Our futurists today took a look into the past to enrich our understanding of the future. We've talked often about the role choices play in our futures. We have also discussed that many choices are made based on our emotions. The future can be a daunting concept to ponder, and anxieties can abound.
In 1938, Americans were seized with worries both domestic and global. At home, The Great Depression, although moving towards its conclusion, still hovered over the collective consciousness. Abroad, a guy named Hitler was ravaging Europe, seizing land and becoming more threatening. It was an anxious time.
On October 30, 1938, Orson Welles unleashed his radio hoax, "War of the Worlds," on a vast listening audience. With tensions already high, the public was quick to mistake the fiction for fact, and were led to believe that hostile lifeforms from the planet Mars had invaded Earth. Mass hysteria ensued. Although a bit comical now, we discussed in class how unnerving such a broadcast would have been given the broader context. We began listening to a recording of the broadcast to truly understand its impact. I had to remind the kids that 1938 was before TV, and that, aside from newspapers, radio was the public's primary means of staying connected to the larger world. The new bulletins (and "new bulletins") they heard on the radio were taken very seriously.
We had a lot of fun listening, and look forward to finishing up on Tuesday when we meet again.
We will let this departure into history lead us to a discussion about our own anxieties about the future, and how they compare to those of people decades ago. There's a wonderful picture book called Aliens Are Coming! that describes for kids the broadcast, as well as the broader historical context. I highly recommend it as a shared read with your child.
No comments:
Post a Comment