- ‘War Of The Worlds’ was a live broadcast which broadcasted on Columbia broadcasting systems (CBS) on October 30th 1938 8-9pm.
- Producers – Urban Myth Films, Fox Networks Group, Studio Canal.
- The broadcast was based of the book written by H.G Welles in 1898 and aired on the Halloween episode of ‘The mercury Theatre on The Air’. Listeners around the States believed that the broadcast was real and informing the public that Martians had invaded New Jersey, this instilled panic across the country.
- The hypodermic needle theory suggests a media text can have a powerful and immediate effect on the passive audience. It would seem “The War of the Worlds” production supports this argument because so many terrified listeners, for example, “rushed out of their houses” to escape the “gas raid”.
- The episode is famous for inciting a panic by convincing some members of the listening audience that a Martian invasion was taking place, though the scale of panic is disputed, as the program had relatively few listeners.
“The War of the Worlds” was the 17th episode of the CBS Radio series.
news bulletins would make people believe this actually happened.
Essay questions :
- Explain how Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds broadcast used the codes and conventions of radio to convince the audience Martians were invading New York.
- How do the cultural and historical circumstances affect the audience’s interpretation of media texts? Refer to the Close Study Product War of the Worlds in your answer.
- Discuss how and why audiences might respond to and interpret media texts differently depending on the social context they are consumed. Refer to the Close Study Product War of the Worlds in your answer.
- “There is no doubt the media has a profound influence on the audience’s thoughts and behaviour.” To what extent does your analysis of the Close Study Product War of the Worlds support this view?