War of the Worlds: Blog tasks

 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?

Orson Welles’ radio adaption of War of the Worlds has become

notable not for the broadcast itself but for the reaction it received,

and the subsequent press reporting of the audience’s reaction to the

broadcast. It is often highlighted as an early example of mass hysteria

caused by the media and used to support various audience theories.

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?

caused by Welles’ clever adaption of the

story, reporting on the events through faux newscasts, and presenting

the narrative in a way that has been described as “too realistic and

frightening.” The following morning newspapers across the country

revelled in the mass hysteria it had caused. The New York Times

headline read, “Radio Listeners in Panic, Taking War Drama as Fact.”

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

panic. 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.” 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.

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

Audiences may feel intrigued and listen more due the fusion of hybrid genres. 

6) How did world events in 1938 affect the way audiences interpreted the show?
some thought that the events were real however other thought knew it was a hoax.

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?

Newspapers might exaggerate as they want come consumers reading the newspaper rather than listen to radios.  

9) 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?

Gerbner’s Cultivation Theory might offer a more accurate explanation

of the audience’s behaviour in response to the radio broadcast since

it emphasises the longer-term effects that media texts have upon

audiences.

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

Stuart Hall’s Reception Theory is useful when considering how the

audience for War of the Worlds interpreted the text (as either fact or

fiction). He argues that audiences might read a media text in different

ways. 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?
No they wont be able to fool audiences again as technology is more advanced.

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?

Yes, because it was the first time a programme tried to fool audiences. This was the start to many other historical moments.

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?

newspapers exaggerating the audience reaction to discredit radio because the radio kept mentioning that this is a hoax.

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 do believe in Frankfurt School's Hypodermic Needle Theory.

4) Has the digital media age made the Hypodermic Needle model more or less relevant? Why?

More relevant as audiences are getting injected with more information about many things through social media. 

5) Do you agree with George Gerbner's Cultivation theory - that suggests exposure to the media has a gradual but significant effect on audience's views and beliefs? Give examples to support your argument.

Yes, it does as media gradually changes audiences views.

6) Is Gerbner's Cultivation theory more or less valid today than it would have been in 1938? Why?

More valid today as people don't know what real and not