Music: Music As A Tool Of Torture

The Dark Side of Music:

Music as a Tool of Torture

Aigul Samb

Kingsborough Community College The Dark Side of Music: Music as a Tool of Torture

Music is more fundamental to human life and to our identity as a species than most of us realize. It not only touches the heart, but also establishes the implicit humanity and sensitivity, which has separated man from animal. Music has the ability and power to influence human thoughts and behaviors. It is used to soothe, to hype up, to educate, for entertainment, as a medium to remember the information, for medical purposes, and so much more. Music is used in many ways to improve the lives of people. It is so influential that it can break all divisions of race, religion, cast and faith. It is a wonderful energy which can bring and establish peace and love. What speeches and articles cannot do, the magic of music can do easily and naturally.

However, there is the darker side of music as well. What if such a powerful tool falls into the wrong hands? What if it is used not in the best interests of humankind? As much joy it can bring, it can also bring misery to people’s lives. Historically, music has been used in many psychosomatic processes. As

SERE was a program designed to train military personnel who had been caught as prisoners to survive torture during questioning if they were to be caught by an enemy. Military personnel went through a program of beatings, starvation, stress positions, being stripped naked and thrown into small cages for days (US Congress, 2008). Initially SERE was designed to train members of the US military to resist enhanced interrogation techniques if they were to be captured and tortured, in order to avoid making a false confession. However, in 2002, Bruce Jessen, a SERE psychologist started using SERE tactics to use by interrogators against Guantanamo detainees (US Congress,