War of the Worlds

The War of the Worlds broadcast was very interesting. The broadcast made it seem like there was an actual alien invasion happening in real time. It was cool to kind of experience what it was like to listen to only sound in 1938. Entertainment back then was a lot different than it is today. We are very fortunate to have such advanced technology and forms of entertainment. Although the whole alien invasion ended up being fake, the broadcasters made it very believable that it caused the nation to panic. Because there was only sound and no images being broadcasted, the listeners could only believe what was being said and hear the horrible background sounds. The performers played their roles very well by dramatizing the whole situation. The occasional silence played very big roles in convincing the audience it was real. Silence is so important because it is so convincing to the listener. As you are listening to someone talk and then the sound abruptly cuts off, you think that the people talking have just been killed or taken away, or the line of the broadcast has been cut in order to interrupt communication to the outside world.

The morning after the broadcast aired on the national radio, Orson Welles found himself to be the most talked about person in America. From coast-to-coast people believed that there really was an alien invasion. Many people in America became furious with Welles for deceiving them. There were reports of massive protests, suicides, and death threats directed at Welles. In countless interviews after the broadcast, the same question was asked: “Did he intend, or anticipate, that War of the Worlds would throw its audience into panic?”. Welles answered by saying that no one involved with the story expected to deceive anyone because they all thought it was too outlandish and improbable for people to believe. However, if I was in the same situation as the people listening to the radio in 1938, I probably would have believed the broadcast too. Because it was played out so well, it seemed believable. Although the story was the only thing people were talking about, it was not for good reasons. And I don’t think that Welles and his team thought that this broadcast would destroy their careers.