We live in a world filled with YouTube videos, GIFs, Snapchat, and Instagram. These are what pass as entertainment today. The majority of society turns to visual media not just for fun, but mostly as a major source of amusement. We have become a society of optically driven zombies!
However, this was not always the case. Radio plays once served as the major source of entertainment as early as the late 19th century, and in the US by the early 20th century 1. Their popularity reigned supreme up until the advent of the television. Plays were read aloud, dialogues were spoken, and even musicals were broadcast over the airwaves to the delight of eager listeners. Families huddled around the radio, and escaped to wherever the spoken words took them. The beauty of radio plays lies with its ability to allow a listener's imagination to run rampant. The words of a play stimulate a listener to picture the events being told; sound effects evoke images of the noises being heard; and dialogue creates thought and analysis of the information being conveyed. The average person can speak between 125 and 175 words per minute; while a listener has the ability to comprehend up to 450 spoken words per minute 2. This means that as one is listening to words being spoken, that individual has the capability to not only hear every word, but also dissect those words and create his/her own thoughts and ideas. This is such a valuable tool when it comes to radio plays. Listeners are afforded the ability to listen to the words being spoken, and let his/her mind run wild with them. Technology has provided an enormous amount of benefits to today's society. Unfortunately, along with this progression has also come the passing of certain arts. Although the art of radio plays can still be enjoyed today, its prominence in the world of entertainment will never be the same. For more on the source of this and other fun trivia, please have a look here and here.
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AuthorHi my name is Michael - and I'll be your historian and tour guide through the most fascinating form of entertainment. Archives
October 2017
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