In this film you don't get exactly what you expected. It's not a your typical anti Vietnam War movie that bashes on the political principles or ideologies of the U.S. which made the war an impossible and pointless fight. Instead Kubrick took an approach at realism by showing the effect war has on the young men it involves. One of the young men, Private Joker, is followed throughout the film, showing his struggle dealing with the "duality of man." At a time of war the two aspects of men that oppose each other are keeping good morals and becoming a soldier. Kubrick uses specific shots, sounds, and lighting throughout the film to emphasize the inner conflict and changes that war forced upon Private Joker's character.
The film is distinctively dissected into two parts, Marine Corps training and Vietnam. In the training scenes the Gunnery Sergeant Hartman attempts to mold his young recruits into killers using tough love and hard training. However, one of the clumsy and sluggish privates, Leonard, is unable keep his head above water in training, ultimately leading to Hartman punishing the rest of the recruits for his failure. The men retaliate and throw him a "sock party," a inhumane scene that displays Joker's internal battle with morals and duties as a soldier. The use of lighting is key in this scene, a blue tint filter, which sets an ominous vibe. The accompanying audio is a mysterious tune with high pitch tones playing in the background that also foreshadows an unfortunate upcoming event.
The film is distinctively dissected into two parts, Marine Corps training and Vietnam. In the training scenes the Gunnery Sergeant Hartman attempts to mold his young recruits into killers using tough love and hard training. However, one of the clumsy and sluggish privates, Leonard, is unable keep his head above water in training, ultimately leading to Hartman punishing the rest of the recruits for his failure. The men retaliate and throw him a "sock party," a inhumane scene that displays Joker's internal battle with morals and duties as a soldier. The use of lighting is key in this scene, a blue tint filter, which sets an ominous vibe. The accompanying audio is a mysterious tune with high pitch tones playing in the background that also foreshadows an unfortunate upcoming event.
The sequence contains a steady cam shot giving the viewers and impression of being there, following, observing the event taking place. Another shot the sequence contains is one of Pyle being held down and beaten while worried and conflicted moonlit face of Private Joker is in the distant corner. Symbolizing his stance on the situation that is taking place. After being pressured by Private Cowboy, Joker repeatedly strikes Pyle and returns to his bed directly below. Still conflicted, he covers his ears to drown out the unmistakable shrieks of Private Pyle. In the last scene of boot camp the setting, audio, and lighting parallel that of the "sock pary." This foreshadows the scene as being a consequence to their punishment of Pyle. It is in this scene where he kills himself and the senior drill instructor leaving Joker alone in the dark with a disturbed look on his face. The duality of human nature is conflicting him. The private regrets his decisions and is still unable to disconnected like Cowboy and the other recruits. He fails to become what Hartman had been trying to make out of him, a soldier. |
It isn't until in the end of the second half of the movie, in the scene where the soldiers take down the girl Vietnamese sniper, where Joker is confronted with a similar situation of clashing morals and obligations. This scene uses similar gloomy lighting and mysterious music to the two previous scenes in which he was faced with moral conflict. Just before Joker is about to shoot the sniper his gun jams symbolizing his mental conflict in carrying out the task of killing women and children. The end shot is a close up of the privates face as he shoots the girl, his face is expressionless. The movie ends with a collection of dim lit steady cam shots with soldiers marching as they sing the "Mickey Mouse Club" song. In one of the shots you can make out the barely lit face of Private Joker, with the expression of relief on his face. He had finally gone through the transformation the army had been trying to force upon him. He was a killer, a soldier.
Works Cited
Full Metal Jacket. Dir. Stanley Kubrick. Perf. Mathew Modine. Prod. Stanley Kubrick. 1987.
Works Cited
Full Metal Jacket. Dir. Stanley Kubrick. Perf. Mathew Modine. Prod. Stanley Kubrick. 1987.