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This is a plot summary of director Stanley Kubrick's film 'Full Metal Jacket'.
This is Kubrick's 2nd war film, his 1st being 1957s Paths of Glory Starring Kirk Douglas and George Macready. That film, set in WWI, took an anti war position from the standpoint of a French officer ordered to execute 3 soldier's for cowardice. By contrast, Full Metal Jacket is an ambiguous look at war through the eyes of Joker, a soldier conflicted by his nature to kill and his desire to see peace. Anyway, this is one of my favorite war films and I put this summary together highlighting key moments in the film. This clip is one of the funniest scenes in the movie. Thanks for reading and feel free to leave a comment.
Production
Full Metal Jacket is a 1987 war action movie shot in London, England and directed by Stanley Kubrick who co-wrote the script with Michael Herr and Gustav Hasford, based on Hasford’s 1979 novel “The Short Timers.” The film stars Mathew Modine, Adam Baldwin, Vincent D’Onofrio, Lee Ermey, and Dorian Harewood.
Plot summary
The film is set in 1968 prior to and during the war’s bloodiest campaign, the Tet Offensive. On Parris, Island South Carolina, new recruits are beginning 8 week U.S. Marine bootcamp training. The opening scene shows the recruits having their heads shaved. The following scene shows the recruits in their dormitory, at attention, being inspected by their drill instructor, Gunnery Sergeant Hartman. Here we meet Private Joker, named so by Hartman for his John Wayne impersonations. There’s Cowboy, and finally there’s an overweight recruit named Leonard whom Hartman names Gomer Pyle. Pyles’ and Hartmans' relationship is the focus of the 1st half of the film.
Joker (Matthew Modine) shows exceptional motivation and is quickly promoted to squad leader. Pyle, by contrast, lacks motivation and has trouble following instructions. Hartman assigns Joker to bunk with Pyle and teach him. Unlike Hartman who shouts and curses, Joker’s patient teaching style seems to motivate Pyle for a while. One morning, Hartman inspects the platoon and finds a jelly donut in Pyle’s footlocker. Infuriated, Hartman punishes the whole platoon instead of punishing Pyle. Late 1 night as Pyle is asleep, the platoon throws him a blanket party, pinning him down in bed and each striking him with bar of soap wrapped in a towel. This traumatizes Pyle. Cowboy warns him that it was all just a bad dream.
After this beating, Pyle has the 1,000 yard stare. Now, he follows instructions and does his drills with precision. He names his M14 rifle Charlene and begins to talk to it. He becomes the best rifleman in the platoon and earns Hartmans' respect who calls him “Born again hard.”
The recruits complete their training and Hartman gives them their MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) job codes. Joker is assigned to journalism; Pyle is assigned to infantry. On their last night on Parris, Island, Pyle wakes everyone up. Joker finds him in the head (bathroom) reciting the Rifleman’s Creed. He loads 7.62 mm rounds into Charlene. Hartman bursts into the head and orders Pyle to put down the weapon. Pyle shoots Hartman, turns the rifle on himself, and the film’s 1st act ends.
The 2nd act of the film opens in Saigon. Corporal Joker and Private 1st Class Rafterman are outside at a table drinking beers and negotiating with a prostitute. Two teens make off with Rafterman’s camera and speed off on a moped.
The next scene is at Da Nang where the press corps prepares for the Tet Holiday. Fireworks light up the sky over Dogpatch, a small City outside of Da Nang. The NVA and Viet Cong break the cease fire, springing surprise attacks on military bases throughout South Vietnam. The U.S. Embassy in Saigon is overrun and taken over. The Marines at Da Nang hold off the NVA and Viet Cong but all of the planning around the Tet Holiday goes out the window. Lieutenant Lockhart, the Public Affairs Officer, sends Joker and Rafterman, the photographer, to Phu Bai in central Vietnam south of Hue.
At Phu Bai, Joker and Rafterman visit a mass grave and interview one of the lieutenants. South Vietnamese soldiers (ARVN officers), government officials, and educators number the dead.
Joker and Rafterman go to a platoon area outside of Hue City called Hotel 2-5 and hook up with the Lusthog squad. Here, Joker reunites with Cowboy who introduces him and Rafterman to the rest of the squad including Animal Mother and a Black CO named Eightball. Joker and Rafterman travel with the Lusthogs into Hue City and participate in a number of skirmishes with the enemy. Later, the media interviews members of the platoon whose attitudes range from indifference to sarcasm courtesy of Joker who compares Vietnam to a vacation resort.
While patrolling Hue, squad leader Crazy Earl steps on a booby trap and Cowboy replaces him as commander. The squad gets lost and Cowboy changes direction, sending Eightball to scout a path through a building complex. There, a sniper shoots Eightball but Cowboy orders the squad to wait for tank support. Meanwhile, the sniper continues to shoot Eightball carefully, hoping to lure the rest of the squad out into the open. Doc Jay defies Cowboy and goes to rescue Eightball. Doc Jay finds Eightball and is shot trying to drag him to safety. Animal Mother defies Cowboy and rushes into the city firing his weapon and screaming like a madman. They squad lose sight of him. Moments later, he comes out and gives the all-clear. The rest of the platoon make their way into the city. The sniper shoots Cowboy through one of the buildings. Cowboy dies, however, the angle of the shot gives away the sniper’s position and the platoon makes their way into the sniper’s building. Joker spots the sniper and tries to shoot her but his rifle jams. She turns around but a concrete pillar protects him from being shot. Rafterman shoots the sniper and she falls, alive but mortally wounded. The Lusthogs surround her. The rats would finish the job if they leave her. But she looks directly at Joker and begs him to kill her. After a long time, he shoots her and the Lusthogs are awed, calling him hardcore.
Triumphantly, the platoon marches out of the burning city singing “Mickey Mouse.”
This is an analysis of themes from Stanley Kubrick's Vietnam War epic 'Full Metal Jacket'
Full Metal Jacket is one of the best war movies ever set in 1968 prior to the Tet Offensive in South Vietnam. There's a lot of debate on the continuity of the 1st and 2nd parts of the film, the 1st of which focuses on the systematic dehumanization of the new recruits, particularly, a recruit named Leonard Lawrence who eventually goes over the edge after being broken. The 1st half of the movie is so powerful that it can seem front-loaded being that the tone changes completely in the 2nd half which follows Corporal Joker, the Lusthogs and their experiences in the battle of Hue. I saw the continuity but my view is subjective. Thanks for checking out my blog and I hope this plot analysis clarifies some of this film for you. The titles of each scene corresponds with the DVD version of the film.
FULL METAL JACKET By Stanley Kubrick from the novel "Short Timers" by Gustav Hasford
Titles: summary, my viewpoint, analysis
Title 1 (00:00-7:31) (7:31) Stop after Joker’s voice-over “The crazy brave”
Summary
The story begins on Parris Island, in South Carolina as new recruits have their heads shaved. Later, they stand at attention in the dormitory as the drill instructor, Gunnery Sergeant Hartman (Lee Ermey), lays out the rules.
Analysis
The film opens by showing recruits being systematically stripped of their individuality and humanity. First, their heads are shaved like babies. Next, their drill sergeant renames them. Finally, Sergeant Hartman begins psychological reconditioning. He calls the recruits maggots (a metaphor meaning that they are unborn and are being prepared for life). He, then, singles out specific recruits who become the focus of the film.
He attacks a wisecracking recruit whom he names Joker. Hartman punches Joker in the stomach and tells Joker that he will “not laugh” or cry and that he will learn “by the numbers.” This order suggests that Joker will disconnect from what makes him human so that he can be reprogrammed.
Hartman also attacks a recruit named Leonard, naming him Gomer Pyle. Pyle’s reaction to Hartman’s abuse is different from the Joker’s. Joker became angry when Hartman punched him in the stomach but Pyle, after Hartman chokes him, looks like he wants to cry. This sets the stage for the 1st half of the movie which focuses on Pyle and Sergeant Hartman.
footnote (s): from wikipedia “Full Metal Jacket”
Former U.S. Marine Drill Instructor (Lee) Ermey, originally hired as a technical advisor, asked Kubrick if he could audition for the role of Hartman. Kubrick had seen Ermey's portrayal of Drill Instructor Staff Sergeant Loyce in The Boys in Company C (1978) and told the Marine that he was not vicious enough to play the character. Ermey improvised insulting dialogue against a group of Royal Marines who were being considered for the part of background Marines, to demonstrate his ability to play the character, as well as to show how a Drill Instructor goes about breaking down the individuality of new recruits.[10]:462 Upon viewing the videotape of these sessions, Kubrick gave Ermey the role, realizing he "was a genius for this part."
Kubrick estimated that Ermey wrote 50% of his own dialogue, especially the insults
Title 2 (10:00-16:19) (6:19) Stop after “Get the fuck down off of my obstacle.”
Summary
Recruits recite “The Rifleman’s Creed” in unison. Then, Pyle has trouble on the obstacle course.
Analysis
The soldiers are told to marry their rifles and they pray, reciting The Rifleman’s Creed. Hartman further prepares them for war and the battlefield by getting them to associate violence with manhood and sex.
Title 3 (17:56-21:33) (3:37) Stop after Joker says “Port, hut!”
Summary
Hartman asks Joker if he believes in the Virgin Mary and Joker says no and stands his ground even when Hartman slaps him to make him say otherwise. Therefore, Hartman promotes Joker to squad leader and assigns him to help Pyle.
Analysis
Even though he is stripped of his individuality, his religion, and even his name, Joker refuses to surrender his beliefs. Character is important in life and Joker demonstrates his character under physical abuse and is rewarded for doing so.
Pyle seems to do better with Joker than Hartman because Pyle is undisciplined and Joker is more accommodating, like a mother who can’t bring herself to really discipline a child for fear of hurting him. But Pyle, lacking a firm hand, moves away from the discipline that separates man from animals. The paradox of this is that Hartman teaches discipline at the same time that he dehumanizes the recruits by bringing out their killer instincts.
Title 4 (23:50—26:18) (2:28) Stop after “They’re paying for it, you eat it!”
Summary
Hartman finds a jelly donut in Pyle’s footlocker and blames this on the platoon for not helping him to motivate Pyle and punishes them.
Analysis
Under Joker’s supervision, Pyle has become lazier, resulting in him smuggling this Jelly donut. After birth, children are no different from other animals in the respect that they follow their appetites. What separates humans from animals is discipline, learning to delay gratification, to discipline our desires, structure. Pyle is like a baby, someone who has not been taught any discipline and boot camp is hard for him.
Title 5 (26:50—31:03) (4:13) Stop after platoon says “Kill, kill, kill!”
Summary
Late at night, the platoon hazes Pyle with a “blanket party.”
Analysis
When they haze Pyle, Joker is the last to strike him and this is significant since Joker sort of empathized with Pyle. Joker has not disconnected himself from the feminine qualities of compassion, patience, and mercy. And this is why him killing the sniper at the end of the film is significant because he must completely cut off these human impulses to carry through and become a hardcore killer.
After the blanket party, Pyle is different. He goes through the motions like a robot and he has the 1,000 yard stare. His heart is black with hatred and his connection with humanity is gone.
Title 6 (33:52—end of 1st half)
Summary
Pyle talks to himself and his rifle. He names his rifle, an M14, Charlene, becomes a superior marksman, and earns respect from Hartman. The recruits of platoon 3092 graduate and receive their MOS codes. Joker will be a journalist; Gomer Pyle, an infantryman. On the platoon’s last night on the island, Pyle shoots Hartman and kills himself.
Analysis
“The drill instructors are proud to see that we are growing beyond their control. The Marine Corps does not want robots. The Marine Corps wants killers. The Marine Corps wants to build indestructible men, men without fear.”
Joker’s voice-over sums up the entire film. Hartman has nurtured the platoon from maggots to Marines. Now, his men are tough, disciplined, and ready to go out into the world. But Pyle is broken and won’t be leaving the island. He died the night of the blanket party and has become a trained animal full with rage. The moral restrictions that once prevented him from being a killer are gone. Pyle has no humanity for Hartman who had humiliated him and had the platoon to humiliate him. He shoots Hartman and turns the rifle on himself, sparing Joker who witnesses the whole thing.
footnote (s): from wikipedia, Military Occupational Specialty (MOS)
A nine character code used in the United States Army and United States Marines to identify a specific job.
Title 7 (45:28-54:52) (9:24) Stop after soldiers leave tent and 1st explosion
Summary
The scene opens in Saigon. It’s been months since the murder/suicide at Parris Island, South Carolina. At a patio table outside under the hot sun, Joker and Rafterman negotiate with a prostitute. Afterwards, they and the staff of the military newspaper, Stars and Stripes, meet to plan for the Tet holiday. Joker overheard rumors that the NVA will break the ceasefire but Lieutenant Lockhart dismisses these rumors as “rear echelon paranoia.” The N.V.A. interrupts the Tet ceasefire and springs a surprise attack on Da Nang.
Analysis
Disconnected from the taboos of American society, Joker and Rafterman negotiate with a prostitute in broad daylight.
Later, Private Rafterman asks Corporal Joker for combat time but Joker denies his request because he is close to Rafterman and this plays a role in his decision. This is like people who think we should go to war with this or that country but who are either too old to go themselves or won’t let their own children go into the war. This explains why Americans turned against the Vietnam War when body-bags with American soldiers started coming home.
footnote: Wikipedia, Stars and Stripes
Is an American military newspaper that focuses and reports on matters concerning the members of the United States Armed Forces. It operates from inside the Department of Defense, but is editorially separate from it, and its First Amendment protection is safeguarded by the United States Congress, to whom an independent ombudsman, who serves the readers' interests, regularly reports.
Title 8 (56:57—1:00:45) Stop after “Ain’t war Hell?”
Summary
Back at Stars and Stripes, everyone is pulled off their assignments and briefed on the Tet Offensive. The N.V.A. has attacked bases in South Vietnam and have taken over Hue City in Central Vietnam. Lieutenant Lockhart, the PAO (Public Affairs Officer), sends Joker and Rafterman to Phu Bai, just south of Hue, to assist I platoon 2-5 and the Lusthog squad.
Analysis
In the previous clip, Joker turns down Rafterman’s request for “trigger time.” In this clip, Lieutenant Lockhart allows Rafterman to go to Hue City with Joker. Lockhart has no problem sending Rafterman to fight and possibly die because he doesn’t know Rafterman personally.
A door gunner in a helicopter laughs while picking off Vietnamese farmers on the ground. His callous attitude reflects the general attitudes of the soldiers in this film. The violent nature in man is free to run wild in an environment where there are no rules. But Joker is inhibited by his conscience which is why he wears the Peace button.
footnote: Wikipedia, The Tet Offensive
In the days immediately preceding the offensive, the preparedness of allied forces was relatively relaxed. Hanoi had announced in October that it would observe a seven-day truce from 27 January to 3 February for the Tet holiday, and the South Vietnamese military made plans to allow recreational leave for approximately half of its forces. General Westmoreland, who had already cancelled the truce in I Corps, requested that its ally cancel the upcoming cease-fire, but President Thiệu (who had already reduced the cease-fire to 36 hours), refused to do so, claiming that it would damage troop morale and only benefit communist propagandists.
Title 9 (1:05:52—1:10:23) Stop at “We’ll miss not having anyone around that’s worth shooting.”
Summary
At Hotel 2-5 in Phu Bai, we meet The Lusthogs of 1st Platoon. Here, Joker and Cowboy reunite. An American soldier poses to have Rafterman take his picture with the platoon’s mascot, a dead N.V.A. soldier.
Analysis
This is the start of Joker’s odyssey to get the 1,000 yard stare as he links up with the Lusthogs. Like the door gunner in the copter, the Lusthogs view killing as an outlet. One of the marines happens to be named Animal Mother.
Title 10 (1:19:47-1:25:31) Stop after Animal Mother takes the prostitute and somebody says “Fuck you!”
Summary
Field reporters interview members of the Lusthog for their views of the war. Later, the platoon negotiates with a prostitute.
Analysis
The Lusthogs brag about killing and some even suggest that they enjoy killing. As one soldier says:
“Does America belong in Vietnam? I don’t know. I know that I belong here.”
Generally, humans don’t like rules and following them aren’t natural which is why rules and discipline are necessary for us to live as a civilized society. A society or climate that disintegrates into lawlessness brings out the worst in people. In a society or climate where anything goes, moral inhibitions usually go out the window. This explains why the general tone of the soldiers is that they like Vietnam where they can freely kill and buy sex from prostitutes in broad daylight.
There are 2 scenes in this film where men buy prostitutes and both scenes take place in broad daylight! Apparently, buying sex there openly is no big deal but the point is that the soldiers feel free to do something they wouldn’t feel comfortable otherwise, because of the norms and what's deemed acceptable behavior. This suggests that our idea of right and wrong depends on the norms of where we happen to be. Sort of like men who go to strip clubs where it's OK to act like a pig, to reduce the female to her body parts, but outside of the strip club, in proper civilized society, the same primitive behavior can get a man into all kinds of trouble. This is how the soldiers in this film are affected by being in Vietnam, where they are free to express their lowest nature which is not unlike that of any animal that lives by its urges. This may also explain Pyle’s inability to adapt in training camp under Joker who is more accommodating to his appetite for food and less strict than Sergeant Hartman.
Title 11 (1:28:26—1:37:03) (8:37) Stop after Doc Jay points out the sniper and Animal Mother says “Shit!”
Summary
The squad gets lost and Cowboy decides to change directions by cutting through the citadel of Hue City. Eightball enters the citadel 1st and is shot down by a sniper who then uses Eightball to bait the other soldiers out into the open. Cowboy sees the trap and orders his men to hold back. But Doc Jay disobeys Cowboy and is shot trying to pull Eightball to safety. Animal Mother rushes into the citadel and from a secure position he sees Doc Jay and Eightball on the ground. Eightball is dead. Doc Jay points to the sniper’s position before the sniper shoots him dead.
Analysis
In this clip, we see the spiritual conflict in man through the struggle between Cowboy, Doc Jay, and Animal Mother. Cowboy is discipline and rational thought ordering the troops to pull back; on the other hand, Doc Jay and Animal Mother are human nature in disobeying cowboy’s orders and disregarding rational thought. “Two cannot walk together unless they are in agreement.” Somebody’s got to lead and someone has to follow. In this case, nature wins when Animal Mother leads the platoon to rescue Doc Jay and Eightball.
footnote: Wikipedia, Massacre at Hue
The Battle of Huế began on January 31, 1968, and lasted a total of 26 days.
Title 12 (1:44:02—end) Stop as soldier march singing “Mickey Mouse” in unison
Summary
The squad deploys smoke bombs and enter the building where the sniper is. Joker sneaks up behind the sniper as the young girl is at the window waiting for the smoke to clear up. His gun jams and she turns around. Rafterman shoots her and she goes down. The soldiers surround the dying girl and she asks Joker to kill her. He does and afterwards, the marching soldiers are silhouetted against a burning background singing Mickey Mouse.
Analysis
Joker cannot shoot the sniper in the back because doing so would not involve any conflict between his nature and the qualities that make us humans such as empathy and mercy. Seeing her face to face as a human being, he now has to go against this to kill her. She helps him by appealing for mercy, to kill her and save her from a slow death of being eaten by rats.
Joker must cut off his feelings as a human being and commit to what Hartman trained him to be. And when he does finally kill the sniper, he becomes the ultimate killer, a man, and not a beast, in tune with his nature , a real Full Metal Jacket. The film ends with the Lusthogs marching and singing “Mickey Mouse” against a fiery background. This scene comes back to the 1,000 yard stare, “A characteristic of shell shock, the despondent stare reflects dissociation from trauma.” The innocence of this song is the soldiers’ way of disconnecting themselves from the battlefield and disconnecting themselves from the traumas of war.
footnote: Wikipedia, Thousand Yard Stare
Is a phrase coined to describe the limp, blank, unfocused gaze of a battle-weary soldier, but the symptom it describes may also be found among victims of other types of trauma. A characteristic of shell shock, the despondent stare reflects dissociation from trauma. The thousand-yard stare is thus often seen in cases of incipient post-traumatic stress disorder. It does not necessarily indicate PTSD, however, nor will it always appear in persons who will later develop PTSD
This is the famous marketplace scene from the Bible as depicted in Martin Scorsese's 'Last Temptation of Christ' starring Willem Dafoe. I like the way Jesus is humanized in this film. This scene shows Jesus in the marketplace attacking the money-changers.
What I think this film is about
I think the film is about conflict; conflict between good and evil, the spirit and the flesh, man and woman, man and God. This society, in which Christianity is the dominant religion, that puts “in God we trust” on its dollar bill, that celebrates a pagan holiday named after Jesus Christ—this society is not unlike the society that crucified Jesus 2,000 years ago--rebellious! He even says--according to scripture-- that upon his return, he will go to war with the world.
Jesus, in this film, is a revolutionary and is vilified in much the same way as today's revolutionaries like Fidel Castro, Martin Luther King, Louis Farrakhan, Martin Luther, William Wallace, Mahatma Ghandi, Che Guevara, Castro, etc.
Throughout 'The Last Temptation,' there is the conflict between his (Jesus') fleshly desires for a wife and his ultimate destiny, which is dying on the cross.
Quotes of conflict:
In Jesus, time, Rome was the dominant world government but Jesus spoke of overthrowing the world, which, he says, belongs to Satan, the “God of this world”
Mark 3:25 “And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.”
Matt 10:34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”
Romans 12:2 "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”
Luke 12:49-56 “I have come to set the world on fire, and I wish it were already burning! 50 I have a terrible baptism of suffering ahead of me, and I am under a heavy burden until it is accomplished. 51 Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I have come to divide people against each other! 52 From now on families will be split apart, three in favor of me, and two against—or two in favor and three against.”
Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
You would get most of the world (including family and friends) to go against you with this verse out of the book of Jeremiah, in chapter 10 and verses 3-5 in particular:
“For the customs of the people are vain;
for with the axe one cuts a tree out of the forest (Christmas tree!),
Sydney Lumet's 'Network' describes the transformation of news into entertainment and propaganda. It’s ironic that the film makes a comparison between how society responds to real news and how society responds to spectacle, again a commentary on how entertainment has dumbed down an American society that prefers titillation over facts and rational analysis. For example, Diana points out that when Beale said the word “shit” on the air the show’s ratings—and his popularity- went up by 5 points. And now, the biggest newspapers in the country are lavishing free press on the television station because of Howard Beale’s unpredictable behavior instead of the actual news content of the show itself. Although Howard is stirring the people up on righteous issues, the attention seems to be more on “how” he delivers that message rather than on the message itself.
In this scene, Max breaks the news to Howard that they have to take him off the air. Howard, though, has 2nd thoughts now that his show is gaining in popularity. He believes that he has a divine calling and that he speaks for the people. Beale gives an incredible speech and when he finishes he passes out as if unplugged from a wall socket.
To me, this scene represents idealism and how the media caters its messages to viewers’ preferences. Like politicians, the media tells us exactly what we want to hear, that we are important, that we matter, that we are individuals. But behind the scenes the people who supply what we see on television only care about money. A good example of a company combining propaganda and advertising is the National Rifle Association and their position on the 2nd amendment of the Constitution. At the same time, the NRA gets most of its money from the gun industry and individuals so the positions the NRA takes on Americans’ Constitutional rights to bear arms benefits the gun manufacturers that donate money to the organization.
Notes:
from money.cnn (date unknown) Authors Blake Ellis and Melanie Hicken
“Since 2005, the NRA Political Victory Fund has received nearly $85 million in contributions from individual donors. After the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting, donations to this political action committee surged as gun owners worried that their rights to buy and own guns were at risk.
The call for stricter gun control laws from leaders like President Obama in the wake of this tragedy fueled these fears and prompted the NRA to rally its members to fight against new regulations.
As a result, gun sales soared, and so did donations. Donations in the 2014 election cycle were up by more than 50% compared to the prior two years, and nearly doubled from a decade ago.
"Americans look to the NRA to defend their constitutional right to self protection," NRA spokesperson Jennifer Baker told CNNMoney. "When gun control advocates ramp up their efforts to pass gun control people voice their opposition by donating to the NRA."
Contributions came from nearly 30,000 donors, with around 90% of donations made by people who gave less than $200 in a single year. According to the NRA, the average donation is around $35.”
Members at a NRA annual meeting.
The NRA's ability to raise so much money from small donations is highly unusual for a special interest group, demonstrating its wide reaching support, said Sarah Bryner, research director at the Center for Responsive Politics.
From Business Insider Jan. 16, 2013, 1:25 PM, Author Walter Hickey
“Since 2005, the gun industry and its corporate allies have given between $20 million and $52.6 million to it through the NRA Ring of Freedom sponsor program. Donors include firearm companies like Midway USA, Springfield Armory Inc, Pierce Bullet Seal Target Systems, and Beretta USA Corporation. Other supporters from the gun industry include Cabala's, Sturm Rugar & Co, and Smith & Wesson.
The NRA also made $20.9 million — about 10 percent of its revenue — from selling advertising to industry companies marketing products in its many publications in 2010, according to the IRS Form 990.”
