The Sounds of War: Radio, the Aural Experience and National Consensus in World War II
Item
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Title
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The Sounds of War: Radio, the Aural Experience and National Consensus in World War II
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Identifier
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d_2009_2013:f3b9409577a9:10948
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identifier
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11176
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Creator
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Whitmer, Valeri,
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Contributor
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Morris Dickstein
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Date
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2011
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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American studies | Mass communication | American literature | Aesthetics of radio | American Cultural Studies | Broadcasting | Media History | Radio | World War II
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Abstract
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This dissertation examines how the unique creative characteristics of radio contributed to furthering American war goals in World War II. I explore how the imaginative use of sound and the experiential environment of wartime radio in the 1940s influenced audiences in a moment in history when it was possible to create a national consensus through mass communications. My research shows that war messages were colored by the quality of the medium---by sound itself, through what I call the sonic palette, to engage the imagination of listeners and to influence audience reception. Part I of the dissertation discusses the industrial conditions that fostered the development of this repertoire of aural expression, which developed organically over time to compensate for radio's "blind" broadcasting. Radio strove to create an image in the mind's eye, using sound alone, to provide information, atmosphere and emotional character to programs which would be readily understood by listeners. Writers and directors mediated texts with music, sound effects, voice characteristics, and many forms of sonic coloration such as rhythm, pace, dynamics, tone and timbre. Counter intuitively, audience members found the listening experience personal and intimate, despite its broadcast source. In consequence, they were receptive on an emotional level to the nuances of the vocabulary of sound. Part II illustrates how this sonic palette was intentionally used to support intervention before the war and war goals during the conflict, despite the fact that radio was barred by law from advocating political positions. While recognizing the impact of radio on wartime audiences, previous scholarship has concentrated on text, rather than the mediating power of expressive sound. My dissertation exposes that power through the analysis of influential works and performances in entertainment, news and documentary programming. I discuss the contributions of such iconic figures as Paul Robeson and Edward R. Murrow, as well as artists of the sonic palette, Norman Corwin, William Robson, Arch Oboler and others.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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2009_2013.csv
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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English
