… And I thought I had read it all. Science Fiction has caught
my imagination for a long time now. Guess the craze started with Children’s
literature and then moved on to the world of Huxley and Wells and Philip Dick! Having
lived it for so long a time, it gets difficult to see the world around in any
different light. It’s been one those days at work – not so tense, not so
stressful – a day when I could afford to look around and observe what is
happening around me. I like these
days. It is a moment when you could
figuratively ‘binge and purge’ your imagination – drink in all that is truly
happening. I sure wish I could have a
lot more of these. And I recall that it was one such day during college that I
picked up Wells …
Have you read HG Wells ‘The War of the Worlds’? Written in 1895, it depicts the conflict between mankind and the aliens. The narrative
is in 1st person, an unnamed protagonist who lives in London as he
relates the moments when Earth is invaded by martians. The novel stands out as
one of the pioneers in the field of
Science Fiction, and by many, has been interpreted as a piece of literature
that offers commentary on evolutionary theory, British Imperialism and even
Victorian fears and prejudices. The historical nature of the novel, to me
though, has been of little significance. I must confess, that it has been the
case with most of what I have read. It is the adaptations of the narrative that
has enticed me so often (at least thus far). And, one such, is its adaptation into a radio
drama during the 2nd world war.
The story was presented as a 60minute narrative, as a series of ‘news bulletins’ which seemed to advocate to an audience,
at the brink of a world war, that an alien invasion was in progress. What more,
the drama was presented with no commercial breaks; which compounded the impact.
Am quite convinced, that it is the radio drama that assured Well’s fame. ! The
radio broadcast of this narrative led to a nationwide riot, with people fleeing
their houses – most of them not knowing where to head. "Was it fact or truly fiction?" .. was the question that many asked even after being told that it was the
latter! The ability of the script writer to wrap the novel into a 1hr
commentary, create the immediacy of the invasion, and ensure a
script that sliced out the impact is phenomenal. The waves were felt across the continent.
It was a day of high adrenaline, of exceeding expectations in more ways than
one (for better or worse…)
This allusion to the difference between reality (the
original) and the adaptation (radio drama) is particularly so relevant. The wide spread panic was largely because of
the absence of the context. In the throes of fear (a war in this case), one
tends to forget what the real world looks like. Did Wells really write a book
called ‘The War of the Worlds’? Is it relevant at all? How many of the
listeners knew about it. And if they did, how many could recollect. The reality was the ALLIES and the AXIS and both
words so much in beat with ALIENS! There were no sources for differentiation and
the boundaries had blurred.
The pulse is the same as of today. The requisite to make the
whole shebang ‘relevant’, the demand to ‘leverage’ of what is already
available, the pressure to not ‘reinvent the wheel’ and the incessant need of ‘less
is more’ tends to mask the reality – a reality where an individual yearns to be
original, thirsts for innovation, even disruptive ones perhaps and seeks to be
relevant from his / her frame of reference.
The adaptation enticing thus far has become a negotiable moment. Any narrative lends itself to the moment and a
silent panic ensues.
There is this War
of the Worlds struggling in many of us- an unrest caused by the combat between
voices (heard, not seen) in a context that could well be the figment of our
imagination. The poise for ingenuity and
adaptation and the involvement of both is the need for the hour. The ugly duckling is lost in a world that is
unknown to him …. Yet unaware that round the corner the swans exist!
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