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             Use of 'Fight the Power' in Jarhead 





The movie Jarhead, directed by Sam Mendes and released in 2005, follows the account of a marine sniper fighting in the Gulf War. The movie stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Jamie Foxx, and Peter Sarsgaard. The movie portrays marine, Anthony Swofford, and his experience being deployed in the Arabian Peninsula then to Kuwait. Much of Jarhead presents the soldiers journey and lessons he learned through his deployment. 

*SPOILERS* 
   The song 'Fight the Power' by Public Enemy, takes place after the return of Anthony and another soldier from a sniping mission. Both men are upset they have not killed an insurgent or shot there rifles once. As they reach their FOB, Anthony hears screams just beyond a desert hill. Anticipating to kill, he jumps over the top of the hill just to see American soldiers partying. In the background 'Fight the Power' is being played while Anthony is told the war is over. He is upset he has had no combat experience but eventually begins to join his fellow soldiers in partying. 
Scene (Explicit Language) - Jarhead: Fight the power HD CLIP - YouTube


Lyrics

Public Enemy was formed in New York, 1985. Lyrics in 'Fight the Power' are very crucial to understanding the song. Public Enemy meant for this song to bring awareness to youthful struggles and in conclusion tells his audience to fight back hence them saying 'Fight the Power'. The lyrics are at a consistent pace with little intervals and mainly sung in lower octaves. The instruments stay in perfect rhythm with the singers to create a perfectly built rap song.  

Percussion

The percussion in the song truly helps create it to be unique. From the beginning to the end, the percussion plays the same exact notes. The BPM is around 106. The bass also adds the deep range of noise with the percussion. Combining both these instruments create a perfect beat to rap over and the ability to use with other instruments.  


Opinion

In my opinion, 'Fight the Power' is an amazing song to listen to. Not only are the lyrics inspiring but the beat is very groovy. This type of song can be played almost in any scenario and fit the situation right. I love the direct instruction behind the singers to fight back and stand up for yourself. Overall, this is an amazing song with a great message. 


Social Commentary 

Overall, the song 'Fight the Power' used in the film Jarhead provides a humorous sense of irony. The entirety of the song provokes people to fight back those who oppress you. For Anthony, he wasn't able to fight back because he never once used his weapon. To me, this song choice for the specific scene was hilarious. Though, looking at the movie as a whole, 'Fight the Power' displays the fight the American soldiers put on against Iraq for oil and control. In conclusion, the song is meant for racial oppression but was used to present the fight in the war and also the irony in Anthony Swofford's experience of not shooting his rifle. 

Sources:
Fight the Power: The most provocative song ever - BBC Culture "Fight the Power: The most provocative song ever" written by Dorian Lynskey 27th June, 2019
Fight the Power (pitt.edu) 'Fight the Power' University of Pittsburg, unknown author and date



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