Full Jacket Movie
The movie is a British-American military that was written and directed by Stanley Kubrick. It stars Matthew Modine (Joker), Lee Ermey, Adam Baldwin, and Vincent D’Onofrio. The movie’s screenplay was inspired by “The Short-Timers,” a novel by Gustav Hasford. It highlights the struggle of new marine recruits, in the hands of the sergeant. For instance, he says, “You are nothing but unorganized, grab-asstic pieces of amphibian shit!” Additionally, it also highlights the experiences of the mariners in the Vietnamese cities during their much-awaited war in Vietnam.
- Introduction
- About the movie
- Thesis statement/themes
- Transformation
- Masculinity
- Sexuality
Body paragraph 1
- The theme of transformation
- How it helps understand human nature
Body paragraph 2
- The theme of masculinity
- How it comments on and reflect on the world we live in
Body paragraph 3
- The theme of sexuality
- The abstract ideas that are explored in the film
Conclusion
- Highlighting on the themes
- The reflection on contemporary human survival
The Inhuman Humans
Introduction
Stanley Kubrick released the “Full Metal Jacket” in 1987. It highlights the dehumanizing effects that war brings to recruits throughout their mission. The recruits have different personalities and characters that gradually fades away with every passing time at their training camps and experiences in the field. Various characters are a representation of change and the causes of change in the movie, from sergeant Hartman, Joker, and Pyle. Different themes are unraveled in the course of preparation and during wars in the film. These themes are the theme of Transformation, masculinity, and sexuality.
The theme of Transformation.
The theme of Transformation helps us understand human nature, periodically showing the changes in one’s life to the different situations around them. The boys are going through rigorous military training to transform their physicality into war individuals. They go through a complete shave, a uniform trend of a unique look, as the first sign of homologation. Furthermore, Sergeant Hartman says, “If you survive recruit training, you will be a weapon, you will be a minister of death praying for war. But until that day, you are the lowest form of life on this earth! You are not even human beings!” Humanity and weapons are parallel concepts that do not go hand in hand.
Pyle is an ever giggling, innocent, and slow person due to his overweight size, who smiles at the abuses directed to his colleagues. It is quite hard how one would imagine him transform and the amount of time needed for his overall personal change. Within no time, Pyle had become one of the most hardworking boys, training hard and lethal warriors. Additionally, his mental state had transformed, and he was losing control of himself severely. As a result, he killed the sergeant and himself while in a mental state. The transformational evidence in the boys is a replica of the human nature and how bound it is to transform for the best or worst depending on situations surrounding them.
The Theme of Masculinity.
The theme of masculinity is highlighted by the dominance of men in the movie and the camp. The monopoly of one gender is the extreme psychological trauma men undergo in the training camp and also effect to each other. Firstly, the boys are cleanly shaved to look uniform and manly. In this context, long hair is associated with femininity, and therefore it should be eradicated. Hartman warns the boys not to bring any female in the camp. He dehumanizes them and only calls them “ladies.” Additionally, the sergeant humiliates the boys’ manhood by calling Cowboy a queer and forcing Pyle to march with his pants down and sucking his thumb. The theme of masculinity reflects on the patriarchal society that is dominated by men in all aspects of life, from politics, organizations, and military, among others.
The Theme of Sexuality.
Sexuality in the film has been entangled with violence and sadism. A scene shows the boys holding their manhood as they chant, “This is my gun! This is for fighting! Their chants unveil the connection between weapons of war and male sexual organs. Additionally, the camp being dominated by men means that they closely sleep next to one another and shower in one accord, indicates the homoerotic nature of the film. Furthermore, there is an innate desire for sex from the boys. The boys sneak in a prostitute in the camp for sexual satisfaction. It shows how social situations like training cannot abstractly suppress much passion and human feelings.
Conclusion
The “Full Metal Jacket” film highlights the troubles and challenges that the fresh Marine Corps went through in preparation for the war in Vietnam and during their war there. The movie mirrors the usual human life through the themes of Transformation, masculinity, and sexuality. These themes are some of the replica of the current social issues of human nature, a reflection of the world, and the abstract responses to our human needs.
Reference
Kubrick, S. (1987). Full Metal Jacket movie. https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=playlist_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqa1A4WHhDLW5YX29JSVdxYmdnWHVib3N0ZUhHZ3xBQ3Jtc0ttX0hrcllSUVJlUDlMRjNQeUk1TndSLWRsd19BNm9uVFgxUnpDQ1NXTUtraUVRVk80Nk9ybEMwZEEtU3d1RFF1b2t4UUJ5QzFLTFphNUlzMEtPZk4xOXBZMnNwS1BPX3I5dGtnMGZGY19yOWhGNXB5SQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fhref.li%2F%3Fhttps%3A%2F%2Fis.gd%2F2RNAcy%3A2106.