Orson Welles broadcasted the story of War Of The Worlds as an experiment on the radio. No one truly realized the impact that this would have on the people, and the panic that it sent everywhere. Some people believed that aliens were attacking them, some believe that they saw spaceships in the sky. When asked why the broadcast was sent, Orson Welles apologised and said that it all was a joke. He realized that more people actually believed everything this "magic box" spoke, and wanted to see if people would believe that an alien attack was occurring if spoken from the magic box. It turned out sour for those who believed. Even weeks after the initial broadcast, firefighters and police officers were heading into the woods and mountains to tell the hiding people that there was no attack. This is what power the radio had during that time period.
After listening to the entire broadcast myself, I can fully understand why people would panic the way they did when it first aired. The first half an hour was a non stop commercial free intro for the story. It made it seem realistic, thus creating the illusion of a realistic alien attack. It reminded me of the broadcasts I heard on 9/11. I remember being picked up early from school, because I live on Long Island, and we had no idea what was going on. On the way home I heard the live coverage in the city via radio, and I could hear the screams and fire/police trucks in the background. It scared the crap out of me, and that's what I felt when I heard War Of The Worlds.
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