Straining the future: Battlefield Earth, Space Jazz and the sounds of Scientology

This article considers the sonic agenda at work in Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000 (Christian US 2000). Through a critical analysis of the film and its associated texts - namely, L. Ron Hubbard's novel of the same name and his album Space Jazz (1982) - discussion of the film's sonicity will engage with Scientological views on music, popular culture and science. This article will also consider the ways in which Battlefield Earth adheres to sf film codes and, particularly, how the soundtrack replicates sonic formations of the genre.