Full Metal Jacket is a Vietnam war film directed by Stanley Kubrick. It chronicles the journey of soldiers as they endure the Vietnam war, from boot camp to combat. It deals with themes of individualism, masculinity, and morality. The film is split into two halves, both with their own
protagonists, conflicts, and overall stories. Though both parts are coherent and are part of the same story, they are each self-contained journeys.
The first half of the film follows Leonard "Pyle" Lawrence, a overweight, incompetent recruit as he struggles through boot camp. He is neglected, harassed, and bullied by everyone around him. The second half of the film follows James "Joker" Davis as he stumbles through the hell that is war. The film suffers from an early emotional climax, with the resolution of Pyle's brilliantly-acted character arc overshadowing Joker's story all together.
Leonard "Pyle" Lawrence
James "Joker" Davis
The overall theme of the first half of the film is the soldiers' loss of identity as they survive basic training together. The film opens with a montage of each new soldier getting their heads shaved. Now that every recruit is bald, they all look extremely similar and have lost a lot of personal expression. The cinematography demonstrates this by how each soldier is staring blankly ahead while their head is being shaved. Later on, each recruit is forcefully given a new nickname, assigned by their aggressive and demanding superior, Sergeant Hartman. By giving each recruit a new name, Hartman has effectively taken away the recruit's identities that they had before they came to boot camp. Each recruit is only allowed to speak when spoken to and must follow the assertive demands from Hartman. Because of this, the recruits no longer have control over what they say or do. By taking away the recruit's identities, the Military has effectively created a single, cohesive unit, rather than a group of individuals. All recruits are essentially the same. Hartman describes it best when he says "Here you are all equally worthless."
Pyle is the only character to not lose his identity throughout boot camp. He is physically and mentally unfit to survive training. Hartman did not take this lightly. He bullied, humiliated, and ostracized Pyle, which only made him stand out more. When Pyle is expected to do pull-ups, he is unable to do any, unlike the rest of his unit. This causes Hartman to coerce Pyle in hopes to motive him. Another example of Pyle's physical incompetence is when Hartman discovers a jelly doughnut stashed in Pyle's footlocker. Hartman decides to punish Pyle by forcing him to eat the doughnut while the rest of the platoon does push-ups. Pyle is also mentally inferior to his counterparts. He has trouble remembering and performing certain tasks such as cleaning/assembling his rifle, lacing his shoes, folding his sheets, and a number of other duties. Pyle's bumbling character causes him to stick out and not be able to successfully conform. Hartman tries to combat this by punishing his peers whenever Pyle messes up. This causes his fellow soldiers to turn against him, and even assault in the middle of the night, when he is still unable to perform accordingly. Pyle is unable to lose his identity and suffers from it.
The overall theme of the second half of the movie is focused on Joker coming to terms with human evil and his dual morality. When his base is under attack, he rushes to aid his comrades in battle. Though he is protecting his friends by returning fire, he is ultimately committing evil to do good. In the eyes of his country, he is a hero. In the eyes of Vietnam, he is an enemy. This duality is represented by Joker having both a peace symbol pinned to his jacket and the words "Born to Kill" written across his helmet. This is a statement that Joker is simultaneously both moral and evil. At the end of the film, Joker must choose to either shoot a mortally wounded enemy soldier or leave her to suffer. I believe this a prime example of Joker coming to terms with the evil inside him and at the same time showing mercy by sparing a suffering human being. This duality is visually symbolized by Joker's face being half illuminated and half shadowed. He has earned his "thousand yard stare," yet doesn't seem happy to have taken a life of another.
Full Metal Jacket is an excellent film that deals with themes of individuality, morality, and the duality of man. Kubrick expertly places you in the war in a realistic and effective manner. That being said, if you do not wish to be exposed to the emotional, physical, and spiritual suffering of others, this movie may not be for you. Personally, I thought that Full Metal Jacket had an excellent first half but disappointed for the second. Though the film is full of symbolism and meaning throughout, Joker's character arc is, simply put, boring. However, the first half makes up for this by being brilliantly acted, filmed, and written. If you are looking for a decent film that gives insight into the lives of the soldier's in the Vietnam war, Full Metal Jacket might just be for you.
Works Cited
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