Maddie Bulkley
Blog 6
Full Metal Jacket is a different style war movie. It has the stereotypical blood, gore and death but what sets it apart from dramatic heart-wrenching war films is the incorporation of offbeat humor. In all three sections of the film, the plot was linear and novel.
The first section of the film began with the new Marine recruitments enduring training on Paris Island. The instructor Sergeant Hartman is relentless and bullies all of the men into uniformity and obedience. He commands them to recite his crude and adolescent vulgar chants which are humorous in contrast to their purpose of training. They are training to become killing machines and to be independent war obsessed Marines. Private Pyle’s lack of conformity and skill alienate him from the rest of the group. Although Pyle does have the skill to kill and shoot he does not have the frame of context to understand when it is appropriate to do so. There are many reasons why Pyle snapped, mainly because his mindset had transformed to that of a lethal private without the feeling of comradely to the other privates. Pyle felt they were the enemy and thus took his own life in addition to Sergeant Hartman’s. This final even in the first section summarized the pull the soldiers felt between their grounded innocent values that applied back home versus the belligerent acts they needed in war. Many young men found the equilibrium between the two.
Private Joker is followed in the second section of the film. He is not in country and seems to be enjoying the effects of not being in combat. Private Joker is an interesting character because he wears a peace sign and has written “born to kill” on his helmet. When prodded about the reasoning behind this by the Colonel he responded, “I think I was trying to suggest something about the duality of man”. Joker, like many of the men fighting struggled with the reasoning as to the reason for the war. The Vietnam war was not structured and the men fighting were immature in their knowledge of a war they were fighting that started for reasons they could not comprehend. The second section is to show the struggle the duality of men face, and Joker leads the viewers into the third section of the film as a journalist with his sidekick photographer, Private Cowboy.
The third section of the film shows more of the gruesome effects of the war. People are shown being blown up, both on the American side and Vietnam. The 3rd section highlights the fighting during the launch of the Tet Offensive. The sniper, a young Vietnamese woman, represents the atypical set up of the war. Woman and children are not just victims but they are part of the effort. Through the fighting, there is lively music and tone in the film. Thus juxtaposition is meant to be shocking. The purpose of the sniper was to portray the killing machines the privates had become as they sought revenge on Cowboy’s death.
The final scene is the men singing “Mickey Mouse” as they march through fiery destruction. This connects back to an early quote from the first section. Sergeant Hartman declares, “What is this Mickey Mouse shit? What are you two animals doing in my beloved head? Why is Private Pyle out of his bunk after lights out? Why is Private Pyle holding that weapon? Why are you not stomping Private Pyle's guts out?”. The Mickey Mouse song shows the young men’s unity as they sing together. It shows they are still confused as to the context in which death occurs. The song highlights the overall tone of the film, boyhood innocence when war was just a game versus killing machine men.
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Full Metal Jacket is a different style war movie. It has the stereotypical blood, gore and death but what sets it apart from dramatic heart-wrenching war films is the incorporation of offbeat humor. In all three sections of the film, the plot was linear and novel.
ReplyDeleteThe first section of the film began with the new Marine recruitments enduring training on Paris Island. The instructor Sergeant Hartman is relentless and bullies all of the men into uniformity and obedience. He commands them to recite his crude and adolescent vulgar chants which are humorous in contrast to their purpose of training. They are training to become killing machines and to be independent war obsessed Marines. Private Pyle’s lack of conformity and skill alienate him from the rest of the group. Although Pyle does have the skill to kill and shoot he does not have the frame of context to understand when it is appropriate to do so. There are many reasons why Pyle snapped, mainly because his mindset had transformed to that of a lethal private without the feeling of comradely to the other privates. Pyle felt they were the enemy and thus took his own life in addition to Sergeant Hartman’s. This final even in the first section summarized the pull the soldiers felt between their grounded innocent values that applied back home versus the belligerent acts they needed in war. Many young men found the equilibrium between the two.
Private Joker is followed in the second section of the film. He is not in country and seems to be enjoying the effects of not being in combat. Private Joker is an interesting character because he wears a peace sign and has written “born to kill” on his helmet. His name is also significant and a play on words. His character seems to relate to the stereotype of fighting and “John Wayne’esque” attitude. When prodded about the reasoning behind this by the Colonel he responded, “I think I was trying to suggest something about the duality of man”. Joker, like many of the men fighting struggled with the reasoning as to the reason for the war. The Vietnam war was not structured and the men fighting were immature in their knowledge of a war they were fighting that started for reasons they could not comprehend. The second section is to show the struggle the duality of men face, and Joker leads the viewers into the third section of the film as a journalist with his sidekick photographer, Private Cowboy.
The third section of the film shows more of the gruesome effects of the war. People are shown being blown up, both on the American side and Vietnam. The 3rd section highlights the fighting during the launch of the Tet Offensive. The sniper, a young Vietnamese woman, represents the atypical set up of the war. Woman and children are not just victims but they are part of the effort. Through the fighting, there is lively music and tone in the film. Thus juxtaposition is meant to be shocking. The purpose of the sniper was to portray the killing machines the privates had become as they sought revenge on Cowboy’s death.
The final scene is the men singing “Mickey Mouse” as they march through fiery destruction. This connects back to an early quote from the first section. Sergeant Hartman declares, “What is this Mickey Mouse shit? What are you two animals doing in my beloved head? Why is Private Pyle out of his bunk after lights out? Why is Private Pyle holding that weapon? Why are you not stomping Private Pyle's guts out?”. The Mickey Mouse song shows the young men’s unity as they sing together. It is almost their self justification for the horrible things they have to do, because they sing this innocent song as an elite club of men, marching together. Understanding the significance of this song is crucial to comprehending the meaning of the film. It shows they are still confused as to the context in which death occurs. The song highlights the overall tone of the film, boyhood innocence when war was just a game versus killing machine men.