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Songs of War: Music as a Weapon poster

Songs of War: Music as a Weapon

Film201052 min6.2/10 on TMDB

Directed by Tristan Chytroschek

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Music is a Weapon

Music elates, touches the soul and bypasses reason. Music is magic. But precisely this magic can turn it into an insidious weapon for music and violence belong together. The brutal power of African war dances, the ferocity of Maori Hakas, the earth-shattering roar of US sound guns blasting Metallica at Taliban hideouts the principle is always the same: Aggressive sounds demoralise the enemy and whip the allies into a frenzy. In Songs of War, director Tristan Chytroschek explores the extraordinary harmony between music and violence. Sesame Street composer, Christopher Cerf, always wanted his music to be fun and entertaining. But then he learned that his songs had been used to torture prisoners in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib. He is stunned by this abuse of his work and wants to find out how this could happen.Read moreLess

Music elates, touches the soul and bypasses reason. Music is magic. But precisely this magic can turn it into an insidious weapon for music and violence belong together. The brutal power of African war dances, the ferocity of Maori Hakas, the earth-shattering roar of US sound guns blasting Metallica at Taliban hideouts the principle is always the same: Aggressive sounds demoralise the enemy and whip the allies into a frenzy. In Songs of War, director Tristan Chytroschek explores the extraordinary harmony between music and violence. Sesame Street composer, Christopher Cerf, always wanted his music to be fun and entertaining. But then he learned that his songs had been used to torture prisoners in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib. He is stunned by this abuse of his work and wants to find out how this could happen.

The story

Music elates, touches the soul and bypasses reason. Music is magic. But precisely this magic can turn it into an insidious weapon for music and violence belong together. The brutal power of African war dances, the ferocity of Maori Hakas, the earth-shattering roar of US sound guns blasting Metallica at Taliban hideouts the principle is always the same: Aggressive sounds demoralise the enemy and whip the allies into a frenzy. In Songs of War, director Tristan Chytroschek explores the extraordinary harmony between music and violence. Sesame Street composer, Christopher Cerf, always wanted his music to be fun and entertaining. But then he learned that his songs had been used to torture prisoners in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib. He is stunned by this abuse of his work and wants to find out how this could happen.

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Cast & crew

Thomas Keenan
Thomas Keenan
Human Rights Project, Bard College, New York
Chris Arendt
Chris Arendt
Former Guard, Guantanamo Bay
Herb Friedman
Herb Friedman
Psychological Operations Expert, US Army
Mike Ritz
Mike Ritz
Former Interrogator, US Army
Nathalie Gosselin
Nathalie Gosselin
Music Psychologist, Université de Montréal
Moazzam Begg
Moazzam Begg
Former Detainee, Guantanamo Bay And Bagram
Morag Josephine Grant
Morag Josephine Grant
Musicologist, University Of Göttingen
Mike LuceMike LuceDrowning Pool
C.J. PierceC.J. PierceDrowning Pool
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