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Next stop, the family business When he watches an episode of the old television series, "The Twilight Zone," Sam Serling-Sutton can feel a connection to the grandfather he never met. "I can see what he's thinking," the Ithaca college student said about his grandfather's desire to use the medium of television to focus on political and social concerns as well as tell a good story. The 20-year-old grandson of Rod Serling was in Binghamton recently to be a judge in the Rod Serling Video Festival, an annual competition that picks the best short videos submitted by students from across the country. Serling-Sutton became a judge after being asked by Larry Kassan, the founder, organizer and driving force behind the festival. Kassan said he was looking for the perspective of a younger person to go along with that of 11 older judges from the worlds of education, business and the media. He had met Serling-Sutton through the Rod Serling Conference at Ithaca College and a program done by the Binghamton City School District that has fifth-graders study old episodes of "The Twilight Zone" for their social lessons and creative content. Serling-Sutton is looking to get into the family business, so to speak. While he doesn't want to trade on the name of his famous grandfather, who grew up in Binghamton and taught and lived in Ithaca late in life, he's hoping to follow him into the world of television and films. The Ithaca native will transfer to Emerson College in Boston at the end of August to study screenwriting, something he dabbled in at Ithaca High School and also studied at Ithaca College. The profession is a tough one, famous pedigree or not. Serling-Sutton recognizes that fact. But he said: "The thing I've always heard is that you go to college for love. If it doesn't work out, I can always do something else." The young man is aware of his grandfather's work and admires it. But he's not obsessed with it. For example, he's never seen "Requiem for a Heavyweight," one of his grandfather's best-known works. He's even a bit critical, calling some of "The Twilight Zone" episodes "ham-fisted and a bit corny" by today's standards. And the show is hardly must-see television for people his age, he said. "To the extent my generation knows 'The Twilight Zone,' it's through pop references in other shows," Serling-Sutton said. "My parents' generation definitely knows 'The Twilight Zone,' my generation not so much." Still, the significance of the show hasn't aged, in his opinion. "It was an important show because it opened up a lot of opportunities for the industry to be a voice for social and political issues," he said. His favorite episode is "Walking Distance" about a middle-aged man who returns to a city, very much like Binghamton, to encounter himself as a young boy. Serling-Sutton's interest in the world of film began about 10 years ago when he began "messing around" with writing and video production. His taste runs more to comedy than drama. He's the only person in his family of three older sisters and one older brother to take a whack at his grandfather's profession. One thing that's off limits is riding the coattails of his famous grandfather, he said. He rarely brings up Serling's name. In his application to Emerson College, for example, he didn't mention his connection to Serling even though his grandfather had received an honorary degree from the college. "I try to distance myself, repeatedly," he said. "I want to do it on my own." In fact, Emerson College turned down his application out of high school. He went to Ithaca College to get his grades up and reapplied. While Ithaca is a good school, he wanted to live away for college, he said. Serling-Sutton provided some good insights during the judging in this year's Rod Serling Video Festival, Kassan said. "As a college student, he's closer in age to high school and more attuned to people that age," Kassan said. Serling-Sutton was impressed by many of the more than 100 entries in this year's festival and said the judging gave him a chance to see what other young people his age are doing in the world of video production. "I like what Larry (Kassan) is doing in Binghamton so kids can express themselves through film," he said. Ten years from now, Serling-Sutton hopes to be doing what he loves, either behind the camera, behind the scenes, or behind a pen. "It's a great way to get your voice heard. It's also therapeutic to get into yourself and create characters," he said.
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