Published Nov. 9, 2003 in the Hibbing Daily Tribune
On Oct. 30, 1938, Orson Welles and the Mercury Theater shocked the nation with their presentation of H.G. Wells “The War of the Worlds” on CBS. From coast to coast, Americans still naïve in the ways of the media took up arms against what they thought was a legitimate attack on Earth by aliens from the planet Mars.
On the 65th anniversary of the original show, KUWS in Superior, Wis. (where I work) broadcast a live, local presentation of the script, along with a behind-the-scenes stage play about might have been going on immediately before and during the show in the CBS studios.
While we did learn about some of the foibles of live radio drama last week, (sometimes, microphones don’t work) we did not cause the same level of crazed panic that shook America in the autumn of 1938. The people of the Twin Ports and Northwestern Wisconsin did not take up arms (at least any more than they normally do when the “guvmint” gets to big ‘fer its britches). It could be that the aliens’ microphones just weren’t working properly, but more likely it is because everyone knew that it was just a show – just some fun make-believe you might find on the SciFi Channel.
But in 1938, this seemingly obvious piece of make-believe scared the beejeezus out of many Americans. Most citizens trusted the words coming out of the radio as though they were coming from a dear friend. People had yet to recognize that the mass media could be used to deceive people just as easily as it could be used to inform or entertain them.
Now, most Americans can recognize the tiny flaws in “The War of the Worlds.” They know that reporters can’t drive across New Jersey in 10 minutes and that military types generally don’t narrate their actions for journalists during armed conflict. Since most people get their news from television now, it becomes harder to fool people who demand visual proof of what’s being said.
Can you imagine how deep the deception would have to be to incite needless national panic on the same level of “The War of the Worlds?” I mean, it stretches the mind. You would need the major media networks, the government and the military to cooperate in order to pull it off. You would need a faked state of the union address and … well, let’s just say it would take a lot. I’m sure no one would stoop low enough to do that.
The naïve nature of the people who bought the 1938 radio broadcast is not unlike that of any people exposed to new forms of media. When the Internet started to take off a few years ago, how many of us at first believed that Walt Disney Jr. would send us $5,000 if we forwarded an e-mail to 20 of our friends? Even if you SAY you didn’t you probably know about 20 people who did believe, forwarded the e-mail and to this date still anxiously await their $5,000 check from a non-existent person.
Orson Welles was an exceptional performer, but a visionary writer and director. “The War of the Worlds” shocked people into the modern era of broadcast media and Welles later revolutionized the movie industry with “Citizen Kane.” How much genuine media revolution is taking place now? And no, you can’t count “Survivor” as revolutionizing reality TV. Reality TV is devolution, not revolution.
It was a blast to see “The War of the Worlds” in action 65 years after it scared a mighty nation the night before Halloween. We know now that aliens from Mars probably won’t attack us. But we’ve learned to keep a keen eye out for the symbolic alien attacks that can come through our radios, TVs and computers – at least most of us. The rest continue to send their bank account information to those South African businessmen with money to hide in America.
Perhaps it was their great-great grandparents that formed militias to fight Martians more than six decades ago.
Aaron J. Brown is a columnist for The Daily Tribune.