ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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Clink on the link above and enjoy the original Mercury Theater production of War of the Worlds.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[wich2]

Just for the sake of accuracy! It's "WellEs." (As one Mr. H.G. notes below:)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUdghSMTXsU

-Craig

P.S. - It's noted as a Campbell Playhouse there on Youtube, but it was actually a local show.

[Bud Brewster]

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Thanks, Craig! The correction has been made.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[wich2]

Welcome.

(And the linked interview is fun.)

[filmdetective]

Has anyone other than myself, read the article that claims the "Panic" over the War of the Worlds radio broadcast was a "Myth?"

https://slate.com/culture/2013/10/orson-welles-war-of-the-worlds-panic-myth-the-infamous-radio-broadcast-did-not-cause-a-nationwide-hysteria.html

I've always been very fascinated with the word, "Myth" and its use, often used to indicate an untrue teaching or belief, sometimes referring to events that "really" did happen, which might be the case that this article states, basically that while the broadcast really did take place, and some people could have believed the Martian invasion was "really" taking place, the belief that the broadcast caused a widespread panic across the USA, is incorrect.

One author stated that the film "Blood Feast" was "near mythical," which would be something to discuss on the Off Topic forum.

[Bud Brewster]

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The article at the link in the above post does a thorough job of investigating the matter, and it appears that that there's virtual no truth the stories that a panic — even on a small scale — ever took place.

It was a classic example of the way newspapers were desperate to sell copies, so they sensationalized anything they though they could get away with.

To illustrate this point, read a significant portion of the article at the link provided above (yes, I know it's long-winded), then read this sample newspaper from 1938.

Oh brother . . .


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[tmlindsey]

When my wife's maternal grandfather was still alive I asked him about the broadcast and if he was fooled. Not surprisingly he said that he wasn't fooled "but it made you stop and think, though". He also said that he "knew several people who were fooled". Knowing how gullible the people in this area struck me when I moved here, I was not surprised to hear that.

Without starting a political debate:

We know that the same sort of "fake news" can have a similar effect now. I see no reason to doubt that many people bought the Martian invasion as real, and then denied that they were fooled later and tried to sweep it under the rug.

Besides, what about these incidents?

In February 1949, a Spanish-language version produced by Leonardo Páez and Eduardo Alcaraz for Radio Quito in Quito, Ecuador, reportedly set off panic in the city. Police and fire brigades rushed out of town to engage the supposed alien invasion force. After it was revealed that the broadcast was fiction, the panic transformed into a riot. Hundreds of people attacked Radio Quito and El Comercio, a local newspaper owner of the radio station that had participated in the hoax by publishing false reports of unidentified objects in the skies above Ecuador in the days preceding the broadcast. The riot resulted in at least seven deaths, including those of Paez's girlfriend and nephew. Radio Quito was off the air for two years until 1951. After the incident, Paez self-exiled to Venezuela, where he lived in Mérida until his death in 1991.

In October 1971, a Brazilian Portuguese version by Rádio Difusora, was aired from the Northeast state of Maranhão. This version remained faithful to Welles' adaptation, changing several American cities names to Brazilian state capitals. Foreign cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago were reported as engulfed by a poisonous smoke after several cylinders have fallen and tripods were defeating all human resistance. During the transmission, the director of the radio station (also performing) proceeded to explain that many of the station employees were allowed to go home and join their families, but his speech is frequently interrupted by strange noises, which he explains as being result of a worldwide radio interference that was disturbing all transmissions on Earth. Finally, a street reporter announces that gigantic machines were crossing Rio de Janeiro, before the city is attacked by the poison fog. Some listeners took the broadcast for a real news bulletin and shortly after, the Brazilian Army shut down the radio station, only allowing it back on the air a few days later.

I think if someone adapted this story/idea to social media and posted it, the more mindless users of things like TikTok or NitWit or whatever the substitute brain those people use these days is, I've no doubt it would create a similar panic. Maybe not millions of people, but a substantial number of them.

Now excuse me while I go eat a slice of child flesh-topped pizza with my secret Reptilian friend Tom Hanks
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"Have you never wondered what it would be like to walk between the ticks and tocks of Time?"

[Bud Brewster]

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Great post, Tim! I'd never heard about any of those events, and they make a fantastic follow-up to the myth about the Welles radio drama.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[tmlindsey]

My wife did about 2 minutes of research on Newspapers.com last night and found several articles in local papers around the US about local incidents of panicking citizens, so there certainly were enough people to warrant coverage.
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"Have you never wondered what it would be like to walk between the ticks and tocks of Time?"