Songs of War: Music as a Weapon (2010)

Songs of War: Music as a Weapon (2010)

Music is a Weapon 2010-02-25 Germany 52 Min. PG-13
7.5 1 votes

Overview

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.

Cast

Christopher Cerf is Presenter
Thomas Keenan is Human Rights Project, Bard College, New York
Human Rights Project, Bard College, New York
Chris Arendt is Former Guard, Guantanamo Bay
Former Guard, Guantanamo Bay
Herb Friedman is Psychological Operations Expert, US Army
Psychological Operations Expert, US Army
Mike Ritz is Former Interrogator, US Army
Former Interrogator, US Army
Nathalie Gosselin is Music Psychologist, Université de Montréal
Music Psychologist, Université de Montréal
Moazzam Begg is Former Detainee, Guantanamo Bay And Bagram
Former Detainee, Guantanamo Bay And Bagram
Morag Josephine Grant is Musicologist, University Of Göttingen
Musicologist, University Of Göttingen
Mike Luce is Drowning Pool
Drowning Pool
C.J. Pierce is Drowning Pool
Drowning Pool
Vahan Simidian II is CEO, HPV Technologies
CEO, HPV Technologies