Did I just find a new pastime ??

In this day and age, listening to a story without seeing how it unfolds is crazy talk. We need a screen to tell us whats happening. A set, landscape, actors, props…! or at least a guy in front of us making hand gestures. Its simple, we need to have our senses focused to pay attention right?

Wrong.

I just listened to a mystery show from the 1930′s called The Shadow. Brilliant! At first I was skeptical like any of you reading this post saying to themselves: “JP lost it. Radio shows?? You’ve gone too far this time kiddo.” Well, being cheap for the listener as it was, radio was the main Great Depression entertainment. Lend me your eyes for this one and I’ll show you the magnificence of forgotten radio shows.

War of The Worlds is a movie by Spielberg, but first time it shook the American people was not as a film. The legendary Orson Welles orchestrated a masterpiece story when he aired on Halloween night of 1938 with his adaptation of War of the World book. People who tuned into the show even 5 minutes after it had started went nuts. They didn’t hear the disclaimer saying that the following hour wasn’t a real report, but a mere play. Add to that, the anxiety and tension brought by 1) Great Depression 2) a pre-WW II atmosphere. By the power of his voice, people took the broadcast as a news report and thought that an alien invasion was actually taking place in American soil. Public reaction was devastating, but that goes to show the power radio has. You can listen to it here: War of the Worlds.

This other show I heard was called The Shadow. Its about a man, coincidentally stared by Orson Welles, called Lamont who has a vigilante persona named The Shadow. The Shadow is never seen, a voice in the darkness that helps people in need against organized crime. Remember you of any modern character? My favorite quote is “tonight, as we sit quietly… somewhere… an innocent human being might be in desperate trouble… somewhere perhaps… there is a problem that can never be solved… except… by the shadow…” Heck imagine listening to this while driving at night all by yourself… scaaary…

Check it out: The Shadow

The show starts with a grim music followed by a macabre laugh and a ghostly voice: “…who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men… the shadow knows…” That definitely set the tone for me. But more impressive was how I formed the story in my mind as it was being told. My imagination flew into the darkest corners of my mind and found the scariest possible set to play the story I was about to listen to. Oh dear…

And then it took off like a normal show we would see on TV, like a Law and Order episode or something. Commercials and everything haha! Combined with masterful voices and incredible sound FX, I heard through the entire story as if I were watching it on TV. Best part of it was, as professor Santiago said in class, that I could do another thing while I listened. I was texting and surfing the web while listening attentively.

I’ll leave you with another excellent quote that gave me the chills. It was said by the Shadow in a scene where he was listening to the criminals talking about how they didn’t leave a clue on a perfect crime. From the darkness, unseen the criminals heard: “Wouldn’t you like to believe that… keep thinking about it… keep thinking about… the clue… that you forgot…”

tan tan taaaan!

Listen to it here: The Shadow