Blog 5 JV

Full Metal Jacket directed by Stanley Kubrick is a Vietnam War film centered on the progression of a soldier and not so much the fighting that went on. At the start of the movie there are three main characters that are focused on. These three are Joker, Pyle, and Cowboy. As the men begin their training on Parris Island, certain things become clear as to what abilities are suited for whom. Pyle is an overweight soldier who struggles through most of the basic training. Due to his lack of athleticism he becomes an outsider and dedicates his time to his rifle. Throughout the training Pyle has become so mentally unstable that he ends up shooting his drill instructor, Hartman, as well as himself. This is an example of how much a person can change. The first day Pyle could not help himself from smiling and on the last day he seemed insane.

After Parris Island, the movie focuses on the movement of Joker to the military newspaper, Stars & Stripes, in Vietnam. There Joker is told to spice up his stories to make the readers want to back the war more. In an article Joker writes he is told to lie and say the US soldiers killed when they did not. This shows how there was a struggle for the American civilians and soldiers to want to be involved in the war. This is also true when Rafterman says “We’re supposed to be helping them, and they shit all over us every chance they get.” The soldiers felt as if they were underappreciated in the war.

On the way to Joker’s new relocation in the helicopter the gunner says, “Anyone who runs is a VC anyone who stands still is a well disciplined VC,” as he is blatantly shooting Vietnamese farmers. This is an example of how the soldiers got to the point where they did not care who they killed as long as they weren’t the ones that were getting shot. The gunner made it seem as if nobody was off limits to kill.

Towards the end of the movie Joker has joined Cowboys platoon. There is a standoff with a sniper in an abandoned building who kills multiple soldiers. The twist of the situation was that the Vietnamese sniper was female. After a gun fight the movie culminates with Joker being the one that gives the fatal shot to put the woman out of pain. This shot is the complete transformation for Joker. Then the movie ends with the innocence of the Mickey Mouse Club song sung by the soldiers to contradict what the soldiers have become.