War of the Worlds: Blog tasks
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 comes from the 1898 novel by HG Wells which illustrates the story of an alien invasion and the subsequent 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?
3) How did the New York Times report the reaction the next day?
4) How did author Brad Schwartz describe the the broadcast and its reaction?
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 In recent years, however, different sources have suggested that the mass hysteria reported by the press was an exaggeration of the actual events.
The New York Daily News, Ben Gross, in his 1954 memoir also debunks the myth of mass hysteria by claiming that “New York’s streets were nearly deserted that night.”
He argues that “the stories of those whom the show frightened offer a fascinating window onto how users engage with media content, spreading and reinterpreting it to suit their own world views. But it’s even more important to understand how the press magnified and distorted those reactions, creating a story that terrified the nation all over again, so that we can recognise when the same thing happens today. Our news media still have a penchant for making us fear the wrong things, of inflating certain stories into false Armageddons, as they did with War of the Worlds.”
5) Why did Orson Welles use hybrid genres and pastiche and what effect might it have had on the audience?
Hybrid genres and pastiche in order to create an effect on the audience. For example he creates a hybrid form of genre by mixing traditional storytelling conventions with news conventions successfully blurring the lines between fact and fiction in a way that nobody had experienced before.
6) How did world events in 1938 affect the way audiences interpreted the show?
Everyone thought a war was going to take place again. This event caused many of the population to seriously consider the possibilities of another world war. During this time many radio stations such as CBS frequently interrupted their programmes to bring in news about the situation in Europe.
7) Which company broadcast War of the Worlds in 1938?
CBS Radio network
8) Why might the newspaper industry have deliberately exaggerated the response to the broadcast?
8) Why might the newspaper industry have deliberately exaggerated the response to the broadcast?
The newspapers may have exaggerated everything to keep consumers frightened and hooked on their radio stations and newspapers.
9) Does War of the Worlds provide evidence to support the Frankfurt School's Hypodermic Needle theory?
9) Does War of the Worlds provide evidence to support the Frankfurt School's Hypodermic Needle theory?
War of the worlds was largely discredited
10) How might Gerbner's cultivation theory be applied to the broadcast?
10) How might Gerbner's cultivation theory be applied to the broadcast?
Increasing fear of war and the "We interrupt this programme" breaking news bulletin.
11) Applying Hall's Reception Theory, what could be the preferred and oppositional readings of the original broadcast?
11) Applying Hall's Reception Theory, what could be the preferred and oppositional readings of the original broadcast?
Preferred and oppositional reading: how much panic did Orsen Wells actually want to create.
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, with increasing knowledge of technology and the media, the phenomenon induced by Orson Welles cannot be recreated in the modern age.
Analysis and opinion
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, with increasing knowledge of technology and the media, the phenomenon induced by Orson Welles cannot be recreated in the modern age.
Analysis and opinion
1) Why do you think the 1938 broadcast of War of the Worlds has become such a significant moment in media history?
2) War of the Worlds feels like a 1938 version of 'fake news'. But which is the greater example of fake news - Orson Welles's use of radio conventions to create realism or the newspapers exaggerating the audience reaction to discredit radio?
I believe that the newspapers attempt at capitalising on War of the Worlds' reception is a greater example of fake news
3) Do you agree with the Frankfurt School's Hypodermic Needle theory? If not, was there a point in history audiences were more susceptible to believing anything they saw or heard in the media?
I agree with the Frankfurt School's Hypodermic Needle Theory and this was only reinforced by the further development of the media as the audience became less gullible
4) Has the digital media age made the Hypodermic Needle model more or less relevant? Why?
The digital media age has made the Hypodermic Needle Model more relevant today in some aspects and less relevant in others.
6) Is Gerbner's Cultivation theory more or less valid today than it would have been in 1938? Why?
I believe that Gerbner's cultivation theory is more relevant in the modern day as news stories are less unbiased
6) Is Gerbner's Cultivation theory more or less valid today than it would have been in 1938? Why?
I believe that Gerbner's cultivation theory is more relevant in the modern day as news stories are less unbiased
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