Theory and Cultural History of 20th Century Media
ENGL 236 - Winter 2002, William Warner
Mon, 2/4
Radio and the broadcasting of the “media event”: War of the Worlds
I: The history of radio. Using Czitrom's excellent chapter on radio (found in your reader, and building on his chapter on film), let's have a very open discussion of what radio has been to each of us, over the course of our lives. This will allow us to do a phenomology of radio, and isolate radio's distinctness as a medium. This will lead to Suzie Keller's presentation on David Sarnoff's writing, the self-proclaimed "father" of radio, and our discussion of his texts.
II: Orson Welles: "War of the Worlds" as "radio art": how does this radioplay simulate, parody, and exploit the connection: live radio—crisis? [We'll listen to the radioplay and then discuss it.]
III: Frank LeCapra's "Meet John Doe"; this film attempts a filmic critique of the power and danger of radio, newspapers, and big media as they become the matrix for an American fascism. Does this critique work? This film offers a nice transition to next week's focus, the Frankfurt school.
transcriptions.english.ucsb.edu
directed by: Alan Liu
site
developed by the transcriptions team
code by: Eric Weitzel
pictures by: Bo Kinloch
