Orson Welles in 1937. (Photo: Carl Van Vechten via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
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Over the last few weeks, some unusual sightings have taken over the news. Residents of New Jersey have become alarmed after seeing some flying objects at night. So far, authorities have confirmed these include drones, as well as manned aircraft, and they do not pose a a danger to the public. Still, these sightings have awakened people's imaginations, much like Orson Welles's War of the Worlds radio broadcast—which coincidentally also takes place in New Jersey—did over 80 years ago.
On October 30, 1938, to celebrate Halloween, the radio series The Mercury Theatre on the Air presented an adaptation of H. G. Wells's 1898 novel The War of the Worlds, directed and narrated by Orson Welles. The first part was narrated in a “breaking news” style, causing listeners who had missed the introduction to think there was an actual Martian invasion taking place. More so, given the tense climate due to the Great Depression and the build-up to World War II, people believed it could be linked to the European political landscape or an environmental disaster. However, historians say the show was never really that popular, so not that many listeners were alarmed.
Even if the only elements in common between both events are the alien theme and the location, there is a fascinating parallel between the two. Undoubtedly, one is a work of fiction that sparked a certain degree of panic. The other is something people have seen and documented, but they don't really know what's behind them—whether it's aliens or foreign enemies of a dozen different nationalities. Ultimately, they both represent external stressors that may heighten how people perceive something they don't have all the answers for. Notably, the way our brain tries to fill the gap with the information at hand, many times carrying our values and beliefs into the equation.
“One of the lessons I think people can still take away from War of the Worlds,” shares A. Brad Schwartz, author of Broadcast Hysteria: Orson Welles's War of the Worlds and the Art of Fake News, “is to think more carefully about our sources of information, especially with a story like this that seems alarming or feeds into the anxieties of the moment.”
Revisit Orson Welles's War of the Worlds 1938 radio broadcast below. Alien invasion or not, it's a great piece of entertainment.
The flying object sightings in New Jersey draw some parallels to Orson Welles's War of the Worlds 1938 radio broadcast—from the location to the alien theme. Revisit it below.
Source: 86 years after infamous ‘War of the Worlds' broadcast, visitors in the sky have New Jersey panicking again
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