War of the Worlds

Classroom Activity Idea
Articles published by Time magazine and Skeptical Inquirer looked
back at the Mercury Theatre on the Air broadcast of War of the
Worlds to examine if a similar media-induced panic could occur in
our current society. Have your students read both online articles and
then voice their own opinions during class. The discussion could be
broadened to identify present-day media hoaxes and scams they
may not initially recognize, such as misinformation about swine flu,
misconceptions spread during the presidential campaigns of 2008,
or false stories that still exist surrounding the events of September
11 or the Columbine shootings. Now that many young (and not
that young) adults readily admit to obtaining the majority of their
news from The Daily Show and The Onion, your class could also
debate what knowledge they gain—perhaps a better appreciation
for multiple sides of an issue—and lose—aside from accuracy—from
relying on these outlets.
The Time article “Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds”:
http://bit.ly/3ti2PG.
The Skeptical Inquirer article “The Martian Panic Sixty Years Later”:
http://bit.ly/117LC9.
To gather more evidence about Orson Welles for this activity, head
to: http://www.war-ofthe-worlds.co.uk
http://www.wellesnet.com.
Dave Cullen covered the Columbine shootings from the beginning,
and his book Columbine is a nine-year attempt to get the facts
straight: http://www.davecullen.com.
For alternate takes on the events and consequences of September
11, students could view both Fahrenheit 9/11 by Michael Moore (but
note that the film is rated R for violent images and strong language)
and Why We Fight by Eugene Jarecki (which addresses warfare
including the fighting in Iraq from a broader perspective):
http://bit.ly/EUwWi
http://bit.ly/lI1In.
The Daily Show’s web site has clips that students could view and
critique: http://www.thedailyshow.com.
The Onion has text as well as video content that could contribute
material for this activity: http://www.theonion.com.
war of the 21st century
The students’ StagePage says:
You are Orson Welles and want to offer a version of the War of the
Worlds radio drama for the 21st century. What would you do?
Some things to consider:
• Would your audience believe that Martians were invading the
earth? If not, what kind of invasion might they believe?
• Would the United States be the most appropriate or appealing
setting?
• What medium would be most likely to get your audience to
respond in the way you’d like? Do you need words only? Images?
Sound?
• How would you disseminate your new version of the story?
Obviously, this activity could be shaped to take a variety of forms
that would best suit your students, most aptly connect with other
topics you’re currently covering, or allow for the greatest bursts of
creativity. Options range from a brief classroom discussion, studentdirected
original radio play performed in front of a live audience, and
a broadcast on YouTube to podcasts from small groups, a live blog as
the events enfold, and a special Facebook page covering the action.
Students may even want to post their reenactments or revisions on
FanFiction.net for peer feedback. On this forum, fanfic writers and
readers share their love for original fiction, and students could garner
tremendous encouragement and receive ample suggestions from the
enthusiastic contributors.
Be sure to energize your students to think about this activity in
atypical ways—you might ask them to specifically ponder how they
would incorporate today’s technology into their projects. Here’s one
fresh idea: Two University of Chicago students have partnered with
Penguin Books to rewrite classic novels and plays through tweets of
140 or fewer characters. You could challenge your students with a
War of the Worlds Twitterature activity—who could make the scariest
news tweet or best capture the atmosphere? Is it possible to convey
the drama of the entire radio play with just a handful of characters?
breaking news
The students’ StagePage says:
As we discovered during the events of September 11, despite the
inroads of technology, the most powerful means of communication
can easily be overwhelmed during a national emergency. Even two
major news stories occurring at once—like the death of Michael
Jackson while the unrest in Iran boiled following that country’s
election—can bring widespread outages on Twitter, Google, and
elsewhere across the Internet.
When War of the Worlds was first aired, people primarily received
breaking news through the radio. Television had been invented but
there were no stations broadcasting yet, newspapers were published
only once or twice daily, and phone calls were an inefficient way to
gather information.
Today, of course, there are multiple options for news: RSS feeds,
television broadcasts, Twitter updates, news web sites, e-mail alerts,
phone texts, radio announcements, and more. What’s your choice?
Pick a major national or international event from the past and reflect
on your interaction with news outlets.
• How did you first learn about the event?
• Did you tell someone else? If so, at what point and how did you tell
that person? If not, why didn’t you?
• Did you have difficulty communicating during or after the event
because of jammed phone lines, web outages, or your own
emotions?
• Did you receive any inaccurate information that you passed on to
others?
• Did your experiences during that event affect how you approach
significant news events today?
Imagine if you were sitting at home doing homework and received an
e-mail alert that a plane had crashed in downtown Chicago. Would it
seem like fiction?
On the evening of December 8, 2005, thousands of people received
just that message when a Southwest Airlines jet slid off the runway
at Midway Airport (not downtown), smashed through a barrier
fence, and stopped on a neighboring street. As it cut a treacherous
path through blowing flakes and seven inches of snow piled on the
ground, the plane charged across a busy intersection, crushed a car,
killed a six-year-old boy, and injured 10 other people.
If you had received that initial message, would you have believed it?
What would you have done next?
Classroom Activity Idea
If you would like to focus this activity as a collaboration instead of as
an individual reflection exercise, you could choose one major news
story for your class to concentrate on. The possibilities are endless:
the 2008 bombings in India, China hosting the Summer Olympics,
presidential election night 2000, or even something from more
distant history like the invasion of Normandy. Have your students
research all web, print, television, and social networking sources on
the subject chosen—or divide them into groups to tackle each genre.
As a class, examine each source for accuracy, honesty, and reliability.
See if your students uncover any myths or incorrect information that
gets perpetuated or debunked. Did your class find certain sources or
types of sources more reliable than others? Were your students able
to detect any bias in a source that affected how the story was told?
For a more formalized lesson plan created by the New York Times
that’s based on telecommunications technology during September
11, visit: http://bit.ly/LNI8m.
For insight into urban legends, myths, and critical thinking, students
could turn to Barbara Mikkelson and David Mikkelson, who’ve won
two Webby Awards for their efforts to combat fallacies, rumors, and
gossip on a wide range of topics (note that not all material will be
suitable for your students): http://www.snopes.com.
The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry is committed to investigating
pseudo-scientific claims through critical thinking, thorough scientific
inquiry, and reason-based arguments. Its publication Skeptical
Inquirer regularly takes on topics like the efficacy of acupuncture,
dinosaur extinction, ghost sightings, and religion:
http://www.csicop.org/si.
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Helpful Hint: For their live dramas—whether they’re recorded as
podcasts, performed in front of an audience, or transmitted via
another medium—remind your students to consider designating a
sound effects operator and stage manager so that they’ll have great
coordination on when to make sounds, speak their lines, and switch
roles.
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