In a recent Sound Studies and Aural Cultures class, we watched the first 20 minutes of ‘Full Metal Jacket’, Stanley Kubrick’s analysis of the effects of the Vietnam War on soldiers as they begin to get ready for deployment.

In watching the beginning of this film I was shocked to realize a major shift that was created through the introduction of the score, and this realization caused me to purchase and rewatch the entire film as soon as I arrived home that evening. The introduction of the film starts with the new soldiers receiving buzz cuts alongside the song ‘Hello Vietnam’, after this, there is no included music for the following 26 minutes of the film, up until the point Private Leonard is assaulted as a result of his subpar effort and ability during training. This has an intense psychological effect on him eventually leading to his own suicide, and this downfall and shift in the film is introduced to the audience through the addition of suspenseful music in the film. Contrary to the relatively humorous and offensive dialogue that occupied the sound space of the film prior.

This change inspired the second music cue in my Element 1 submission for Sound for Screen, inciting suspense through the addition of dissonant music.