War of the Worlds – A Case Study in How Media Can Obscure Reality

Dec 2, 2020

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This is a recording of a radio broadcast of the Mercury Theater on the Air on October 30, 1938. The drama is called War of the Worlds, which tells in vivid detail how the Earth came under attack by Martians with huge machines of destruction and death. It included enactments of news bulletins describing the steady elimination of humans everywhere in the world, including New York City. As the story progresses, the grim reality becomes clear that there is no way to prevent the imminent elimination of all human life on Earth. Many listeners missed the beginning of the program where it was explained that the drama was adapted from a book by Orson Wells, who incidentally was the radio storyteller as well. Without that information, some of them thought the news bulletins were the real thing. Some were seized by fear and panic. It is said that some even committed suicide. The recording is included in this collection for two reasons. First, it is a classic representation of the era of radio drama that became a major force in shaping American culture during the early 20th Century. Second, it illustrates how even the most improbable event can become real in our minds so long as information about it is delivered by a communications channel that is so ubiquitous and pervasive that it is nearly impossible for the average person to even consider that it might not be true. If you hear it on the radio, see it on TV, or read about it in a large-circulation newspaper, it becomes truth by default. [The word pandemic comes to mind.] 1938 Oct 30 – Source: Freedom Forum

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You can view this video from several sources. Cached versions are adjusted for optimum quality, if needed, and they provide access if original sources fail.

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2 Comments

  1. Columbiform Bird

    Mr Griffin,
    I can find War of the Worlds….Thank You.
    …when I was without internet only on airwaves, It was very dark, like a pit…I lost my shortwave radio, and had to watch commercial tv…. To be frank, they scare the s–t out of me, and Im sure everyone.
    But when one examines the facts, when the facts are to be found, it is evident, and exposes the fact that the media is exploiting a ‘bad cold’ in order to create a crisis and hysteria.
    Whatever happened to Trump.Biden in Ukraine.
    If you get hit by a bus and have covid, covid killed you.
    Thank God Covid was not around in World War 2 because COVID KILLED all the people in concentration camps, eh?
    all the vets in Vietnam were killed by covid!
    And Agent Orange is Covid!
    lol.
    Chicken little…..Chicken Lickin.
    Sadam Hussein has covid bombs in Iraq and Syria.
    ISIS is making covid.
    Corporate Communism…..I wish that, You Sir, could have imagined that so long ago…. 🙂
    Thanks Mr G.

  2. Columbiform Bird

    corporate ethics. corporate law and corporate standards… corporate moral fiber…corporate news…corporate weather..corporate induction of hysteria…corporate schools, kindergarden thru graduate school..corporate food, restaurants , corporate farms..corporate clothing. corporate language and accent. corporate mechanics..corporate machines.corporate police. corporate family.corporate firefighters. corporate hospitals.corporate doctors. corporate medicine.corporate fishing. corporate space exploration. corporate entertainment. corporate music and hymns? corporate small business. corporate family.corporate prisons. corporate mobs and demostrations..corporate banks. corporate debt mongers. ….corporate government…corporate communism…
    alot of corporations…

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