𝐆𝐮𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐨 𝐁𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 + 𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐨𝐛𝐬 𝐋𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥

𝐆𝐮𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐨 𝐁𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 + 𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐨𝐛𝐬 𝐋𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥

In a recent viewing of "Jacobs Ladder," I was struck by the intriguing concept of how the portrayal of entities like Satan in politics can yield both positive and negative interpretations, each offering unique insights. As one character in the movie aptly puts it,

"So the way he sees it, if you're frightened of dying and... and you're holding on, you'll see devils tearing your life away. But if you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels, freeing you from the earth. It's just a matter of how you look at it, that's all."

This profound perspective left me pondering the parallels with real-life situations, particularly in the context of the U.S. government's response to certain allegations. At the end of "Jacobs Ladder," we're confronted with the revelation that hallucinogenic drugs may have been used in experiments on soldiers during the Vietnam War, an assertion firmly denied by the Pentagon.

What I find truly intriguing is the unsettling connection between these allegations and demonic interpretations, as well as the implications they carry. Another dark and thought-provoking piece of media that recently caught my attention is the infamous "Guantánamo Bay playlist from hell" that I recently discovered in Penguins book on 'hell'. Strangely, some of my favorite songs happen to be on that playlist, which raises questions about my own tastes.

In Guantánamo Bay, detainees were subjected to relentless psychological torment, which included the repeated blaring of a music playlist now infamously known as the "Guantánamo Bay playlist from hell." While I'm no psychologist, I've always had a knack for delving into such matters, and my intuition often aligns with the truth. Although I won't delve into the research backing my claims here, it's clear that this playlist, played at deafening volumes for hours on end, alongside sleep deprivation, humiliation, physical torture, and confinement, formed a core component of their torment.

Detainees described their harrowing experiences, including being "chained without food or water in total darkness" with loud rap or heavy metal music playing for weeks on end as a torture tactic. It's crucial to remember that these detainees came from diverse cultural backgrounds, making such music unfamiliar and particularly distressing for some.

Before dissecting the psychological impact of this playlist, let's take a look at the infamous songs that were used as tools of torture, presented here in the exact order they were played:.

1. Christina Aguilera, "Dirrty"
   

2. Barney and Friends, "I Love You Song"
   

3. Deicide, "Fuck Your God"
   

4. Drowning Pool, "Bodies"
   

5. Eminem, "Kim"
   

6. Marilyn Manson, "The Beautiful People"
   

7. The "Meow Mix" theme
   

8. Nine Inch Nails, "Somewhat Damaged"
   

9. Queen, "We Are the Champions"
   

10. Britney Spears, ". . . Baby One More Time"
    

The Guantánamo Bay playlist from hell raises unsettling questions about the psychological impact of the music selected for this form of torture. Let's examine this playlist track by track to understand how it could be deeply distressing to detainees from diverse cultural backgrounds.

1. Christina Aguilera - "Dirrty" To Western audiences, this song appears to be about a woman embracing her sensuality. However, in some cultures, it might come across as not just threatening but overtly sexual, rather than merely a fun tune.

2. Barney and Friends - "I Love You Song" Placing this children's song immediately after "Dirrty" creates a disconcerting shift. The transition from sensuality to childlike innocence is unsettling and extremely disturbing. It's interesting and disturbingly thought provoking to wonder as to why the fuck they'd match the last two songs together, my guesses are that they did this to cause disturbing feelings to the folk imprisoned.

3. Deicide - "Fuck Your God"

4. This song takes a starkly anti-religious stance. For non-English speakers or those unfamiliar with the context, it may simply sound like extreme anger or hostility, intensifying the distress. This song comes after a built up excitable and odd emotional rollercoaster of the first two songs.

5. Drowning Pool - "Bodies"

6. Following "Fuck Your God," this track seems to suggest a message of self-harm or violence, contributing to the psychological turmoil experienced by detainees. Reminding the in mates why they're here, I'm sure they'd have used the mix with bush talking in it

7. Eminem - "Kim"

8. "Kim" metaphorically portrays a violent act against an ex-girlfriend. Without an understanding of rap culture or the song's context, it could be perceived as a direct threat. This is the revenge song from the above song

9. Marilyn Manson - "The Beautiful People" This song conveys a sense of someone else exerting control over individuals, heightening their sense of powerlessness. Just read the lyrics...

10. "Meow Mix" Theme Inserting this jingle like tune aimed to disrupt detainees' mental states, serving as a subtle but effective form of psychological torture.

11. Nine Inch Nails - "Somewhat Damaged" The transition from "Meow Mix" to the ominous and dark tones of this song induces an emotional rollercoaster, as it goes from high dopamine to low, adding to the psychological torment.

12. Queen - "We Are the Champions" From the detainees' perspective, this track could be seen as an ironic mockery by the Americans, emphasizing the detainees powerlessness.

13. Britney Spears - ". . . Baby One More Time" Finishing with this iconic American song underscores the explicitly American nature of the entire playlist.
    

The deliberate selection of these songs, often with provocative themes or jarring transitions, aimed to create emotional turmoil, further accentuating the distressing conditions faced by detainees. It's important to recognise that what may amuse some of us in a different context can be profoundly torturous for others.

Returning to "Jacob's Ladder," this film provides a gripping portrayal of an American soldier's journey during the Vietnam War. The film's title, "Jacob's Ladder," alludes to the ladder to heaven, and it weaves an extraordinary narrative. I find it astonishing that I hadn't watched it sooner. The story revolves around a soldier who, during the Vietnam War, becomes unwittingly involved in a government experiment involving a mind-altering drug. This experiment leads to disturbing consequences, with American soldiers drugged and pitted against each other in nightmarish scenarios, serving as the initial subjects of this eerie trial, as depicted in the film.

What makes "Jacob's Ladder" especially captivating is the way it delves into the protagonist's harrowing flashbacks, vividly portraying his descent into a nightmarish realm reminiscent of hell. The director drew inspiration from the dark and visceral artworks of Francis Bacon, evident in scenes such as when the soldier is taken into a hospital of the damned and the overall macabre aesthetic. References to Dante's Inferno and various occult symbols scattered throughout the young man's apartment add to the film's rich iconography.

In this particular war, a drug known as BZ, which induces violent hallucinations, is said to have been employed. While I'm not inclined toward conspiracy theories, the true testimonies of certain soldiers and the historical record of wartime misconduct make it conceivable that the American government may have resorted to such drastic measures, even using their own soldiers as unwitting subjects. Instances like MK Ultra have shown the government's capacity for covert operations, making it not entirely implausible. At the end of the film we realize that the journey was in fact played out in the soldier's head before he dies due to the intoxication of the drug. It's tragic and a real eye-opener for those who see it.

Drawing parallels, as we also examine the Guantánamo Bay playlist. The government long denied many aspects of what transpired at Guantánamo Bay, with revelations only emerging in recent years. These two pieces of media share significant connections to the U.S. government, despite being decades apart and in different eras of war, they echo the same message, underscoring how closely they resonate and prompt us to question the government's actions and both of them have connections with Hells asthetic.

So we can see that Satan can be used as a positive influence as a symbol of the adversary, the oppressed the minority groups rising up against arbitrary authority, but then we also have to representation of the devil in a negative sense, which still has the same effect if you use the devil in a positive way, or a negative way, he still is so important to the narratives of our moral mortal existence.