Orson Welles “Apologizes” for War of the Worlds (Quote of the Day)

I'm not apologizing to you nitwits. IT'S FICTION!

“I’m extremely surprised to learn that a story, which has become familiar to children through the medium of comic strips and many succeeding novels and adventure stories, should have had such an immediate and profound effect upon radio listeners.”

– Orson Welles

Welles’s War of the Worlds

Seventy-three years ago today on CBS radio, Orson Welles performed an adaptation of H.G. Wells’ novel War of the Worlds, which was so realistic in terms of acting, sound effects, and narrative delivery (news-broadcast style, no commercials) that it sent throngs of listeners into a panic. In short, those who tuned in believed aliens were actually attacking the United States.

In the days and months following Welles’s program, listeners claimed they could smell gas and see flashes of lightning from afar, results of the martian invasion. And according to author Richard Hand, in the span of one month, newspapers had published 12,500 articles about Welles’s War of the Worlds and its impact on the country. Whoa.

Ultimately, Welles publicly “apologized” for frightening his listening public. But actually, it’s not much an apology; rather, in typical Wellesian intellectual fashion, it’s an insult to all who were duped by the program. [Video here.]

Related posts: