war of the worlds

 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 conflict between mankind and an extra- terrestrial race from Mars.

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?

MANY FLEE HOMES TO ESCAPE ‘GAS RAID FROM MARS’ – PHONE CALLS SWAMP POLICE AT BROADCAST OF WELLES FANTASY

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 borrowing the conventions of the radio newscast, he is able to create real moments of shock and awe, which almost certainly account for the strong reaction it received. By creating a hybrid form, Welles blurred the boundaries between fact and fiction in a way that audiences had never experienced.

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

In September 1938, one month prior to the plays broadcast, Hitler signed the Munich Agreement annexing portions of Czechoslovakia and creating the ‘Sudetenland’. Europe’s failed appeasement of Germany was viewed with much concern and for many it seemed that another world war was inevitable.

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

CBS Radio

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

The newspaper industry sensationalised the panic to prove to advertisers, and regulators, that radio management was irresponsible and not to be trusted.

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

Yes, because the audiences were quick to believe the broadcast and unquestioned the information.

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. 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 dominant or preferred reading by the audience is the one intended by the creator of the text. However, a person might read it in an oppositional way depending upon factors such as their age, gender or background.

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?

The digital media landscape has changed this because now social media means that people can comment and verify information. Therefore, media products cannot fool audiences because now audiences are now prosumers 

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? 

Orson Welles chose to tell the story using realistic radio conventions – such as flash news bulletins, expert interviews and vox pops – and set it in contemporary New Jersey.

The Great Depression had made food and jobs scarce and, but through it all, the radio was a constant source of information, comfort, advice and entertainment. The radio had become a household essential, with four out of five homes owning one.

2) How did newspapers present the story? 

The papers made a conscious decision to present it as a ‘hoax’, inferring there was something

malicious about the intentions of those making and broadcasting it, and were swift to point out the sinister power of the medium of radio itself.

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

The radio brought news, music and more into people's homes in an accessible way

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

As a relatively new media form, there was still widespread scepticism about radio’s benefits and a lot of concern about its potential downsides.. As the story developed, the papers thrived on stories of citizens wanting to sue the network for damages and also a senator who seized the moment to push for the creation of a radio censorship board. The government even got on board, in the shape of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which ordered an investigation into the broadcaster, CBS, which, five weeks later, ended having found no wrongdoing.

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

Gerbner's Cultivation theory: suggests that high frequent viewers are more susceptible and the people that had been listening for the past few days were used to the news interruptions so were therefore, more vulnerable.

Frankfurt School's Hypodermic Needle model:  tells us that the listeners were passive and did not question the news they received

Stuart Hall's Reception theory:  tells us the variations of consumer reactions, dominant, negotiated, oppositional

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 Play Terrifies Nation 

‘Radio Terror Brings Panic in All Areas; People Lose All Control’