War of the worlds - Radio Flashcards
When was WOTW broadcasted?
October 1938
What Genre is WOTW?
Drama/ sci-fi/ news/ documentary
What was the Running time of WOTW?
1 hour
What theatre company staged the broadcast?
Mercury Theatre on air
Who directed WOTW?
Orson Wells
What Radio station was WOTW broadcasted on?
CBS
How does WOTW align with Gerbner’ cultivation theory?
During the tie period Americans were constantly exposed to breaking news because of the threat of WW2. WOTW exploited this and used a conventional news format to make it seem authentic enticing a reaction from the audience
What techniques did the broadcast use to make it sound authentic?
Began with Music from a live orchestra which is interrupted by news bulletins
They use real locations in the bulletins
Bulletins were inspired by those that were used to report Nazi updates.
People were used to flash bulletins
Gasping voice of the announcer
Muffled scream
How doe WOTW align with Stuart Hall’ reception theory?
Preferred reading - the adaption cleverly uses authentic sounding news bulletins to make the story more immersive and exciting.
Oppositional reading - the broadcast needlessly uses authentic sounding news reads creating panic within America
Hybrid Genre
- Mixing a story or a dramatization with the the news and documentary conventions
Radio Industry
- first global mass communication
- People couldnt read making Newspapers pointless
- Advertisements on radio went from 1% in 1928 to 15% in 1940
Battle against the papers
- Newspapers overexaggerated the amount of people that believed the broadcast when it was only 2% to make them look worse
- Sensationalised it
How many really believed it?
- 10 % understood the actual story
- 10% thought invasion by aliens
- 10% thought natural catastrophe
- 25% thought it was the Germans
