Fantastic Antifascist Radio Drama: Cultural Politics in Arch Oboler’s Lights Out

Abstract

This article examines the cultural politics of Arch Oboler’s radio dramas from the mystery-thriller program Lights Out. Analyzing the dramas through the critical concept of the cultural front, the author argues that Oboler crafted plays that were antifascist and critical of the developing world war that supported cultural front politics. These plays critiqued fascism and the war indirectly through fantastic political allegories. Many of the plays featured fascistic figures that received poetic political justice in gruesome endings. This article advances our understanding of popular radio drama’s cultural politics during the interwar years and the continuity of Arch Oboler’s radio writing. It corrects the historical record by demonstrating that antifascist cultural front radio aired earlier in the interwar period than previously established. Additionally, the article bolsters our comprehension of Oboler’s radio work by establishing stronger ties between his early, popular genre work for Lights Out and his later radio writing. Drawing on Oboler’s original scripts for this program, the article also examines 17 plays for which no extant recordings exist. Therefore, the article contributes to our knowledge of this program, 1930s mystery-thrillers, and sustained radio dramas on U.S. radio.