In class we are reading the teleplay "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" as a Reader's Theater play. The script is based on a 1960 episode of the television show, "The Twilight Zone." Things are not always as they seem!
Reflect on our discussion about "mob mentality." Why do people behave differently in groups than when they are alone? How does the teleplay illustrate the concept of "mob mentality?"
Answer both questions in the form of a short essay. You should include three paragraphs. Be sure to quote examples from the story, citing page numbers. You may also cite other sources as well.
Sorry everyone, I was not able to find a link for the full episode. Listen to the audio version below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvfNQKFBc68
ReplyDeletehere is a link to the episode :)
the 2003 episode
sup
DeleteThanks for the link, Omar. I did see that one. This is a modern version of the old classic. It's not bad, but they do change the story a little bit. It still gives you the gist of Serling's ideas, though. Do you think Rod Serling would have approved of this version? Discuss!
DeleteI wouldn't think that rod Serling would approve this new version of the monsters are due on male street because It is so off and not as exciting as the old version.Is Rod Serling dead?please reply with that answer khala peers.
DeleteRod Serling died in 1975. It says in the textbook.
Deleteis rod serling a human?
Deleteyes dania, serling is a human
DeleteI agree with you, Helen. I think the original version is much more exciting as well! Long live the classics!
Deleteand yet i am not in this class. you all must have been in seventh grade and now you are six years older. wow.
DeleteYeah, I'm in seventh grade now looking up the answers for an assignment because I can't find a good explanation, can't wait to see where 2021 takes us - O-o
Delete"Mob Mentality"
ReplyDeleteOur discussion about "mob mentality" was that people come in large groups which is usually to bring a negative sense. An example is a protest. We discussed that when people are in large groups, the group would start to rush in one single direction. Another factor of "mob mentality" is sense of confusion or panic that can exist in a large group. An example, is that people can start rushing without you even noticing it.
People behave differently in groups because there is a huge group of people, but they want to get somewhere in time. Thats why sometimes the group starts to rush when you don't even notice it. If they were alone, the people would take their sweet time to get to their intended destination.
Teleplay illustrates "mob mentality" because it is used in teleplay when people are afraid from something or someone for some specific reason. It illustrates it as well because teleplay usually has a sudden rush to it. Without knowing it apparently.
Omar Khalil
9/22/14
7A LA
Blog Post
FIRST ONE! HAHA!
DeleteYou have understood the concept well. Be sure to go back and add some references. Use quotes from the article (title, author, and date in parenthesis), use page numbers from the story we ready, quote some news articles, etc. Show the evidence! Great job being the first one to comment!
DeleteHorde or herd mentality is very simple. There’s usually this very small group or even couple of people leading like 50 people. In demonstrations or protests, there is a person screaming things like “What do we want?” The horde usually responds like “Immigration Reform!” Without these influential people, demonstration and protests couldn’t take place. But sometimes these influential people can mess it up for everyone. The clothing factory in Bangladesh collapsed because the owner decided to keep the factory running even though he was warned it would collapse. As a result, about 1000 people or more died.
ReplyDeleteThe teleplay illustrates horde mentality when Don & Charlie bring up that Goodman was and always acts weird. So all of the people (about 15 of them) started accusing him because he acts absurd.
Very good response with examples.
DeletePeople may often act or behave in groups differently for many reasons. One reason people act differently is to show off and show how smart they are. They (people) can also act differently to show that they are best out of everyone. Many people behave differently is when an opinion is asked in a group. The way “Mob Mentality" works as if your group members have the same opinion whereas you have a different opinion on the same subject. And on the surface you agree so that you won't feel different.
ReplyDeleteThe way that the teleplay shows mob mentality is when a couple people on the street are scared, but after a while everyone who lived on the street became scared (page 70-71). It also happened when Tommy started telling them what to do and what not to do and the mob eventually thought that Tommy was part of the aliens on page 72-73.
There are many situations we might or already did face that has had mob mentality occur. One might be when you are voting for something different than what most of your friends are doing. In the end you would probably decide to vote for whatever your friends are voting for. In the end, you should know that it doesn't matter whatever your friends think about you even if you are disagreeing on the matter. So in the end your decision matters more than what other people think.
By: Raahim Azeem
Excellent response with references.
DeleteMob mentality or Herd Mentality describes the way people act in crowds mostly under the influence of others. In crowds people tend to follow what others are doing not conscious of whether it is the right thing to do or not. This causes confusion and panic. In the article that was handed to us during class explained that it only takes 5% to control the rest (of the people). Now this may not always be a good thing because it depends on the people, whether they want to do the right thing or to just fool around.
ReplyDeletePeople tend to act differently when they are in huge groups. When they are in crowds they do things together most of the time unorganized and chaotic. Where as when people are alone they walk in an orderly fashion, taking their time. Often in crowds people are not themselves, they try to act like the “cool kids”. However this a very harmful way of thinking because often the “cool kids” make the wrong choices but none has the conscious mind (so to speak), and they follow them. Although sometimes there are people who know its the wrong thing to do so they go in the “other way”, this causes people to think why are they going that way, also causing confusion.
Herd Mentality is shown greatly in Rod Serling's teleplay. This time however the crowd is not only influenced by each other but is also (influenced) by fear (of the “power outage”). On page 74, when suddenly Les Goodman’s car started, it made people confused. Until Don and Charlie started to accuse Goodman of being the culprit. This sudden accusation made the whole crowd of people against Goodman without any real proof, just out of fear. Mob Mentality is an interesting thing, see how humans would act under certain situation in large groups. The teleplay shows and proves that people will most likely to follow the influence of others. Although there are a few exceptions in life, humans have a natural instinct to follow the crowd.
Very good response with specific examples and references to the teleplay.
DeleteMob Mentality is when a group of people change the way you think. The people in the group are usually 5 percent out of every one there. People behave differntly because those people are so influential that they change your way of thinking and then group gets bigger and bigger. A example of mob mentality could be a protest.
ReplyDeleteThe teleplay shows it because it starts off with a few people thinkling it is a monster or alien. Those people influenced the rest of the people on the street and then it turned into a big group of scared people. The people also got influenced because they were clueless on what was happened and the other people believed what Tommy told them so they got influenced.
Mob Mentality can be a good think and also a bad thing. It prevents you from doing what you wanna do and it causes you to do what the other people do. A good example for Mob Mentality could be when you are in a dangerous situation and people are panicking and there are a few people sitting quietly waiting for instructions. You see those people and then you be quiet as well. A bad example is that there is a survey in which you have to choose a ice cream flavor and you see your friends or a group of people choosing the chocolate ice cream and you want vanilla. You choose chocolate because your friends or the group of people chose chocolate.
-DANIA HANIF (sorry I couldnt add page numbers. I forgot my textbook.)
Very good response to the prompt. You also did reference the teleplay through your examples, even though you didn't have page numbers. You can also reference the article we read in class and the audio version of the story. Be aware of style--we need to use academic language (not "wanna" etc.)
Deleteemin,
ReplyDeletemob mentality is how people act in a crowd or how they follow the crowd. If five% of the crowd dose something the other 95% will start to follow what he or she did.like how the war in Gaza started one person rebels against the government the others start to follow his path.Mob mentality can also be a good thing like if someone is trying to stop alcohol maybe lots of people will follow the idea and a little people mite not agree with the idea but it worked.
The teleplay uses mob mentality but i watched the video so i will be referring to that.
in the episode Frank and Filis tried to convince every one that terrorist took away the power from maple street. Filis said that the terrorist would take away all the power then attack when least expected. then in a argument about why would they bomb maple street. Frank said that they have the reservoir close to their homes.
by the end they tried to figure out who was the terrorist and they blamed the neighbor that never got out of his house and moved in the middle of the night and he worked as a electrician. Latter they found spy cameras that where hidden and they blamed him and burned his family and house down.
Mod mentality can be good or bad. it matters what people use it as. people can convince a hole community to rebel or kids can make older people trade talkis with carrots. it maters how mob mentality is used if it used for some thing good or bad people can use facts against others.
Very good examples here. Be sure to check spelling, capitalization, grammar, etc. and add page references.
DeleteI have typed up my response on word, but due to my forgetfulness :( I FORGOT MY TEXTBOOK), i will post it tmrw when i get my textbook home.
ReplyDelete;( sooo sad
No problem!
DeleteI think that all the things we discussed about mob mentality is true, like that people tend to jump to conclusions about other people when they are scared, and when people get scared they start getting crazy ideas like killing.If you are in a group if only 5% of the group can influence the other 95% in ether a positive way or a negative way.
ReplyDeletepeople tend to change their personalities in a crowd depending on their original personalities for example you would be more shy in a group than at home or if there is a fire people would get scared and freak out.
In the story of the monster due on maple street it illustrates the concept of mob mentality because the whole neighborhood was grouped in one place trying to figure out who it is but people started to get more and more scared so they started accusing other peolpe and during that a man got killed.
I forgot my textbook at school so i could not add the pages so i will add it tomorrow after school
DeleteThis is a good response. I am glad to see that you referenced examples from the article and the teleplay. Please cite these references when you can.
DeletePeople act differently in groups. There are many reasons for this. One reason is peer pressure and being scared of get teased or bullied. People may desperately want to fit, so they will do whatever it takes. They will act like someone completely different just to be liked and get friends. While they act like themselves when they are by themselves and no one is around. The second reason is that they be affected by other people in the groups (mob mentality). When there is a leader in a crowd or a few people in charge people tend to follow them without even realizing it. It only takes 5% of a group to influence the other 95%. Mob mentality can create chaos and confusion but it can also be good thing because if a small group of people are doing a good thing and everyone follows there will be peace and no chaos.
ReplyDeleteMob mentality is a very big factor in the story, "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street." Everyone is scared and acting out of fear. The neighbors are influencing each other and no one knows who to believe and they all slowly start to mistrust and accuse each other. When one person pinpointed someone, everyone else started to agree just to not get accused themselves. On page 79 and 80 everyone started to agree with Woman One's accusation of Les Goodman.
This is a very detailed response with references to the text. Nice work!
DeleteMob mentality effects the way people think in a group and when they are alone. In groups people think and act the same may. People usually want to “fit in” and act like everyone else so they will do whatever the others do no matter what even if they think it is wrong. If 5% of the group act a certain way, they can get the 95% left to do what they do.
ReplyDeleteIn “Monsters are Due on Maple Street” the group of neighbors is facing unusual things going on in the neighborhood. They were very frightened which caused them to turn into a mob accusing people who have even done the smallest unusual behavior before. This shows that fright can even turn a group of people, who have known each other for so long, into a mob that starts accusing every one. In the story a death even occurred. Charlie shot Pete Van Horn thinking that he came to hurt them (pg. 82).
“Monsters are Due on Maple Street” teaches us a lot on how a small thing can cause fright then lead to a mob. As the aliens said just put something unusual and watch as it leads to uncontrollable fright which causes a mob of people who are trying to find out who to accuse.
-Hajera
Nicely detailed response with references to text.
DeletePeople sometimes behave differently based on other people’s decisions instead of their own. This is called mob or herd mentality. One reason they might do this is to fit into a certain group of people, this can have good effects but it can also cause chaos based on the scenarios. Based on research that was handed to us in class by Khala, it only takes about 5% of people to change a group of people as large as a 100. One example of mob mentality is in a drill. If the 5% of people are calm than it will go smoother. But if the 5 % were doing the wrong thing than it would create even more chaos and confusion.
ReplyDeleteIn the teleplay by Rod Sterling “The Monsters are due on Maple Street “the story discusses how mob mentality can cause a big problem and can lead to accusing innocent people of crimes they didn’t do .For example in the beginning it was a typical Sunday afternoon on maple street when all of a sudden the lights go out. (page 70-72)Everyone suspects it’s just a blackout but when they try to start the car it doesn’t work .Than they start pointing fingers at each other and Tommy is being accused of being an alien and then Goodman is accused after being able to start his car and etc. (page 73-74) After these events happen I conclude that the author is trying to convey to us the down draw to herd mentality.
oh and i forgot :)
Delete-Maram Saada 7A
You have used good examples with specific references to the teleplay. Nice work!
DeleteMob mentality or Herd mentality is when people start acting differently. This mostly happens when there is a large group or a crowd. In class, we discussed about how many people try to act unusual, or not the real way how they act so they can fit into cooler groups. People even start to follow those groups so they can be with them. In class, we said that it usually takes only 5% of the people in the crowd to do something, and then the rest of the 95% would follow. For example, if there is a fire, and 5% of the people take the correct exit, that’s when everyone stars to follow and starts to take the correct exit. If the 5% of people do the wrong thing, or by mistake, take the wrong exit, still, the other 95% of people would do the same thing and follow. Mob mentality can sometimes be a good thing, but sometimes it can still be a bad thing.
ReplyDeletePeople have different behavior, or unusual actions that the person does not really do or say. This happens because people see how the “cooler” group acts, so they try to copy them, so they can be like them. They try to act like the better group or more popular group because they would think that other people would laugh at them because of their personality. This is not good, because soon the person who is copying another person might do or say something bad or wrong. On the other hand, when a person is alone, they get to act and speak normally because they would not have to worry about other (the cool group) seeing them or making fun of them.
This teleplay show a lot of mob mentality. It first started when a couple of people thought that it was an alien or monster that is causing all the trouble. This influenced other people because everyone started to think of many bad possibilities, and started to blame other about what happening. This is shown on page 76 when woman one says: “Well if that is the case, Les Goodman, Explain why.” Then Goodman replies: “Explain what?” This shows that they started to blame each other’s. Another one is on page 74 when Goodman’s car turned on all of a sudden. Everyone got suspicious that Goodman is causing everything. This isn't good because soon everyone will start making up stuff and blaming each other’s. When this happens, sometimes a fight can happen. Mob mentality can sometimes be a good thing and sometimes be a bad thing.
Najm Masri
9/22/14
7A
I do not know why, but every time I hit publish, the spaces to knowing that it is a knew paragraph leave. So I have 3 paragraphs. The first one ends at "bad thing". The 2nd paragraph starts at "people have" and ends at "or making fun of them. The last paragraph starts at"this teleplay shows".
DeleteThat's okay. You do have very good examples with references to the text. Nice work.
DeleteAfter having done various studies, scientists at the University of Leeds proved that people make choices centered on other’s actions. Whether as a benefit or detriment, it only takes five percent of a crowd to affect the rest. Furthermore, people may respond this way to feel accepted in a group. However, while feelings of belonging might be a key motivator for following group thinking, the study noted that most people don’t even notice others are guiding them. Moreover, the five percent that is leading the remainder of people are probably trying to stand out or prove they are better or distinct from the rest.
ReplyDeleteFear and confusion may also lead people to make uninformed decisions and follow a group. As distress takes up the minds of people, they feel an impulse to accuse someone or something for that feeling. To give a political example, after the occurrence of 9/11, many Americans began to indict Muslims as terrorists due to their fear of it happening again. The teleplay, The Monsters are Due on Maple Street, describes similar situations. Once, some people start to put the blame on a person, others join in. On page 74 of the Holt Literature and Language Arts Textbook, a character named Goodman is being accused of stopping all the machines on the street he lives on (Maple Street) and being an abnormal creature from outer space. Also, on page 83, another character named Charlie is being wrongly blamed for all the chaos created by a group of residents of Maple Street. As a result, a man was killed and a young boy’s life was put at risk (p. 82 and p. 85).
That goes to show people that humanity can be easily destroyed, not by outside forces, but by it ‘self. Prejudice is a form of obliteration to mankind. Although following a group may have it’s benefits, many events in history happened due to “Mob Mentality” and almost always led to bitter endings.
-Reem Suleiman
You are a very detailed, careful writer. I appreciate your attention to detail and specific references to the text.
DeleteRod Serling ,the author of the Twilight Zone once said” There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man…a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination”. Rod sterling had a vast imagination and a way of using so little words to convey so much meaning. You can see this clearly in the teleplay.
ReplyDelete“Don’t say something in fifty words when you can say it in ten”. This is awfully true because a story can only be so long, so if you choose your words correctly you will first catch the readers attention and you will be a good writer overall. This is proven when the author says “At the sound of the roar and the flash of light, it will be precisely 6:43P.M.On Maple Street. “(page69). He could have not said this at all, but he did. If you think of it, words have power. By the time the reader finishes reading the teleplay he could have totally forgot about this clue, but for some reason you remember it, at least I did.
Mob mentality is very common if you think about it. You see it at school and in the public. Say you are in a concert and two or three people stand up to applaud the performer. Some people would get up and applaud too but others won’t. Why wouldn’t they? Well some people are self-cautious and really care a lot about what other people might think of them. I am one of those people, and we shouldn’t be. Sometimes mob mentality is a good thing. Say we are in a very dangerous situation like a fire broke out in a building and for example two or three people are calm and the other twenty or so are frantic and frightened. Don’t you think that some people might start to be calmer and more collective because of the other calm people? Well that’s usually the case!
Mob mentality isn’t entirely a bad thing and it is a good thing in society if you know how to avoid the bad influence that sometimes comes with it. If you look at the Twilight Zone it does depict this very well. If each of us knew not to follow the trail of others but to make our own trail in this big puzzle piece we call our home, we would not have such a somewhat difficult and judgmental world.
This is a well-thought out response with references to the teleplay.
DeleteMob Mentality. When you hear the word, you think, I don’t have that. Are you sure? Probably not, because many people do it unknowingly. As stated in the article, “…it takes only 5% of the people to lead the rest 95%”. So what is mob mentality? Mob mentality or “herd” mentality describes how people are influenced by their peers to adopt certain behaviors and follow certain trends. It is conventional for many people, and they tend to behave differently in groups rather then when they are alone.
ReplyDeleteIndividuals tend to behave oddly when they are in the company of other people. Our minds tend to follow what the media or crowd is doing. The popularity of people adheres to the mentality and thinking of that 5% unknowingly, but there are still a few of the 95% who do it deliberately. Out of consciousness of themselves, they try fixing small irregularities in them. They may also amend their personalities on a larger scale, like use bad language to fit in with the “cool kids” or change their beliefs and opinions. Rather, the majority who carelessly relate to the actions of others can be misguided in a positive or negative way. If these minority of leading people run of a cliff, this majority of followers will run too. This, in turn, will affect then in not in an appealing way.
The teleplay, Monsters are due on Maple street, has a well written illustration of “Mob” Mentality. For instance, on page 85, one person starts the accusation line, and others keep it going. Charlie said “It’s…it’s the kid. It’s Tommy…” on page 84. After he stated his suspicion, others followed suit. Don, Goodman and his wife, and the others characters in the play shouted who they suspected the alien. One more on the many exemplars is when Goodman was presumed, which is displayed on page 76, when Woman One recollected that she had seen Goodman late at night looking at unknown in the sky. She assumed he was looking for spaceships, which wasn’t a normal thing to do. Every one started incriminating him, and the story went on. Mob Mentality was wisely plotted in this teleplay.
Ultimately, Mob Mentality is just another inattentive temperament of humanity. On which opens up many possibilities, both good and bad. If you are of those who can avoid following into the bad traps, then you may benefit from this situation. But one must realize, this well written depiction has explained the genre of mentality, Mob Mentality, in meaningful, brief words.
Very thorough, detailed information and examples.
DeletePeople act very different in groups. Like the article said,"95% of a group follows the other 5%". Also when people in groups have their own opinion it can often cause arguments and trouble.
ReplyDeleteAn example is "The Monsters Due on Maple Street" only this time the everyones arguments caused violence and blood baths. Mob mentality was shown here because groups of people suspected others and caused everyone to go all crazy on each other. An example was where everyone starts suspecting Goodman and thinks he is the alien.
Mob mentality is okay sometimes as long as the leader thats leading is sensible.
An example that I think lots of students know is that when a teacher asks a question and asks wether is right or wrong, you sometimes might not know the answer. Then when a few people raise their hands thinking its right, also raise your hand. If you get it right your leader, student in this case, is sensible, if it's incorrect you'll better know next time to study.
-Yousef Binzubair
Please add page numbers to your response.
DeleteMob or herd mentality is when people act differently in groups. Research shows that it takes 5% and only 5% of the people to lead 95% of the people. This could be an advantage and a disadvantage, during an emergency if 5% of the people stay calm and help people to get out of the situation they just helped the 95% of people who were in danger. But if these people have no idea what they are doing, they are going to put themselves and the other people in danger. You find mob mentality everywhere: in school, outside, and even at home. A group of students might dress like certain group of people, or they might even do something that is wrong and they know it is wrong just to fit in.
ReplyDeleteMob and Herd mentality is a really important in the story The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street. An interesting part of the story is on page 74 when Steve said “.....Lets not be a mob”. They were going to Goodman to confront him and Steve told the people to not be a mob because that might be too intimidating. Whenever a few people come up with a suspicion, everyone follows them until another suspicion comes up. This shows that when there is a situation people become very nervous, that they don't think before they act and they follow whoever seems calm and has an idea. Whenever something suspicious happens in this story everyone jumps to conclusions.
Great! Very detailed response.
Delete