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?

-Orson Welles’ 1938 radio play is an adaption of H.G. Wells’ novel of the same name, first published in 1898. It tells the story of an alien invasion and the ensuing conflict between mankind and an extra-terrestrial race from Mars. The text has been frequently interpreted as a commentary on British Imperialism and Victorian fear and prejudice. The book has been adapted for both radio and (several) films, including the 2005 version starring Tom Cruise. It was also famously turned into a best-selling musical album by Jeff Wayne in 1978 (recently updated by Gary Barlow as a touring stage musical)

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

-Broadcast live on 30th October 1938, popular myth has it that thousands of New Yorkers fled their homes in panic, and all across America people crowded the streets to witness for themselves the real space battle between earth and the Martians.

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

-They reported in their article that this fake news and throughout New York families left their homes, some to flee to near-by parks. Thousands of persons called the police, news- papers and radio stations here and in other cities of the United

States and Canada seeking advice on protective measures against the raids.

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

-Author Brad Schwartz in his 2015 book ‘Broadcast Hysteria: Orson Welles’s War of the Worlds and the Art of Fake News’ suggests that hysteria it caused was not entirely a myth. “Instead it was something decades ahead of its time: 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 creating a hybrid form – mixing conventional storytelling with news conventions – Welles blurred the boundaries between fact and fiction in a way that audiences had never experienced.

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

-CBS Radio network.

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

-The newspaper industry wanted audiences to read newspaper instead of listening to radio,they exaggerated the response so that audiences felt they couldn't trust radio anymore.

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

-Orson Welles’ broadcast is frequently cited as an example to support passive audience theories, such as the Frankfurt School’s ‘Hypodermic Syringe Theory’. This states that audiences consume and respond to media texts in an unquestioning way, believing what they read, see or hear.

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

-Based on his research into television viewing, cultivation theory states that high frequency viewers of television are more susceptible to media messages and the belief that they are real. Heavy viewers of TV are thought to be ‘cultivating’ attitudes that seem to believe that the world created by television is an accurate depiction of the real world. Applied to War of the Worlds it could be argued that an audience familiar with the frequent interruptions to radio shows over the weeks leading up to the broadcast did not question the faux invasion broadcasts during Welles’ production.

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

-The oppositional reading would be that audiences understood that it was a hoax and the preferred would be that the radio wanted people to panic.

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?

- I believe that it is harder to fool audiences as there has been a huge change in digital media,

audiences would be quick to notice what is fake or not.

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? 

-Some even really believed aliens had landed, even some very extreme reactions: ‘Radio ‘Martian Attack’ Terrorises U.S. Hearers; Attempted Suicides, Heart attacks, Exodus of Residents Reported’, read one headline from the time. ‘Listeners Faint...Pray...Prepare to Flee...’ is another example of the emotive writing the papers churned out in response to the broadcast.

2) How did newspapers present the story? 

-They said that it was a hoax making radio seem wrong for presenting such a scary and damaging story,causing newspaper rot gain more audiences and people didn’t want rot trust and listen to nradoo any more.

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

-Since it came on the scene commercially in the 1920s, many feared radio would kill off the other main media industries at the time. The radio brought news, music and more into people’s homes in an accessible, realistic and direct way; arguably there was no need to go and buy a newspaper or record if you could just switch on your radio.

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

-Just like the introduction of newer media today, older generations feared the corruption of the young by uncensored, unregulated radio content.

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

-Stuart Hall, developed a theory of ‘reception’ that helps us understand the diverse ways audiences react. He said people make a judgement on any media text based on their experiences and understanding of the world. Applying this to TWOTW, you might argue that listeners will have come up with their own understanding of the show (and subsequent stories in the papers) as individuals, offering either dominant, negotiated or oppositional readings. This would explain why some loved the show and accepted it instantly as entertainment while others panicked and called the police.

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.

-'Radios Terror Brings Panic in All Areas; People Lose All Controls’ and ‘Radio Fake Scares Nation’.