War of the worlds

 

War of the Worlds

 

Media Factsheet

Read Media Factsheet #176: CSP Radio - War of the Worlds. You'll need your Greenford Google login to download it. Then answer the following questions:

1) What is the history and narrative behind War of the Worlds?

War of the Worlds tells the story of an alien invasion which was Orson Welles’ 1938 radio play, an adaption of  the original H.G. Wells’ novel published in 1898. It was broadcasted on the 30th of October leaving a lot of residence to fled from their homes. Martians. The Trenton Police Department also received over 2000 calls in less than two hours.

2) When was it first broadcast and what is the popular myth regarding the reaction from the audience?

It was first broadcasted 30th October 1938 regarding the popular myth of an alien invasion where there is conflict between humans and an extra- terrestrial race from Mars.

3) How did the New York Times report the reaction the next day?

They reported in their article that this fake news left families rushing out how it disrupted households, interrupted religious services, created traffic jams and clogged communications systems,

4) How did author Brad Schwartz describe the the broadcast and its reaction?

In his book book ‘Broadcast Hysteria: Orson Welles’s War of the Worlds and the Art of Fake News’ he wrote how he believed this fake news to be some what true as it was history’s first viral-media phenomenon.

5) Why did Orson Welles use hybrid genres and pastiche and what effect might it have had on the audience?

By using a hybrid genre he mixed conventional storytelling with news conventions to show how it was hard to tell the difference between facts and fiction. Using pastiche and radio conventions helped create a reality to the shocking fake news.

6) How did world events in 1938 affect the way audiences interpreted the show?

People after the broadcast started calling in, some to donate blood while other where angry at the fact that such realistic radio was allowed to be aired and even others congratulated Mercury Theatre for the exciting Halloween programme.

7) Which company broadcast War of the Worlds in 1938?

CBS

8) Why might the newspaper industry have deliberately exaggerated the response to the broadcast?

They might have wanted to get attention or even utilise the opportunity to inform people of the situation as radios where becoming popular leaving no one to gain information from newspapers. 

9) Does War of the Worlds provide evidence to support the Frankfurt School's Hypodermic Needle theory?

It reflects how listeners are passively taking in the information given to them on the radio being evidence to support the theory.

10) How might Gerbner's cultivation theory be applied to the broadcast?

It shows how the exposure to this fake news of aliens and how it cultivated the viewers perception of reality.

11) Applying Hall's Reception Theory, what could be the preferred and oppositional readings of the original broadcast?

The preferred reading would be how it intended to happen where the listeners believe this broadcast and react to it as bad news forcing them to fled their homes. Whereas the oppositional reading would be the opposite where listeners would understand that it is fake and have heard that it was fake news causing them to not react to it.

12) Do media products still retain the ability to fool audiences as it is suggested War of the Worlds did in 1938? Has the digital media landscape changed this?

Now with the evolution of technology it is harder to fool people as there is a need for evidence and commenters to give their viewpoint. However, AI has also taken over which can easily forge images and fake videos as evidence tricking people into believing  fake news.

Media Magazine article on War of the Worlds

Read this excellent article on War of the Worlds in Media Magazine. You can find it in our Media Magazine archive - issue 69, page 10. Answer the following questions:

1) What reasons are provided for why the audience may have been scared by the broadcast in 1938? 

They might have been scared by Welles chose to tell the story using realistic radio conventions – such as flash news bulletins, expert interviews and vox pop.

2) How did newspapers present the story? 

They chose to present the whole story as a ‘hoax’ to make it look as if inferring there was something malicious about the intentions of those making and broadcasting it. This was seen to give radio a sinister appeal making it less trustworthy so that newspapers had more worth.

3) How does the article describe the rise of radio? 

It describes how the rise of radio made others fear that it would would kill off the other main media industries. It brought music, news and peoples voices to homes making newspapers useless.

4) What does the article say about regulation of radio in the 1930s? 

As it was a new form of media, there was a lot of potential downsides such as  the corruption of the young by uncensored, unregulated radio content.

5) How does the article apply media theories to the WOTW? Give examples.

They use Banduras theory of the bobo doll where children watched a man beating up a doll. It remained  visual proof that the media can directly affect us. George Gerbner’s cultivation theory was also applied to show media effects what we do and think where WOTW tricked audience into believing fake news causing people to evacuate.

6) Look at the box on page 13 of real newspaper headlines. Pick out two and write them here - you could use these in an exam answer.

‘Radio Fake Scares Nation’ and ‘Radio Terror Brings Panic in All Areas; People Lose All Control’