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>.
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ReplyDeleteNo I think some people would react horribly while others wouldn't, because not many people beleive in aleins/martians.
ReplyDeleteSomething i found similar was that both martians came in a spacecraft.
In the novel itself "The War of The Worlds" the story is being told from 1st person perspective while in the radio play"Invasion From Mars" is told from a 3rd person perspective until the bottom of page 298 it starts to talking in 1st person. But in both pieces the aliens/martians arrive in a type of UFO.
ReplyDeleteIf this broadcast would have occurred now not many people would believe it but if a child would have listened to this they would have believed it and started to get scared and some of them would have been extremely excited.
Also the setting changed
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DeleteFrom part two chapter seven to the epilogue, nothing mentioned is in the radio play. The radio play downcasts the importance of the stranger/artilleryman's debate with the narrator/Professor Pierson, which affected how the way in which the narrator viewed the aliens and the world then on. The radio play also ignore the part in which the aliens are weeping their strange tears. Another important part that was not included was the happily ever after in the story where the narrator lives with his wife.Also neglected was the fact that the narrator was delusional for days after the aliens were defeated. All in all, I find that, although the radio play was interesting, I personally would like to read the War of the Worlds, the book, because it has more detail and more originality.
ReplyDeleteIf a radio play were to be wired today, I think less people will believe it (because inevitably some will believe it) because people are more used to things like aliens from outer space as a cause of the numerous T.V. shows about aliens today.I believe that since children have more imagination, they will be less prone to panic resulting from, this.
Wow! I wrote that much! Didn't feel like it.
DeleteThe radio play and the novel were written with different perspectives as Malak said. The stories are both about Martians although the radio play takes place in New Jersey while the novel takes place in London.The novel also has more detail than the radio play.
ReplyDeleteIf this radio play was broadcasted today, I think everyone would have heard the disclaimer in the beginning because it would be on TV but if they didn't, they would probably think it's just some fictional story.
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DeleteVery good answer Umayrah!Keep it up!
DeleteFor the comparison part both the radio play and novel had the same plot. The radio play was just summarized into a a play but the actual story was the same thing but with more detail. The radio play is more of just the perspective of many people and the novel was the perspective of mostly one person.
ReplyDeleteIf the radio play happened today I think almost everyone would hear the disclaimer and very few will panic. I would listen to it and I think may people would listen to it too.
The audio version of the radio play and the novel were different because first of all they were taken place in different places. While the novel has taken place in London the radio play had taken place in New York. The novel was much more detailed than the radio play as the radio play had to be shortened.
ReplyDeleteI feel that if that radio play was shown today not many people would believe it as the radio play would feel older and wouldn't have the tone many people use today. Maybe some people would believe it but later will realize that its just some play or story being told.
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DeleteI don't think the question meant the same radio play (whether people would believe it or not). I think it meant that if a radio play or tv show aired that was claiming similar things, would people react the same as they did in 1938 when "Invasion from Mars" was aired. Good response though!
DeleteIf the war of the worlds radio play was preformed today I don't think anyone would believe it. I think that because many people don't listen to radios and if they it's for music . Its's hardly believable there are too many movies about this topic these days make it a very interesting genre not a scary "actual" invasion.
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ReplyDelete"Invasion from Mars" and "War of the Worlds" are two forms of literature that have many similarities and differences. Some similarities are the genre. Both are a space romance. Also, "Invasion from Mars" is basically a retelling of "War of the Worlds", but it's shortened into a radio play. However, there are also some differences. "War of the Worlds" is a 150 page novel (approximately), while "Invasion from Mars" is a radio play. Also, "War of the Worlds" takes place in England, but "Invasion from Mars takes place in New York City.
ReplyDeleteIf a radio play or fake TV news broadcast that claimed something similar to the claim of "Invasion of Mars" were to air today, I think it would raise a lot of controversy. Today, many things that were unknown about Mars are known today. Scientists recently discovered water on Mars, so maybe people would use that as evidence of the news broadcast being true. However, I don't think people would react in such extreme ways, such as suicidal attempts and leaving their homes. Nevertheless, that was considered an exaggeration from the newspapers, so if people didn't respond like that in the 1900s, they probably won't in the 21st century, where you can know within hours whether something is true or not by the click of a button.
Very good reasoning Eman! Keep it up!
DeleteThank you Malak!
DeleteThe radio play,“The Invasion from Mars” and the“War of the Worlds” are similar and different. They are similar because they both are about invasions from Mars by Martians.They are different because one is a novel and the other is a radio play. Also the novel takes place in London, England while the radio play takes place in New York.
ReplyDeleteIf such a broadcast occurred today, I think that more people than from 1938 may realize that this is not possible and not believe it. While others may not realize that the broadcast is not real and just a work of literature and may believe it and panic. Also there is a possibility that more people may believe it because of all the movies and books written and made about alien/martian invasions that they might just believe it and panic.
The novel and the radio play have their differences but also have similarities.The main difference i saw was that in the radio play the setting is in NEW JERSEY and in the novel the setting took place in london.Also i saw that the novel had much more detail then the radio play,and the novel had around 150 pages but the radio play was summarized.
ReplyDeleteI believe that if the radio play were to come on no one will believe it other than the sci fi people because now days people only use televisions and on a TV there is images and all the images people see in movies know that it is not real.People would not panic but hearing an invasion may scare people but not cause them to go around and causing chaos.
This is Ayesha typing from Ayah's account.
ReplyDeleteAs Malak and Umayrah mentioned in their blog comments, the novel "War of the Worlds" is written in a first person point of view while the radio play is a mixture of both first person and third person points of view. Also, "War of the Worlds" takes place in London, England, sometime during the late 1890s or the early 1900s, while the radio play takes place in different parts of America on October 30, 1938.
If such a broadcast occurred today, I think barely anyone would believe in it and/or panic except for young children, conspiracy theorists, and people who are obsessed with the idea that there might be life on other planets.
Great Job Ayesha!
DeleteAs Omar said in his blog comment the setting and the details between “War of the Worlds” and the radio play differ. The radio plays setting is in New Jersey. But the actual novel itself took place in London. The novel had many pages that had many details in each and every page.
ReplyDeleteI think that if this broadcast came on nowadays, I don’t think anyone would be afraid or panic from the thing they just heard. The only people that might believe this is children.
Great Job Ayah!
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ReplyDelete“War of the Worlds” and the “Invasion from Mars” are quite different, but they have similarities too. First of all, “War of the Worlds” is a novel, while the “Invasion from Mars” is a radio play. Due to “War of the Worlds” being a novel, it is much longer and detailed than “Invasion from Mars”. “Invasion from Mars” is a mini version of “War of the Worlds”. The novel takes place in London, England, while the radio play mainly takes place in New York. On the other hand, they are similar because they both are Scientific Romances and fictional stories. Also, both include a martian invasion on Earth. If a broadcast of this occurred today, I doubt people would take it seriously. They would just take it as a joke and laugh about it. Nobody would take it seriously, other than immature little kids.
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ReplyDeleteBoth The Invasion From Mars and The War of the Worlds had similar elements. However, one of the main differences was the setting. In the radio play, the Martians invade New Jersey. Meanwhile, in the novel, the Martians attack London.
ReplyDeleteIf a radio play similar to The Invasion From Mars were to be broadcast today, I think it would cause even more panic. I see that even more people are gullible now than before. Also, social media would play an important role, as it could spread news of an invasion quickly.
"War of the Worlds" and "Invasion from Mars" have many differences as well as similarities. The first difference would be that one was a novel and one was a radio play. Another difference would be that the setting of the story and some minor details are not the same in the radio play and the novel. The novel takes place in London and the radio play is based in New York City, and parts of New Jersey. They are both the same because they are both fictional stories. Both forms of the literary piece also include the role of Martians who land on a farm on Earth. The names of the farms are different but the same event takes place in both. Another difference would be that one was the original novel written by H.G. Wells and that the radio play was a rewritten form of the story by Orsen Welles. If a broadcast of this play would occur today, I don't think it would cause panic in the minds of the people because people know that there is no such things such as aliens attacking the Earth and that they know that these events only occur in stories and movies. They wouldn't take it seriously and would just take it as a story like Star Wars which is a sci-fi story. If people would panic, then I would think that people, even if they have this much knowledge in this world, they still will act like immature kids and people who are ignorant.
ReplyDelete"The War of the Worlds" took place in London meanwhile, “Invasion from Mars" took place in New Jersey. They both have the same plot overall. The "Invasion from Mars" isn't as detailed as "The War of the Worlds”. They are told in different perspectives as Malak mentioned earlier. In the novel the main character hides for some time being however, in the radio play the characters go and observe and don't hide. If this broadcast were to happen today, I don’t think people would panic as much because now we have a lot more knowledge than we did have back then.
ReplyDelete"War of the Worlds", a novel, and "Invasion from Mars", a radio play, are very similar, but they still have quite a few differences. "Invasion from Mars" is basically a retelling of "war of the Worlds", but was slightly adapted and altered to be a radio play. For example, there is no depth in characters and doesn't have nearly as much detail as the novel. Additionally, the setting is also different. "War of the Worlds" took place in London, but "Invasion from Mars" took place in New Jersey and New York. Aside from these differences, both stories are very similar, following the same plot. They are both scientific romances, too.
ReplyDeleteIf a similar broadcast as "invasion from Mars" took place today, I think that people would start to panic a little, seeing that stories broadcasted over the radio are generally true, but wouldn't have a very drastic reaction. By the end of the play, they would realize its not real. Besides, its the 21st century and people can find out whether news is true or not in a matter of minutes.
The novel, ''The War of the Worlds" and the radio play, "Invasion of Mars" have their similiarities and differences. Some similarities are the involvement of Martians coming to Earth and causing destruction and that they are both scientific romances. But there are also differences between the two. One difference is the type of literature; ''The War of the Worlds" is a novel while "Invasion of Mars" is a radio play. Another difference is the setting.The novel takes place in England, while the radio play takes in New Jersey.
ReplyDeleteIf such a broadcast occurred today on the radio, some people might panic for a while,but then understand that it wasn't real by probably checking another source (the news on T.V.). Although, most people probably wouldn't care because they are used to hearing these kinds of things in movies.
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DeleteLike I mentioned in class,they use different points of view such as in the story, they focus on one main character while in the radio play, there is really no main character and all are spread out evenly to different roles. Also, another thing is that since it was only a radio play, it was not described vividly and well compared to the novel. But they both have similarities such as both being invaded by martians and both causing destruction in a *blank* city. One more difference is that the settings are changed such as the story in the novel was set in London,England while in the radio play, it was held in New York City,New York.
ReplyDeleteIf the radio play were to be broadcasted today, I think many people will be scared in the beginning. But, due to the amount of technology and modern day communication, everyone will found out that it was a radio play even if they did not hear the disclaimer
P.S. I'm sorry I did it late, I did it again, but i wasn't logged into my email so it just disappeared when I thought it went up. (Well, third time's the charm!)
The same thing happened to me. I had to type it twice
DeleteThe War of the World novel is similar, but in some ways different, compared to the radio play, “Invasion from Mars”, such as how it is narrated. The War of the Worlds novel is told in first person, while the “Invasion from Mars” is narrated in third person. The novel contained more detail and description than the radio play. Unlike the radio play, the novel has few more events, such as the narrator being reunited with his wife. Another major difference is that the novel took place in London, while the radio play took place in New Jersey. But, both of these pieces have the same plot-Martians invading Earth-and the same conflict.
ReplyDeleteIf the radio play, ”Invasion from Mars”, is presented today, I think it won’t cause as much of an uproar as it did in the past, and people will take more as a fictional entertainment, not as an actual invasion from Mars!(For some reason, I had the same problem, even though I did it on the first day)