To soothe or remove? Affect, revanchism and the weaponized use of classical music

Abstract

Over the past thirty years in the UK, Canada and the US, classical music has come to function as a sonic weapon. It is used a means of dispelling and deterring 'loiterers' by making particular public and privately-owned public spaces-such as shopping malls, bus stations, shop fronts and car parks-undesirable to occupy. In this article, I present weaponized classical music as a 'revanchist', audio-affective deterrent. Drawing upon Neil Smith's description of the revanchist city (1996, 1998), I examine how weaponized classical music works to affectively police neoliberal 'public' space. While credited with the capacity to 'soothe away' deviant behaviour through its calming influence, weaponized classical music ultimately aims to 'remove' the figure of the threatening and menacing 'loiterer' insofar as it is heard as repellent. Though affect has often been understood in contradistinction to social determinisms, weaponized classical music exemplifies the capacity of musical affects to function as a technology of social reproduction. Western European classical music has frequently been celebrated as a pinnacle of human achievement: it is said to have the capacity to enlighten, to move, and-as proponents of 'the Mozart effect' suggest-improve listeners' mental capacity. However, over the past thirty years in the UK, Canada and the United States, classical music has come to function not just as art or entertainment but as a sonic weapon. It is used a means of dispelling and deterring 'loiterers' by making particular public and privately-owned public spaces-such as shopping malls, bus stations, shop fronts and car parks-undesirable to occupy. The practice is thought to have begun in 1985, when a branch manager of a 7-Eleven convenience stores in Canadian province of British Colombia began broadcasting 'classical' and 'easy listening' music into the store's parking lot to prevent teenagers from congregating there. (Hirsch, 2006) In the US and Canada, classical music has been used as a deterrent on public transport systems (the regional transit department in Portland broadcasts instrumental music and opera at its light rail stations, for example, allegedly resulting in a reduction of

The Interaction Order and Musical Sound: Shopping with Erving Goffman

“…As Zerubavel (:3) puts it, the way we cut up the world mentally is expressed in how we construct age, gender and ethnicity, amongst other things and music can signal these implied divisions. As Thompson (:279) argues with respect to “weaponized” classical music aimed at “loiters” in public places, music is repellent because of “its symbolic capital and cultural baggage… it serves to diminish the disruptive power of ‘undesirable’ subjects.” In both situations, music performs a similar kind of classification that some shoppers and loiters are keenly aware and eager to disassociate. Though retailers typically do not discriminate explicitly between different customers and foster the sense that everyone seeking service is equal, the musical dimensions discriminate.…”

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Implementing and enforcing a smoke‐free policy and by‐law on hospital grounds at Central Coast Local Health District

“…Classical music is also played at the main entrances of both hospitals campuses, to discourage loitering and smoking …”

Supporting visitor compliance with a smoke‐free policy at hospital using a nicotine replacement therapy vending machine

“…Numerous strategies have been utilised by CCLHD over time to facilitate visitor compliance with smoke-free policies, including installation of signage and playing no smoking announcements and classical music on speakers at the hospital main entrances to reduce loitering 11 and smoking. 12 To support visitors further, availability of NRT round-the-clock was identified as a possible solution. NRT is an effective method for managing nicotine cravings for smoking cessation, and is available in many forms including patches, inhalator, spray, lozenges and gum.…”

“…Numerous strategies have been utilised by CCLHD over time to facilitate visitor compliance with smoke‐free policies, including installation of signage and playing no smoking announcements and classical music on speakers at the hospital main entrances to reduce loitering 11 and smoking. 12 …”