Stanley Kubrick's 'Full Metal Jacket': plot summary

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.” 

Scene Analysis of the film 'Full Metal Jacket'

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