War Of The Worlds - 1938 Flashcards
Why is wotw considered a hybrid genre
It combines conventions of science fiction and a news broadcast
Sci-fi
The narrative follows alien machines landing on earth and destroying human resistance with heat rays.
Radio formatting
Typical of a evening radio programme, including live reports about a “slight atmospheric disturbance”
Use of sound bites and musical interludes.
The language used is formal and telling of the transatlantic accent.
What’s the purpose of using radio codes
To make the story more realistic and create a ‘reflection of reality’ according to baudrillard.
Also using locations with real counterparts like Langham field instead of Langley field and the experts come from Princeton Observatory rather than Princeton University Observatory.
Moral panic - Cohen
A moral panic is an exaggerated media reaction to behaviour that deviates from the norms and values of society.
Welles stated wotw was an ‘original dramatisation’ but it was seen as a real broadcast.
New York Times report
“Radio listeners in panic, taking war drama as fact”
Explanations for moral panic
The newspapers may have attempted to demonise the radio by hyperbolising the effects of radio, which could’ve been a result of radio threatening newspapers sales. As it was during the golden age of radio.
Another explanation
The broadcast was around the same time as ww2, so special bulletins for updates about the war were increasingly more common
Hypodermic needle theory
Media texts can have a powerful and immediate effect on a passive audience.
Wotw supports this with the large number of reactions to the broadcast. With listeners “rushed out their houses”.
Gerbner’s cultivation theory
He suggests that heavy television/media consumption leads to audiences becoming more susceptible to encoded messages.
One army vet said that the play was “too realistic for comfort”. Shows some audiences may have believed it because they were familiar with the radio bulletins.
Two-step flow model of communication
The two-step flow of communication model says that most people form their opinions under the influence of opinion leaders, who in turn are influenced by the mass media.
The newspapers acted as an opinion leader by perpetuating the effect of radio, influencing more followers. Others reactions to wotw may have influenced those as well.
Hall
Preferred reading - Find it entertaining in its intended purpose.
Negotiated reading - Know it’s fiction, but see how it can be misinterpreted.
Oppositional reading - See it as a real broadcast
