“Full Metal Jacket” is a Vietnam War film that is divided into three parts showing the experience of Private Joker, a Marine who is trained, shipped to Vietnam, and placed in the middle of combat. The first section of the film follows Private Joker’s training as a Marine, along with his friend Private Cowboy and the dim-witted Private Pyle. This section of the movie shows how even before these boys saw combat, they were trained to kill and no longer be an individual. They belonged to the core, whose one mission was to destroy the enemy. Private Pyle’s breakdown is the climax of this section; the mental and physical beating becomes too much for him and he kills the Sergeant and then himself. This illustrates the loss of self that occurs as a soldier is prepared to be a killing machine.
The second section of the film is when Joker is in-country but not in combat. He is in the protection of the city and the Marine base, writing exaggerated news articles to boost the morale of the soldiers. Joker and his photographer and friend, Rafter Man, are both anxious to see action. Joker claims to have been in combat, but really lacks any real experience. The purpose of this part is to show that these men think that they are prepared for anything, ready to kill, ready to die. However, they have no idea what they are really getting into. Even when the base is lightly invaded by the enemy, Joker says he is not ready for it, even though he continues to claim he has had so much experience in the field.
The final part of the film is when Joker and Rafter Man are assigned to Cowboy’s squad, where they meet Animal Mother, Eight Ball, and other soldiers who have been in “The Shit” for a while, and have been forever changed. Joker finally sees the combat he had been anticipating for so long, but unfortunately he if forced to watch Cowboy and other soldiers die, and he must kill his first enemy. This part of the film shows that despite all the training in the world, nothing can prepare a soldier for the reality of combat. Also, we are introduced to Animal Mother, a soldier who is completely nihilistic and bloodthirsty. He represents every soldier who loses all feeling in the war and truly is a killing machine. When combined, the three parts of the film show the brutality or war and its effect on the lives of everyone involved.
The end of the film shows the soldiers marching through a destroyed city singing the Mickey Mouse theme song. Stanley Kubrick used a lot of interesting music choices throughout the film, and this one was used to reiterate how young and previously innocent all of these boys were. Also, it shows the cohesiveness of the squad, that they truly are a brotherhood and close group, as the Mickey Mouse Club was. It shows the contrast between the fun-loving nature of the television program as opposed to the terror of warfare.
“Full Metal Jacket” is a Vietnam War film that is divided into three parts showing the experience of Private Joker, a Marine who is trained, shipped to Vietnam, and placed in the middle of combat. The first section of the film follows Private Joker’s training as a Marine, along with his friend Private Cowboy and the dim-witted Private Pyle. This section of the movie shows how even before these boys saw combat, they were trained to kill and no longer be an individual. They belonged to the core, whose one mission was to destroy the enemy. Private Pyle’s breakdown is the climax of this section; the mental and physical beating becomes too much for him and he kills the Sergeant and then himself. This illustrates the loss of self that occurs as a soldier is prepared to be a killing machine.
ReplyDeleteThe second section of the film is when Joker is in-country but not in combat. He is in the protection of the city and the Marine base, writing exaggerated news articles to boost the morale of the soldiers. Joker and his photographer and friend, Rafter Man, are both anxious to see action. Joker claims to have been in combat, but really lacks any real experience. The purpose of this part is to show that these men think that they are prepared for anything, ready to kill, ready to die. However, they have no idea what they are really getting into. Even when the base is lightly invaded by the enemy, Joker says he is not ready for it, even though he continues to claim he has had so much experience in the field.
The final part of the film is when Joker and Rafter Man are assigned to Cowboy’s squad, where they meet Animal Mother, Eight Ball, and other soldiers who have been in “The Shit” for a while, and have been forever changed. Joker finally sees the combat he had been anticipating for so long, but unfortunately he if forced to watch Cowboy and other soldiers die, and he must kill his first enemy. This part of the film shows that despite all the training in the world, nothing can prepare a soldier for the reality of combat. Also, we are introduced to Animal Mother, a soldier who is completely nihilistic and bloodthirsty. He represents every soldier who loses all feeling in the war and truly is a killing machine. When combined, the three parts of the film show the brutality or war and its effect on the lives of everyone involved.
The end of the film shows the soldiers marching through a destroyed city singing the Mickey Mouse theme song. Stanley Kubrick used a lot of interesting music choices throughout the film, and this one was used to reiterate how young and previously innocent all of these boys were. Also, it shows the cohesiveness of the squad, that they truly are a brotherhood and close group, as the Mickey Mouse Club was. It shows the contrast between the fun-loving nature of the television program as opposed to the terror of warfare. Clearly not a supporter of the war, Kubrick uses this song to satirize military jargon. At the beginning of the film the men are singing military chants in Marine training as a single unit; Kubrick mocks this idea by having the soldiers sing a childish song as a unit.