die. They are promised this, but with the masks acting as a final act of revenge on Foster's part against his greedy family, he manages to toy with their moralities by the end, even from beyond the grave. 

Regarding my own notes about themes for Twilight Zone, I think it really falls into "good versus evil" here, although there's no defined "good" because in a way, Foster is "evil" as well.

SYMBOLISM OF THE MASK

Foster uses it to reveal the family's true selves. A pivotal point at the end that is the real shock twist and the macabre-ness of it all, even before the masks are taken off.

RELEVANT HISTORICAL/SOCIAL/CULTURAL FACTORS THIS MAY BE COMMENTING ON

It's a personal belief of mine that The Masks was commenting on social factors- the way people in general would act. It was a very clear and obvious moral that people are not always what they are on the inside- the masks only work as an opening to show the hyperbole of their personalities, referred to as "caricatures".

However, after doing some research into what exactly happened in 1964, I've been lead to believe that there's a possible link to to the "War on Poverty Campaign" declared by President Lyndon Johnson, explaining the ridiculous greed displayed by Foster's kids and grandchildren.