war of the worlds

Question 1

Who wrote WOTW and who adapted it on radio?

Answer 1

Written by H.G Wells
Adapted by Orson Welles

Question 2

When did the radio adaptation of WOTW air?

Answer 2

1938 during the “Golden Age” of radio

Question 3

What genre is Orson Welles WOTW?

Answer 3

mixes conventions of science fiction (ailiens coming to earth and causing destruction) with conventions of a radio broadcast (music from the “Park Plaza Hotel” and weather reports from the “government Weather Bureau”) for innovative story telling

Question 4

Apply Jean Bauldriard’s theory to War of the Worlds

Answer 4

the names of places mentioned in the broadcast closely resemble (simulate) real places merging fact and fiction

Question 5

What was the title of the Daily News in NY after the War of the Worlds aired?

Answer 5

Fake Radio “War” Stirs Terror Through U.S

Question 6

Apply the Hypodermic Syringe theory to Welles War of the Worlds

Answer 6

some members of the “passive audience” took the broadcast as truth and ‘fled their homes’ as a result - the broadcast also lead to rumours, further spreading the panic (two step flow theorum)

Question 7

Why was the audience of WOTW susceptible to believing the fiction?

Answer 7

• use of radio codes in the product (interuupted schedualing had been used leading up to WOTW on ww2)
• on CBS, a trusted news site
• Radio fairly new therefor limited media literacy
• highly Christian America would react to the biblical imagery of balls of fire in the sky (Judgement day)
• missed opening (popular show “Chase and Sanborn Hour had ended on rival channel)

Question 8

Why might news papers have exaggerated the effect of WOTW?

Answer 8

Rapid growth of radio in the ’30s declined newspaper revenue, so causing moral panic over radio may regain spending to the newspaper industry