Channeling anti-fascism: Macleish, Welles and the disorienting power of the announcer

Abstract

The verse plays of activist-poet Archibald MacLeish, The Fall of the City and Air Raid, and the sensational Orson Welles broadcast of The War of the Worlds played on and accelerated war jitters among 1930s’ American radio audiences. MacLeish intended a political message, and although Welles did not, his broadcast carried the political freight of the time and exploited simmering anxieties concerning the rise of Fascism. MacLeish’s work garnered praise for his innovations in radio art, and he was acknowledged for his prescient and bold stance on Fascism, while Welles’ notorious broadcast launched his career and continues to be remembered as a landmark in audience manipulation. All three of these works depend on the announcer character and a broadcast-within-a-broadcast, devices innovated by MacLeish for their aural verisimilitude, tapping into audiences’ faith in radio commentators. That credibility only grew after the Munich Crisis, and MacLeish crafted Air Raid to simulate the new sound of spot reporters, infusing the play with realism. This article argues that Welles appropriated MacLeish’s innovation, using the reporters to create an experience so realistic that it destabilized many listeners and tapped into their war fears.