The Legend

The popular understanding of Mercury Theatre’s War of the Worlds production was that due to the way it was made and broadcast it was mistaken by many people to be a genuine news story covering an alien invasion and caused widespread panic in America. It is definitely true that some people did think this and there was some panic but this was extremely small in scale, if for no other reason than the audience for the show was quite small. Of course, the truth is not as important as it’s a wonderful story. It has been supposed by many that the reason for the confusion was that many people will have missed the beginning of the broadcast where it was clearly advertised as a work of fiction as a far more popular show on another station would have been playing at the start of the show. But perhaps more important is the style of the broadcast – music is playing and then interrupted by breaking news and the first half of the show is told as a series of news reports. If the show had been more mundane it could have been indistinguishable from news coverage of such an event (indeed some people who did panic did not believe it was Martians invading, but rather a surprise attack by Germany or some other disaster).

Fiction Podcasting

Obviously, radio dramas, comedies, plays, etc continued to be made and this production of War of the Worlds would have been a huge, inescapable influence but it had a very profound influence on fiction podcasts, also known as audio dramas. They are, as perhaps the name suggests, podcasts that tell fiction stories. So unlike Serial a scripted but non-fiction podcast or Off Menu an unscripted comedy-interview show.

Here are a glimpse at some of the most successful/influential fiction podcasts:

Welcome To Night Vale – stories of the creepy town of Night Vale where every conspiracy theory is true.

Limetown – the story of how a planned town to work on a major scientific project descended into anarchy and violence.

The Magnus Archives – dozens of stories of monsters and horrors, from vampires to serial killers to ancient terrible evils.

The Bright Sessions – a psychiatrist offers therapy for people with superpowers.

The Black Tapes – a skeptic and believer travel across America investigating “supernatural” mysteries.

The thing that connects all of these shows is that they are either purportedly genuine broadcasts – Welcome To Night Vale is meant to be a radio show in that town – or essentially found footage – The Magnus Archives are the archived tapes of the Magnus Institute. Welcome to Night Vale is hosted by Cecil Palmer who as well as doing stories on the various horrors will do a community calendar, minutes of PTA meetings, and so on.

Limetown is a documentary in a very NPR way, a journalist investigates a story, interviews people etc. By no means are all fiction podcasts done in this way, and increasingly podcast creators have moved away from this.

I actually have experience with this myself as the creator of two fiction podcasts. The first, At The End Of The Line, is a post-apocalyptic travel show, the listener is not hearing a story but rather as if they were listening to that show. The show featured letters from “listeners”, the first episode starts with a reference to previous seasons that do not exist. The second, The Reignition Theory is a documentary – telling the story of the destruction of the city. There were interviews, extracts from newspapers, letters, diary entries etc. all presented as if the listener had tuned into a documentary.

Immersive Storytelling

Welles’ programme was so well done some people believed it to be reporting genuine events but even accepted it as fiction – it’s a very tense show. The idea of witnessing events unfolding “live” and that you’re hearing the response of people on the scene is different from a more straight-forward narrative, perhaps more directly tapping into our real-world experiences of news bulletins. Welles’ show starts with music being interrupted by breaking news something we’re all familiar with. Does the conceit of reality distance of audience from the characters or bring them closer?

Listening to the broadcast again Welles’ does a fantastic job of immersing you in this story and fake reality. A music programme is interrupted but then returned to numerous times as the news bulletins have finished and so why not go back to the show? Breathless reports from reporters in the field cutting back to more measured journalists in secure places. Background noise of the hustle and bustle of live reporting and the panicked crowds is done flawlessly, sometimes things are unclear or even inaudible and reporters get cut off mid-sentence. Welles’ commitment to the bit goes beyond even the radio show, as mentioned the “panic” caused by the broadcast was heavily exaggerated, and Welles knowingly played into this. He would make that story real, just like he had made some people believe the Martian invasion was real.

Also Read: Five Great Film Podcasts To Listen To Right Now

The post The Influence of Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds on Fiction Podcasting appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

In the year when superhero movies, Bohemian Rhapsody, Disney and the battle between A Quiet Place and Hereditary ruled the conversation, these are the films that got a little lost in the shuffle and deserve their time in the spotlight.

The Other Side of the Wind

Netflix scored big hits this year with The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and positively received seasons of Bojack Horseman and Daredevil. They also acquired the rights to many interesting films like Cam, Roma and Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle. But two films among their catalogue definitely deserved more attention, this being one of them. The Other Side of the Wind did garner attention before it’s release as the final film of legendary director Orson Welles. Since then it seems to have had little discussion, which is baffling as it’s a posthumous credit from a revered director. Other side of the Wind is a scathing look into the life of a well-regarded filmmaker, as well as the people and media landscape that surrounds him. Alternately, a fascinating semi-autobiographical glimpse into Welles life and opinion of himself. It’s an interesting look at the origins of archive footage and a cinematic trip through a haze of egos and scorched refined visuals. While not the next Citizen Kane it is still a satisfying film that adds a great epilogue to the tale of one of cinema’s most intriguing figures.

Apostle

Here’s the second Netflix release you should all check out. The director of The Raid brings us an effective horror story about a man going to find his kidnapped sister. But his life is put in danger when he learns the secret of the island she is on. That summary sounds generic for a horror movie, but Apostle does some things so well that it’s easy to forgive a lot. It’s a film of two halves. The first half is incredibly tense, as our hero sneaks around investigating the island. In the second half, the film goes nuts as the blood flows and surprise reveals pile up. For this reason, it’s understandable why the films second half may lose some people. After such effective tension building, the change to blood and gore and the introduction of fantastical elements, feels somewhat disappointing. But the first half is so well done that I’m willing to go along with it. It is still very entertaining. And it’s refreshing to see a horror movie made with genuine passion. Sometimes enthusiasm is enough.

Knife + Heart

I am not surprised this movie was underappreciated. Knife + Heart had a limited release at film festivals so general audiences will not have seen it. Even when I saw it, it divided the audience. The plot concerns a gay porn director trying to get over her ex-girlfriend. While her crew are killed off by a masked figure. That description alone indicates this movie will not be for everyone. It’s a movie that deals with frank depictions of sexual themes as well as (depending on your interpretation) showcasing a conflicting attitude towards its characters sexuality. It’s also a movie that goes for dream logic and magical realism over cause and effect reality. Which some viewers may not like. It’s destined for cult stardom. Some will love it others will detest it. For me, it was a one of a kind experience. It showcased great affection for a cinematically underrepresented group and I saw nothing like it all year.

Tigers Are Not Afraid

Of all the listed movies, this is the most difficult to watch. Tigers Are Not Afraid tells the story of a girl who loses her mum in the Mexican drug war. She receives a piece of chalk which she believes will grant her wishes. She then uses these wishes to help her and several other children made homeless by the feuding. But all her attempts to help have dire consequences. I saw this movie listed at several horror festivals this year and heard buzz about it from the community but no one else. Having seen it I understand why. This movie pulls no punches when it comes to showing the impact that the drug war has on the Mexican people. Even children aren’t safe. Because this movie deals with such a sensitive and relevant topic it is not likely to be for everyone. Some may find the movie to be in bad taste or just too much to handle. But, like the movie shows, sometimes we need stories like this to help us process the world around us.

The Hate U Give

My favourite release of last year was a film that I knew nothing about going in. I saw no trailers; none of the actors on talk shows and no one I knew was talking about it. But when I emerged from the cinema I felt so drained and excited. For the first time in a while, I felt the power of cinema. I cared about the fates of all of the characters. I never knew where the story was going. There were moments that affected me on an emotional and physical level and I felt like I was watching something important. This film speaks so much to this generation and this point in time that it is truly a feat. Because of this I want you guys to experience the film the same way I did. Don’t look up anything about it. Just know that the story concerns a teenage girl named Starr trying to navigate the ups and downs of growing up in modern America. It’s a film that deserved way more than it got and one that I will continue to fly the flag for as long as I can.

Thus ends my list of five little seen gems from last year. I hope that you will check all of these out and hopefully you will find at least one that you enjoy as much as I did.

What was your favorite underappreciated 2018 movie? Let us know in the comments. I look forward to seeing the underappreciated gems that this year will bring us.

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