Now that you have read The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, it is time to explore his other classic story, War of the Worlds. This story is about an alien invasion from Mars. It was rewritten and adapted as a radio play in 1938, and presented by Orson Welles.
The play was infamous for the controversy it sparked. At the time, very few people listened to the program in its entirety--they missed the introduction describing it as a fictional play. Some listeners thought it was a real news broadcast describing a Martian invasion, causing them to panic. At the time, newspapers printed front page articles describing mass hysteria, suicides, and panic caused by the irresponsible radio network that ran the program, even though relatively few listeners had actually heard the program, compared to its competitor on another station (Edgar Bergen). Since newspapers were in direct competition with radio for advertising, they exaggerated the hysteria to discredit radio. So, although it's true that a few listeners panicked, most media analysts today believe that, like the play itself, the mass hysteria of people fleeing their homes and jumping from buildings, was fictional and exaggerated media hype.
Post comments about the following:
Read at least part of the novel War of the Worlds. Next, Listen to the audio version of the radio play as you follow along with the written version. What comparisons can you make between the two?What would happen if such a broadcast occurred today? Would listeners panic?
Here is the script of the original radio play:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/ufo/mars/wow.htm
Enjoy listening to the original Orson Welles production of War of the Worlds here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPG7a2vZRV0
This is a summary of information found in many articles; see:
Pooley, Jefferson, and Michael J. Socolow. "The Myth of the War of the Worlds Panic." Slate. The Slate Group, 28 Oct. 2013. Web. 31 Jan. 2016. <http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/history/2013/10/orson_welles_war_of_the_worlds_panic_myth_the_infamous_radio_broadcast_did.html>.
