Page 12 - (DK) Eyewitness - Mars

Mars and popular culture

No other planet excites the imagination of Earthlings like Mars.
In the late 19th century, writers began picturing what Martian
“intelligent life” could be like. Usually, it seemed hostile. British
novelist H. G. Wells first introduced spooky invaders from Mars in
his 1897 War of the Worlds. Wells’s story was a best seller that sparked
the public’s interest in fantastic Martian tales. Since the early movies
of the 1920s, audiences have enjoyed Mars adventures that ranged
from the creepy to the silly. One of the most terrifying was a 1938
radio broadcast of War of the Worlds that sounded like an actual news
report of a Martian invasion. From “Flash Gordon” radio programs to
the latest feature films, vast audiences have been entertained by
Mars in popular culture. THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES
Science fiction author Ray Bradbury
turned the tables with his 1951
Martian Chronicles, in which humans
invade Mars. There, humans are the
alien life-form. They are colonizers
who must build new homes in
completely strange surroundings.
War of the Worlds

Starting in 1897 with the chilling War of the Worlds
by H. G. Wells, fiction shaped popular thinking about
“Martians.” Radio dramatizations also appealed to
audiences. In 1938, Orson Welles produced a radio
version of War of the Worlds that created a sensation
that would be remembered for generations to come.
Stories like this continued to be popular in 21st-century
fiction, radio, film, and television. The latest science
fiction stories are rich in scientific and technical
descriptions that appeal to modern readers.

Martian war machine from
the book War of the Worlds

H. G. Wells

RADIO INVASION
Director Orson Welles
frightened listeners in 1938
with a realistic broadcast of
“War of the Worlds.” Welles
made it seem as if hostile
Martians had landed in
New Jersey. Many people BRING ‘EM ON!
panicked and fled their An elderly citizen watches for the Martian invaders announced by
homes, trying to escape Welles’s 1938 radio broadcast. Public fascination with science-fiction
what they thought was a adventure was fueled by this radio show. Weekly dramas about space hero
Martian invasion. Flash Gordon attracted millions of radio fans in the 1930s and 1940s.

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