preview

Transition in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket Essay

Better Essays

Transition in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket "These are great days we're living, bros. We are jolly green giants, walking the Earth with guns. These people we wasted here today are the finest human beings we will ever know. After we rotate back to the world, we're gonna miss not having anyone around that's worth shooting." In Full Metal Jacket, Stanley Kubrick's portrayal of the Vietnam War and the US Marines is immense. His "Boys to Men" theme brought forth the transition these young men had gone through in order to achieve that "Man" status. The beginning of the movie takes place at the Marine boot camp on Parris Island in South Carolina. The Marines, as always, were looking for a few good men. On this day, they …show more content…

Everyone has Private Joker inside of them. He is our doubt. Our naïve braveness. Our curiosity. Our qualm as some may call it. He sees Hartman as I see my coach. He can see beyond the Marine boot camp and perhaps even Vietnam. Joker, played by Matthew Modine, is the person inside of us that is self-disciplined. The one that tells us we have to do it on our own, find our own way. He is going to learn whatever it is that the teacher is teaching but will attempt to garner his own understanding before he accepts another. While Sergeant Hartman is giving his introduction, he mumbles in his best John Wayne Voice "Is that you John Wayne. Is this me?" Extremely upset with this disruption, Sergeant Hartman accuses Cowboy, Joker's future friend who happens to be standing next to him in line. "I did sir," Joker tells his Drill Instructor. "Private Joker...I like honesty. I like you. You can come over to my house and fuck my sister." Sergeant Hartman sarcastically states seconds before punching the private in his stomach. I am sure Private Joker was not expecting the drill instructor to strike him but his courageousness showed when he admitted to his fault. I believe that despite Sergeant Hartman's sarcastic remark, he was impressed by

Get Access