War of the Worlds Broadcast

1. In 1938, H.G Wells The War of the Worlds was broadcasted in New York city, it caused
widespread panic among Americans. People fled their homes, and many sued the city afterwards.
Main reasons behind why the broadcast was taken so seriously was, the theme of extraterrestrial
life was not as popular in the late thirties as it is today, and people also took radio broadcasts
more seriously at the time, since WWI ended two decades before, and WWII was about to start.
A second factor as to why the broadcast was taken so seriously, was the drama and realism that
accompanied all of the music and the sound effects. A third reason for the seriousness taken by
the general population, was the ignoring/ of the disclaimers that the broadcast was a reenactment,
and not a report of an actual occurring event.
2. The way The War of The Worlds is related to the ideas behind Marshall McLuhans The
Medium is the Message, and The Global Village, is firstly the way it was put out to the public.
The medium was radio, if it was portrayed using a more classic method, such as theatre, people
would definitely not have taken it more seriously. The way McLuhans idea of a global village
applies to the chaos caused by The War of the Worlds broadcast, is that everything is so tightly
knit, and when the broadcast was played once, thats all it took to get entire states into panic.
3. The beginning could play out, but such an affect from the general public would most likely not
occur. Using an analogy between a reoccurrence of the situation and The Boy who Cried Wolf,
its doubtful that everything would play out the way it did before.
4. Orson Welles also had the original story of The War of the Worlds shortened and edited to take
place in present day America instead of Victoria era England, this made it more personal and
more real to anyone listening within the United States.