War of the Worlds Activity
Please open the red link before we listen to the audio.
War of the Worlds Articles and Script.
Your task is to respond to the broadcast in a letter to the editor about what you have heard on the radio. In your letter to the editor you will explain your position on the issue regarding the broadcast.
WAIT TO RESPOND. We will be reading an article about how people responded, so DON'T post anything until Friday. You will need this background information to answer the questions.
Your letter will need to take the position of a person that.......
- believed the broadcast and thought the earth was being invaded by the martians.
- loved it as entertainment, and doesn't understand how people could have believed that this was real!
Your post - is due on Friday by 3:30 pm. It must be in proper letter to the editor format.
Here is an example of what I am looking for.
Happy writing!
Dear Editor:
ReplyDeleteI'm writing to you to tell you how much I enjoyed the Halloween joke that was broadcasted over the radio.
I really appreciate the show you put on for us through the broadcasting system. It was very entertaining to listen to such a realistic story. The sound effects used made it so much more believable. I loved the description of the alien when it was coming out of the so called "meteor", "I can see peering out of that black hole two luminous disks.. are they eyes? It might be a face. It might be.." The creators behind this broadcast really have a wild imagination. It is crazy to think that some people actually believed this was going on! Who would believe that aliens were actually taking over the world? Don't you think they would look outside and notice that none of this was going on? I mean if the narrator says that he was the only person left on earth, obviously he isn't because you're sitting there listening. Crazy stuff.
Once again I would like to say that I really found this joke to be highly entertaining, and I appreciate the creativity and time that went into this project. You should do this sort of thing more often!
Sincerely,
Bailey
Dear Editor,
ReplyDeleteI was appalled by the broadcast given over the so called "story" about the War of the Worlds. I think it was careless to do such an airing, people are vulnerable and scared. We listen to the radio to get information and what do you do? You abuse it, to spread lies and fear. So bravo! People died because of your cute little story time. Next time I tune in I expect to hear something useful and realistic. I wasn't fooled but you put us into a state of panic and I did not appreciate that at all. Please put someone more responsible in charge. I hope that you lose your job and get killed by a gas from "aliens" like the black gas in the story. If you get off by pretending that you are the only people left alive when so called aliens attack then you are messed up.
-Adams
Dear Editor
ReplyDeletePersonally, I enjoyed your broadcast. I found it quite comical in the pretense that it was halloween. I dont understand how some people couldn't look out a window? Like, really? The broadcast even started off saying it was a joke. It also stopped 3 different times during the broadcast to let people know, who may have not heard the beginning, that it was fake. I feel as though if their were really an alien attack on earth, the people of the radio wouldn't stay and keep broadcasting. I honestly find that impulsively stupid. Some people cant really take a joke and i find that sad. Good Job and thank you for this broadcast.
-Aryzona
Dear Editor
ReplyDeleteI HATED YOUR RADIO BROADCAST!!!!! I was on my way to work at KFC when i heard about what i thought was real. Once i heard it i went and grabbed my kids and my life partner from my house. As we were driving back to our dwelling unit we heard about the black smoke. So before we got to my house we took off our shirts and put them over our faces. After that I took them to our basement then i got a ladder and went and got on top of my house and was about to jump and kill my self. As i was eating what i thought would be my last piece of chicken. I shed one tear before i took my first bite of it. Once i was finished with the chicken my life partner runs out and tells me that it was all fake!
Like I said i hated the broadcast. But it was really believable, especially about that black smoke. Me and my life partner really believed it! We got to the point to where we were about to sacrifice our kids to martians! Thanks a lot i hope some one kicks you where it hurts.
J.Smizzle(Justin)
Dear CBS,
ReplyDeleteThis is going to tell you how terrible all of you people are your recent radio show with the war of the worlds scared me so bad that I almost killed myself because the world was ending, people were being killed by black smoke, and the army couldn't stop them so how could a small town family live if the army cant stop them. the only reason i didn't kill myself is because I heard your announcement that this was just a show. you almost caused me to kill myself like countless others. My entire family is dead because of you butt faces. Just because of you I have no family, when you read this now I will be dead. So way to go CBS you successfully killed an entire family. I hope you feel great now, congratulation CBS
Andrew
Dear Editor
ReplyDeleteWOW sir, i enjoyed every moment of that radio broadcast that you just did on air! My last halloween wasn't very exciting nor fun, but this year it was the best. I was making my way to my Taco Stand when i turned on my radio and heard you talking about an Alien Invasion and i knew i had to stay on the air and listen to the rest of it. All the sound effects that you guys did was amazing, the gun shootings and people screaming was so cool. It was so good that i had forgotten to open up my Taco Stand, so i just decided to not work today and stayed in my car enjoying the broadcast. When you announced that the Aliens were spraying black poison smoke i saw people running out of their houses and i was just sitting in my car laughing!
I personally knew your broadcast was fake because i was sitting outside in my car the whole time where supposedly the "smoke" was spreading and i dont know how many times you said it was fake. Anyways i cant believe people were committing suicide over this, i thought you did a great job and i hope you do more!
Sincerely
YaBoyLex (Alexis Ramirez)
Dear editor
ReplyDeleteI had many emotions with the recent broadcast. But in the end I thoroughly enjoyed this! As we heard that the black smoke was crossing the Hudson my family and me jumped up and looked out are window. Ironically and luckily are house is directly next to the Hudson. So at that moment we new that this wasn’t true. After that we enjoyed the production, and were able to relax. In the beginning of the broadcast when they began explaining how the “Martians” shooting fire out at the people, I started questioning it but how realistic it was convinced me again.
So over all I loved it. Maybe next time there should be more times were they explain that this broadcast is not real.
Erin
Dear Editor,
ReplyDeleteOrson Welles should be banned form being on the air at all after this hysteria! I understand now that this ridiculous aural display was just a silly dramatization. I mean, aliens? Who would ever be convinced that green men from Mars are invading our planet? But it was the style in which Welles decided to broadcast that got everyone's Jimmies Rustled. Why would you ever broadcast a program that's supposed to sound like an emergency report on an attack during times of actual attacks? I about had a heart attack thinking that the germans were firing some new weapons on our soil! Shame on you and Mr. Welles and your network!
Some of my neighbors, whom I never speak to even, cam over to ask if I had heard of the attack and if I was getting ready to evacuate like the rest of them. Honestly it really confused me when they were telling me to get a wet cloth to keep the Martian Poison Gas out of my lungs. I'd never heard of "Martian" poison gas. This whole ordeal really didn't set me in a safe state of mind, sir, and I would appreciate very much if you and your network just shut down!
- Jacob Shulze
P.S.: because you keep spelling my name wrong when sending letters back, I'll be changing my name!
(Brendan Heaton)
Dear Editor
ReplyDeleteAfter finishing dinner I turned on my radio to listen to the broadcast, like I do every night. I was tuning the radio to find a interesting broadcast when I heard the an announcer say “The Broadcasting System presents Orson Welles and the Mercury Theater on the Air in The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells. It sounded really interesting so I continued to listen. As I began to listen I heard they were talking about a town called Grover’s Mill in New Jersey. That stuck in my head because my sister lives there with her family. Later on as I continued to listen to this interesting story on the radio, I received a phone call from my sister telling me that she was taking shelter and that her family was ok. I was really concerned about what she was talking, and then I realized that she had been listening to the radio story. She was scared out of her mind so next time you decided to tell a extreme story like this I would suggest that you give people days warning. People were going crazy over this when it easily could have been prevented. Think about this before you decide to tell another story.
Unruh
Dear Editor,
ReplyDeleteI tuned in to your Halloween special of "The War of the Worlds" and thought it was fantastic! The family was huddled around the radio in the living room to hear this great story. The switching from the station to announcers out with the public sounded really convincing. When you switched from the station to Grover Mill, New Jersey to get a first hand perspective from Carl Phillips and "the object that looked like a huge cylinder." I also want to compliment you on the sound effects. The music that opens and plays throughout the program was very good. My favorite effect was between the officer and the gunner as they are setting to fire on the Martians and the black smoke begins to approach. The officer and gunner begin coughing and quite talking and ends with the airplane motor. I thought that was some outstanding sound effects.
While I thought this was a very neat story, I don't understand how people could think that it was actually happening. First off, you announced three times that this wasn't real and was the story "The War of the Worlds." Secondly, I compliment the sound effects but not all of them were so convincing that I thought the world was ending. Lastly, there is no way the Pierson was the last man with the stranger because people are obviously listening to the broadcast and are still alive. I want to thank you for a very entertaining Halloween!!
- Richardson
Dear Editor,
ReplyDeleteOn October 30th I listened to the radio and loved the segment that was chosen. The War of the Worlds had good sound effects and details that seemed accurate like when you explained where the alien crash happened. My friend told me that Grover Mill was an actual place. Also the part where you could hear the aliens attacking and the military fighting back then was cut off from them, made my friend and I freak out and wonder what happened.
This story created a fear inside people that caused an adrenaline rush. Although I heard some people took it too seriously. People were gathering provisions and scared that our earth was being taken over by aliens. This made good family dinner conservation about all the people who believed that story. Thank you so much for this amazing story. I cannot wait for the next one.
Sincerely,
Aubrey
To the Editor:
ReplyDeleteI’m writing to praise CBS for their recent broadcast. As a listener I found the reading of "War of the Worlds" to be very entertaining. Even though it sparked controversy and many people took the message seriously, I feel that many prematurely overreacted. Multiple times it was addressed that the broadcast was merely for entertainment purposes. I believe these listeners are lacking in common sense and intuition. Extra terrestrials were clearly not running amuck destroying the US. Please continue to air stories like this.
Keller
To the editor,
ReplyDeleteI don’t understand what made you guys think that this was ok. The producers need to be fired; this was so bad that people decided to take their own lives instead of having to deal with an alien invasion. People such as me tuned into the station in the middle of the broadcast and so they did not hear the warning, I don’t care if you said that it was fake 3 times, it was unbelievable that you guys would read such a thing as a joke and actually think that it would be funny, well it was not. You guys at CBS need to get your act together and act like mature men that you should be when you have half the world listening to your broadcast. Your broadcast has traumatized millions and have caused deaths around the world, I don’t know how you guys can be even be ok with what you guys have done, some jokes are funny, but this was not. The sound effects just made everything more believable and sound more real, and you wonder how people thought it was actually thought it was real, maybe you shouldn’t have had sound effects if you just wanted it to be a joke. And using an actual town?! Maybe if you didn’t want people to believe that it was a joke then you should have used a made up town and not used aliases of that as a doctor that was reporting in Grover Mills, NJ. I want to hear real reporting from now on; I hope you guys learned your lesson from this and to not play a joke like this on whoever tunes in.
Bryce
Dear Editor:
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion I think this broadcast was wildly entertaining, but that might just be because I caught the beginning introduction. I can understand why some of these people could find it insulting, but they aren’t focusing on the remarkable acting and follow through they had to do to pull off this charade. This show was believable every second of the way, not one miss step. With all the sound effects they added in and the vivid descriptions of the crash site, and the alien it’s self was enough to convince thousands of people. Which is a great accomplishment for the radio announcers reporting the astonishing landing of an alien spaceship. Though I do think that to a lot of people this could’ve been offensive for the fact that it was so realistic that people actually started taking precautions on what to do about the alien attack. All I have to say is that I thought this broadcast was an enticing thriller that kept me listening on the edge of my seat to see how this phenomenon would play out.
Tate
Dear Editor,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed all that you did with the broadcast, it was really entertaining to hear all the things that you did. I would like to thank you for the entertainment in this broadcast. I just don't get why a lot of the people thought it was real, it said about 3 or 4 times that this was fake and that it was just for entrainment. What I really liked about this is that you made this a halloween joke. Most people would not find that funny but, I thought that it was a brilliant idea to do. The way that you described what the aliens looked like and all the sound effects that you did made it feel more realistic, which tied it all together and made it fun and interesting to listen to. They way that you cut in and out of the broadcast made it more thrilling to listen to, to me it made it more exciting to listen and grabbed my attention to finish the broadcast to see how all of this would end up or what the ending would be. In the end, I just want to thank you for having this broadcast, it made that evening more fun for me and my family. I hope that you do another one of these again soon!
Lindsay
Dear Editor,
ReplyDeleteYour latest radio broadcast “The War of the Worlds” was quite imaginative. I have been tuning into your broadcast for long time, and this is by far one of my favorites. There will always be those ignorant people who tend to drop every bit of their common sense, at the slightest doubt. I believe your broadcast was put together extravagantly, and whoever’s idea it was, is a genius. I did hear of those who committed suicide, which is unfortunate. Though in reality, you’ve got to ask yourself, how one would go to such extreme measures over a broadcast with no visible proof. I understand how one could miss the first announcement, that this was not really happening and it was just a performance. But it was made more than once, which makes it rather difficult to miss. You would think before one made such a decision, their common sense would kick in and take a step outside. I mean, HELLO, do you see any Martians outside your window? I think not. I found this to be a great source of entertainment, and I enjoyed every bit of it. The sound effects were unbelievable and I don’t think it could have been put together any better. I loved how it sounded so amazingly realistic, though unlike others, I had half of a brain and did not kill myself over it. I hope I can look forward to hearing more broadcasts of this sort in the near future.
Ellison
Dear Editor,
ReplyDeleteI’m sure you have received more than enough feedback on the “War of the World’s” broadcast over these past few days, but I would like to inform you that I actually thoroughly enjoyed the broadcast and was pleasantly entertained for a large amount of time.
Fortunately, I tuned in at the right time, at the beginning of the broadcast as they were announcing it to be a story, and only for entertainment. Although, hearing the vivid descriptions of the Martians crawling out of the meteor, and listening to the incredibly believable sound effects of citizens screaming and police sirens, I could see how this broadcast would be believed as real life for some. However, I heard of a few people taking the precautions to the extreme. As I was sitting in the comfort of my own home listening to the broadcast, others were frantically running around covering their faces with cloth, because they thought a poisonous gas was approaching them and we were all being attacked by martians.
Although the sound effects and descriptions were believable I think others took this too far. I hope to be hearing another one of these wonderful and entertaining stories soon, keep up the great work.
Sincerely,
Sydney
To the Editor,
ReplyDeleteWhen I sat down on October 30th CBS was broadcasting “The War of the Worlds”. I felt like the storyline was well thought out. And having pre-planned the show to air on Halloween was pretty clever. Thankfully I knew that it was simply a joke. However many citizens were not so fortunate. The broadcast played out to be exceptionally real, especially the fact that it was played on a worldwide news broadcast like CBS. Throughout the sixty-two minute show there were also three announcements clearly stating that is was all fake. To those who didn’t hear the alerts were in a state of panic and actually believed Martians were overtaking the planet. Some actually killed themselves. Those poor unfortunates I honestly don’t know what possessed them to take their own lives, but it is something to think about ahead of time. Personally don’t think that the “show” was really worth a person’s life, but it is also their own fault that they couldn’t use their common sense. It definitely would have scared the pants off me if I didn’t hear the alerts.
All in all I thought the idea was brilliant. This one will definitely go down in history and be talked about for years!
Sincerely
-Anna
Dear Editor,
ReplyDeleteThe showing of War of the Worlds was one of the best shows I've ever heard. Some of the idiots that believed the broadcast was a real new reporting it obviously was just a story with all the announcements. Although it was obvious that some people are not as smart as us so you should of took the precaution and read it in a more story form instead of a show form.
Weber,