War stories are complex tales involving many characters, emotions, motives and struggles. They go through highs and lows, moments of intense battle to moments of inner reflection. Some war stories are obvious depictions of war, including a series of battles, a dramatic plot, often a love interest, and a dramatic ending. One war story directed by Stanley Kubrick, called Full Metal Jacket, is an unconventional war story. Instead of focusing entirely on the war itself, it also captures the mental developments of the soldiers and their emotions. It goes beyond a normal war story and examines the soldiers themselves, and their motivations and relationships to each other and the war.
Motivation for fighting is a prominent aspect of every war movie. People fight for a variety of reasons; money, power, land, honor, freedom, women, reputation, and so on. Most characters in war stories give the viewer a clear understanding of their goal in the battle, and the reason they are there. It is often brought up a subject of conversation amongst the soldiers at some point in the film. They will ask themselves why they are there, explain how they got where they are, and examine their personal motives for continuing.
However, Full Metal Jacket denies the audience such clarity as to the motives of the soldiers. The film is divided into two parts. The first half takes place at a basic training camp in South Carolina, where the recruits go through the dehumanizing process of becoming Marine-trained "instruments of death." The second half takes us to Vietnam and into battle itself during the Tet offensive. During both halves, characters are challenged to understand the reasons they are fighting.
To focus primarily on one character, one can look at the character Joker, played by Matthew Modine. The first time he speaks in the film, he does a John Wayne impersonation while the terrifyingly hard-headed drill sergeant Hartmann is giving the platoon a speech about how they are no longer people, but scum that must be trained into lethal uniformed killing machines. Joker is a man who stands up for his beliefs and ideas when confronted by the drill sergeant, and for that he is admired. When asked why he fights in the war, he says "to kill." Yet, he does not seem like a killer, and after basic training he takes a job as a Stars and Stripes reporter, a job that does not require much killing. The other characters never say a word about why they are in the marines or what they are fighting for until the second half of the story.
The story is deeply one of humanity. Most of the characters take to the dehumanizing process of basic training as they are meant to, especially an overweight recruit named Gomer who, after constant assault and torture, becomes a highly skilled fighter who goes so insane from the process he ends the lives of himself and sergeant Hartmann in the barracks on the final day of training. The marines are given ridiculous prayers to say to their rifles before bed, worshipping them. They follow orders blindly from fear of the sergeant and the image of the corps. This is all true for everyone but Joker. He is an icon of man's intolerance to this Marine process.
In the second half of the story, during the war, the characters have more conversation as to their motivation, but still in a way that leaves it unclear. There is a memorable scene addressing the issue, where members of the platoon are gathered around the body of one of their recently killed friends. The camera pans around them in a circular fashion, focusing on their faces as they all give a one line comment about the sight that works to identify their character and roles as Marines. Some are disturbed, some wish them peace in heaven, and one says "at least they died for a good cause." A fellow fighter replies "what cause is that?" to which he is given the reply "freedom." The defining line comes after, when the marine replies "You think we are fighting for freedom? If I am going to die for a word... it'd be poon-tang." This line presents viewers with an image of the characters and their ideas, but still offers no concrete idea as to what they are really there for.
Joker also shows his confused motivations through two things he wears on his person. He has the words "Born to Kill" written on his helmet, while he wears a peace sign button on his jacket. Claiming it is to represent the duality of man, it is used to reflect the inner confusion of the soldiers as a whole. It represents the way they were stripped of their former personalities and given a new identify they must follow, though they may not actually believe in it. Joker also shows this duality physically. He takes a job as a reporter, which keeps him out of combat, but at the end of the film gets involved in a skirmish and shoots a wounded Vietnamese sniper point blank.
Another interesting element in a war story is the relationship between the upper-ranking officers and their soldiers. It can be a relationship established out of genuine caring and friendship, out of admiration, or out of fear and hatred. In Kenneth Branaugh's Henry V, for example, his soldiers follow him out of respect. Henry genuinely cares about the well-being of his soldiers while still having a great war mentality, a combination that garnered revere from his soldiers.
In Full Metal Jacket, the soldiers obey for the opposite reason. The platoon is trained by Gunnery Sergeant Hartmann, a man who reflects the stereotypical image of a Marine drill sergeant times ten. He uses fear, insult and punishment to create a loyal following from the platoon, quite unlike the concerned Henry V. He issues nicknames to all the soldiers, nicknames that stick with the characters throughout the film and also serve as an expression of their personalities. He names Joker for obvious reasons, calls one man Gomer Pyle because he is overweight, names one Snowball after deciding that he is homosexual, and one becomes Cowboy because he is from Texas, for example. It is similar to the identification process used in war movies like The Red Badge of Courage, directed by John Huston. The characters real names disappear and become unimportant as they are replaced by these nicknames offered by their superior.
Joker, despite his sarcastic and mocking attitude, develops himself as Hartmann's favorite soldier. This is because he is not afraid to stand his ground with the Sergeant. When he is threatened because of one of his ideals or beliefs, he sticks to it and does not let the Sergeant change him. This attitude is also a parallel with him not letting the Marine training work his psyche as it is intended to.
Gunnery Sergeant Hartmann plays an active role in each character's life. He is not just a threat, but a physical presence. He does not merely posses superiority over the soldiers and boss them around from afar, he is involved in every aspect of their daily lives from two feet away. He is constantly forcing them to do things his way, making most every one of them despise him and fear him, except for Joker. It is not uncommon in war stories to see leaders that have no personal connection with their soldiers beyond being the one who tells them what to do. Hartmann does not fit that mold. He prides himself on being there for everything the soldiers do, and making sure it is done his way. It makes him ruthless, but also very effective for the goal he works towards: creating human instruments of death. Different characters obey orders differently, but aside from Joker, they all tend to follow Hartmann rather well.
In looking at war films, it is unavoidable to ignore the aesthetic elements that make the movie pleasing on a level beyond the plot, characters and story. Full Metal Jacket is full of aesthetic beauty. Stanley Kubrick was known for being a perfectionist; so much so that many actors refused to work with him as they could not deal with it. It was not uncommon for him to shoot a scene 60 times to get it right, or spend years making a film to have it perfect. This obsessive nature did, however, help him craft some of the most aesthetically perfect and pleasing films ever made, Full Metal Jacket being no exception.
The sound, in particular, is exceptionally well done in the film. It is very carefully used and structured around the narrative, working hand-in-hand with the drama and attitude of the film.
The first half of the film has very little music other than the ridiculous marching songs of the marines as they jog around the base, led by Gunnery Sergeant Hartmann. The songs are funny, with stupid lyrics, which add to the flavor of the film as a subtle insult to the system. The second half of the film involves some music, but it is usually cheesy pop songs from the era. These sarcastic songs are placed in the same manner as the silly marching songs. They do not work to intensify the scene, but lighten and moderately mock it.
The action is balanced with the sound. Sound effects will cut away to focus on voices, voices will cut away to focus on sound. Explosions and gunfire are powerful, driven tones that bring the battle scenes to life. The way the sound is constructed has it focusing on whatever is the most important aspect of the scene. If Kubrick wants the audience to pay attention to the people, the background will become quiet and the viewer is forced to focus on the vocals. This is also true for the battle, the training, deaths, moments of transition, etc. Whatever is key in the shot gets the sound focused on it, a technique which adds to the drama and style of the film.
Overall, Full Metal Jacket is a beautifully constructed piece of filmmaking. It takes the war narrative to a different level, making the war itself not the most important part of the story. The characters are interesting people and the way they, their relationships, their superiors and the war they are in are presented are unique. With all that added to sublime aesthetics, Full Metal Jacket is a classic piece of war cinema.
Works Cited
Full Metal Jacket. Dir. Stanley Kubrick. Perf. Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin, Vincent D'Onofrio, R. Lee Ermey. 1987. DVD. Warner Home Video, 2001.
Henry V. Dir. Kenneth Branaugh. Perf. Kenneth Branaugh, Derek Jacobi, Simon Shepherd, James Larkin. 1989.
The Red Badge of Courage. Dir. John Huston. Perf. Audie Murphy, Andy Devine, Andy Devine, John Dierkes, Bill Mauldin. 1951.
Source: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1034784/analysis_of_character_e...