The manipulative impact of music in cinema: The case of Dunkirk (Christopher Nolan, 2017)

Cinema, as an art form aimed at engaging with the audience, utilizes visual and auditory elements together. These elements come together to enrich the film experience. Among these components, music stands out as an effective tool for drawing the viewer into the story and creating an emotional connection. In the early days of cinema, music was primarily used to mask noises, but over time it has taken on functions of setting the atmosphere of films and adding emotional depth. Music has played a significant role in the history of cinema, and with the advent of sound films, recorded music pieces began to be included in film soundtracks. Today, film music is used for different purposes in addition to its past functions. In this context, Christopher Nolan, who stands out with the music used in his films, serves as a good example. Nolan, particularly through his collaboration with successful composers like Hans Zimmer, transforms music from being just a background element into a part of the narrative. For instance, in Inception (Christopher Nolan, 2010), music emphasizes the internal conflicts of the characters and the complexity of the story, leaving a deep emotional impact on the audience. Similarly, in Interstellar (Christopher Nolan, 2014), music is used effectively to emphasize the vastness of space and the epic scale of the narrative. This study examines how the music and sound design techniques used in Dunkirk (2017) manipulate the audience's perception of time and how the film's music transforms into a narrative element. The aim of the study is to explain how the music and sound design used in Dunkirk (Nolan, 2017) influence the story and what meanings they convey when combined with other elements of the film, through document analysis of scenes from the film. In this context, the study seeks to determine whether the music used in the film can become an element of the narrative. Throughout the study, the following questions will be answered through Dunkirk (2017): "How has the use of music in cinema evolved from past to present? Is music a narrative element? What is the Shepard Tone? What is a Leitmotif? What is a Sound Bridge? What impact do all these elements have on the music in Dunkirk (2017)?"