Identity, Morality, & the Consequences of War: Full Metal Jacket 

Although not always the case, Full Metal Jacket mostly follows the ideologies discussed in the book, which helps better convey its message. To start, we see the representation of minorities in a scene with a prostitute. Although none of the African American characters noticeably attempt to assimilate to white culture, we do see the white race being but in a superior position to the minority. In the prostitute scene, a soldier nicknamed Animal Mother pushes fellow soldier Eight Ball, so he could have sexual intercourse with the prostitute first. When Eight Ball attempts to call him out, Animal Mother makes a racist remark and proceeds. With this, audiences are able to see the treatment of inferiority of minorities in war. Viewers may also see a relation to the “representation of women” section of the book - the film habitually presented remarks of femininity being used as insults to describe someone as “weak”. This lack of respect toward women not only reflects the time period, but also could showcase the effect of the absence of women. One would assume and hope that these remarks would not be made if women were there.  Next, the book argues that Full Metal Jacket “undermines” one of the most cherished stories in combat film - men of all different kinds banding together to form cohesive unit and take down the enemy collectively. One might disagree and argue that viewers see this “cherished story” in the Battle of Hue - an inexperienced Private Cowboy is put in charge after the original squad leader is killed by a booby trap. After a series of decisions that produce an ill result, the men decide not to listen to him. Although a few men lose their lives to the sniper, including Cowboy, the men do ultimately band together and eventually kill the sniper. The book seemingly dismisses this portrayal of the “cherished story” due to the fact that it does not shine a positive light on “American democracy” and does not put American military personnel on a pedestal. However, with this positive light not being shed, viewers are able to see that the typical ending to the “cherished story” does not always leave a viewer with a good taste in their mouth. Prior to this, viewers are exposed to a scene where a soldier is shooting innocent civilians from a helicopter - he is seemingly unphased and even laughs about shooting women and children. This specific scene goes hand in hand with wartime atrocities. A combination of his unapologetic attitude and him stating “isn’t war hell” as an excuse for his actions, serves as a shock factor to viewers. Since soldiers are often portrayed as heroic in media and entertainment, audiences are able to better see the effect that the Vietnam War, in particular, had on each soldier’s psyche. Additionally, helicopters are also a substantial factor of the Vietnam War combat film iconography. As stated by the book, they symbolize American dominance in technology - soldiers like the one in the scene discussed may not realize the power behind these electronics. Like many in today’s world, the reality and capability of the damage technology can cause, is not fully grasped by the people using it. The soldier treated the machine gun and his access to shoot innocent civilians from above, like a video game. Precedently, viewers are also exposed to Private Pyle’s meltdown. In the course of his demise, we see Private Pyle constantly being told he’s doing things wrong. Eventually, he becomes obsessive and begins doing things exactly right. On the very last night, Private Pyle perfectly executes what he’s been taught over the past few months but is once again condemned for it. Eventually, Pyle kills Sergeant Hartman, and later takes his own life. With this, audiences are able to see the psychological effects of the endless drilling of obedience in soldiers’ heads. Many who have watched the film pity Pyle because of his incapability of becoming a good soldier. However, some might pity Private Pyle because he did end up becoming the “ideal” soldier that Sergeant Hartman wanted his men to be - obedient and unafraid to kill the enemy, which is what he did in the end. Like many others, he lost his sense of identity and individuality because of his obedience and success in becoming the ideal soldier. To jump forward, one of the final scenes of the film is considered one of the most notable - when Joker is deciding whether to shoot the teenage girl sniper or not. Joker eventually decides to shoot the girl and stares off into the distance, implying that he has gained the “thousand yards stare". For context, Joker was often made fun of for not having the “thousand yards stare”, which implicated that he did not participate in enough combat to be traumatized by it. With the memory of this banter that Joker received for not having “the stare”, viewers can further see the psychological effects of the Vietnam War. Moreover, audiences may be disturbed with the prior knowledge of the “thousand yards stare”, as this stare connoted an eternally damaged soldier - a soldier who would not be able to fully assimilate back into civilian life. Next, audiences with prior knowledge of the combat film genre’s ideologies, may see a tie into the masculinity section of the book. Viewers witness a borderline homoerotic, dependent, “buddy” relationship between Private Pyle and Private Joker. As stated before, the two were paired for Pyle’s benefit, as he was having difficulty adjusting to the conventions of the military lifestyle. Pyle’s dependency on Joker is shown in scenes like the rifle loading and cleaning, Joker keeping Pyle from collapsing while running, and Joker helping Pyle over the wall. Although not by choice, Joker’s patience and willingness to help Pyle makes him a more likeable character, and perhaps even makes him heroic. Throughout this, Joker abstains from calling Pyle by the shameful nickname he was given, and instead calls him by his actual name, Lawrence. Joker’s overall noncompliance to Marine culture, which includes calling each other by nicknames, reinforces his likeability. Joker’s character is notable because he hasn’t fully lost his sense of individuality - he still has a sense of identity. However, viewers may have a shift in thought of Joker’s character after witnessing the soap-bar scene. Joker initially hesitates to hitting Pyle, but ultimately ends up hitting him the most. One might consider this another wartime atrocity - betraying one of your own men, and someone who could be considered your “buddy” at that. Again, audiences are exposed to the cruel culture that the war has created, and the effects it has on a person’s psyche. Full Metal Jacket’s message is conveyed with the help of the conventions of the Vietnam War film.

As stated before, there are a number of combat films that explore a number of wars. In class, students watched a collection of films which shared similarities and differences with Full Metal Jacket. To start, students watched Saving Private Ryan - a combat film that took place during World War II. One might argue that Saving Private Ryan was more different  than similar to Full Metal Jacket. In the small clip, the viewer could already suspect that Saving Private Ryan had a more patriotic tone, which Full Metal Jacket lacked completely. This patriotic/heroic narrative could make the viewer sympathize with the U.S. more - Full Metal Jacket most likely did not have this effect on viewers. Students also watched a film called Sergeant York, which took place during WWI. One might argue that Sergeant York is generally more different as well - although York does show a slight disdain for war, one could consider this a pro-war film because of its patriotic tone. Again, this is unlike Full Metal Jacket, which is an anti war film with no patriotic tone. Next, one might argue that Letters From Iwo Jima is somewhat similar to Full Metal Jacket, on the grounds that it doesn’t really give the viewer a favorable bias toward the U.S. However, unlike the film discussed, it does not show the U.S. perspective. Lastly, Flags of Our Fathers is pretty similar to Full Metal Jacket because the basis of both films obliterate the heroic soldier idea - audiences are able to see the ugly truth behind some soldiers and the war. Ultimately, none of these films are entirely similar any film that follows the ideologies of the Vietnam War film. 

Generally, I would argue that Full Metal Jacket is one of the best war films in American history, due to its message about identity, morality, and environment. Audiences are exposed to the idea that soldiers in war cannot escape their inevitable death - if they are not killed physically, then they are killed emotionally and mentally. In the case of Private Pyle, his mental/emotional death led to his physical death. I would argue that his mental/emotional death was caused by the eradication of his identity. By the end of his short life, he was no longer himself, but the “ideal” soldier he brainwashed into being. In Private Joker’s case, he seemingly escaped this inevitable death until the very end. By gaining his “thousand yards stare”, I would assume that he lost the humorist disposition he preserved through the war. With this, there is a loss of the identity he had before the war - the war had gotten to him. Altogether, the film presents audiences with the age old idea concerning morality: civilization versus savagery. Ultimately, humans battle between these two impulses and it is caused by the circumstances and environment one is experiencing. In classic literature, such as Lord of the Flies, readers are taught that those who choose civilization in a cruel environment (“the righteous folk”) are usually the first to die physically but live on through their imprint for being righteous. In Full Metal Jacket, this idea is indirectly reinforced - those who choose savagery (the ones who kill), are the ones to survive physically, but not mentally/emotionally. All in all, one could argue that identity comes down to morality, which is decided by environment and impulses.