I’ve always wondered what it was like back in the day without television. How did people survive without TV with just a radio? Well, I finally got to experience that feeling when listening to the “War of the Worlds Radio Broadcast” from 1938 that scared so many people into believing it was real. Here are some of my impressions of the broadcast and how it deals with audio.

First off, this broadcast would have freaked me out in 1938. The reason is because the dramatization sounds exactly like you would expect a radio newscast to sound like. It was filled with interviews, you could hear fear in peoples’ voices, and first hand accounts by the reporter. Anyone in their right mind would think this was real back then if they didn’t hear the first and last minute of the broadcast.

Audio is one of the main things that can strike fear into anyone. The audio was one of the main reasons that I always hated scary movies or tv shows, because it had the effect of making my hair stand up. So back in the day, that is all people had. The War of the Worlds Broadcast took advantage of its audio to give people this similar effect; but since that was all they had, the effect was heightened to an extreme fear. Sound makes it a reality to people.

Audio is important for any genre, like with romance where the audio is all triumphant. Or with an action movie where the audio is explosions and fast-paced to bring the action to life.

To conclude, I learned from listening to the War of the Worlds Broadcast that audio can have tremendous effects on how a story is interpreted, and can be mistaken for reality. Even if there are no visuals, it can seem real if you have the correct audio.