Jarhead Questions

How is music used in Jarhead to aid the narrative and mood of the film?

The music used in the film is contantly contrapuntal to the scene happening, which gives the audience a different sense of atmosphere or emotion.

Hip Hop music is played in one scene of the film, that the soilders can hear and are dancing to the music. You could say that they wanted to become these rappers and present the message of the song themselves.

Chemical Warfare clothing race scene has 'T-Rex - Get it on' playing as non diegetic sound in the background as it relates to the scene very effectively. Mendes purposely uses a fast paced song in a very fast and rushed scene to create urgency. Also the audience notice that it wakes the characters and themselves. Another link is that the name of the song 'get it on' relates to the soilders task.

In what way does the film meet your expectations of the war genre and hows does it challenge expectations of the war genre?

The mise-en-scene within the film signifies that is a war film that is contemporary and modern, realting to the weapons they use that would never usually be seen in early years. Also for example, the military uniform connotes the usual expectations in a war film that the audience instantly realise what type of film it is (due to the cinema code).

Also you see mise-en-abime within Jarhead, when you notice the soilders in their free time watch a very popular war film to influence and inspire the soliders to carry on with their training and fight. This again, suggests that this film is realted to war life and situations.