summary notes

• was based on the original war of the worlds book which was published in 1897
• War of the worlds is one of the most famous and widely told and repeated stories in media today
• The inspiration for the shock realism documentary style used by Orson Welles was an actual real life disaster, the infamous Hindenburg airship disaster. The famous airship exploded while being covered for news broadcasts by radio journalists live on air. The radio news journalists real shock, fear and panic watching the ship explode and people burning alive and this was reported live on air as it was actually happening and this led to Orson Welles copying it.
• AUTEUR- Orson Welles controlled or had input into every aspect of the production with a distinct unique vision which means he can be called an auteur, he developed new and revolutionary media techniques working in radio and film engaging in exciting new ways.
• STEREOTYPES- stereotypes can be used either positively or negatively, the characters featured in the War of the worlds are easily identifiable types, they are also largely male, confirming that this was the dominant viewpoint (patriarchy) at the time of the broadcast, the use of stereotypes in order to transmit an intended meaning to an audience quickly is one way in which producers can be relatively assured of how a meaning will be decoded by the dominant culture.
• example of stereotype- professor- the use of the stereotypical 'professor' character positioned as a trusted male expert was likely to draw the audience into the producers' intended reading which might suggest intent on the producers' part to encourage a panicked response.
• FCC- the federal communications commission
• Small town America- the setting of the radio programme in small town America increased its immediate relatability for audiences so they were much more likely to relate and engage with the narrative that is presented (as opposed to the original book's setting in England)
• 12 thousand articles- within just three weeks the newspapers had published at least 12500 articles about the broadcast and its impact,
• Orson clearly took inspiration from Herbert Morrison's live account of the Hindenburg disaster