Full Metal Jacket

:For the type of ammunition, see Full metal jacket bullet.

Synopsis

The protagonist of the film is Marine recruit J.T. 'Joker' Davis (Matthew Modine), who is part of a group beginning basic training as a Marine on Parris Island, SC.

Related Topics:
Matthew Modine - Basic training - Marine - Parris Island - SC

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The brutal command of drill instructor Gunnery Sergeant Hartman (played by former Marine Drill Instructor R. Lee Ermey, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination for best supporting actor) shows the harsh indoctrination of the armed forces during the Vietnam War era. The drill is depicted as designed to eliminate virtually all trace of the recruits' individual personalities and transform them into killers (to "keep Heaven packed with fresh souls"). This first section of the film focuses largely on how the brutal treatment of overweight misfit Leonard 'Gomer Pyle' Lawrence (Vincent D'Onofrio) results in his losing his sanity, after which, despite Joker's attempts to intervene, he murders the drill instructor, and then kills himself.

Related Topics:
Drill instructor - Gunnery Sergeant - R. Lee Ermey - Golden Globe - Best supporting actor - Indoctrination - Vietnam War - Vincent D'Onofrio - Sanity

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The second part then takes place in Vietnam, focusing on 'Joker', who is now a Sergeant, and a Stars and Stripes war correspondent, as he covers the Tet Offensive. The 'Joker' soon becomes familiar with both the horror and the absurdity of the war. His helmet decoration – the slogan "Born to Kill" – and the Peace symbol pin on his uniform exemplify his moral ambiguity. In one particularly comic scene Joker is confronted by a Marine Corps Colonel (Bruce Boa), demanding to know why he has a peace symbol on his uniform and "Born To Kill" on his helmet. Joker attempts to explain the duality of man theory postulated by Carl Jung which is obviously lost on the blustering colonel.

Related Topics:
Sergeant - Stars and Stripes - War correspondent - Tet Offensive - Peace symbol - Marine Corps - Colonel - Bruce Boa - Carl Jung

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The film concludes with the soldiers' ironic rendition of the theme song to the Mickey Mouse Club. Other songs used in the film are "Hello Vietnam" and "Patriotic Full Metal Jacket Military Cadence." The film's end credits are accompanied by The Rolling Stones "Paint It Black."

Related Topics:
Mickey Mouse Club - Hello Vietnam - Patriotic Full Metal Jacket Military Cadence - The Rolling Stones - Paint It Black

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