War Of The Worlds Flashcards
Who was it directed by?
Orson Welles, a well known director of the time
What was War of The Worlds based on?
WOTW was based on an existing sci-fi book
What did the radio writer do to modernise the book?
Changed books setting to modern locations.
When was the radio show first broadcast?
30th October 1938, day before halloween, explaining its design.
Why was War Of The Worlds broadcast on radio?
It was a new exciting form of media at the time meaning a lot of people was listening to it.
Where was it broadcast?
Mercury Theatre, a station that regularly broadcasted fictional stories.
How was the broadcast layered out?
The broadcast would randomly interrupt radio broadcasts.
What made it feel real and relatable?
Mention of real life locations
Why did they choose to have no ad breaks in the first half?
Made it seem more real
What did newspapers do to WOTW
They emphasised and exaggerated the effects of the broadcast.
Eg. claimed people committed suicide and had heart attacks
What historical context made this seem even more real?
Right before 2nd world war and therefore tension was high and audiences was on edge.
Some audiences believed it was Germans attacking.
Why couldnt people just check if its real?
There was no way to fact check, no Tv or Internet
What may modern audiences believe about this broadcast?
Find it strange that people believed it as we are far more used to fiction being in the media.
