Comments on: “Full Metal Jacket”: The Jungian Thing

By: another fool commenting

another fool commenting — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 14:09:38 +0000

The Thing about SK is his protagonists are always seem to be Winston Smiths (1984). It’s not so much in substance as in perspective. They think they can maintain some sort of dignity outside the system (be it good or bad, or even be THEY good or bad), be “in the world, but not of the world,” an individual keeping some portion of themselves against the grinder of the machine. All realize they are up against forces they cannot conquer, or even resist. Like Winston Smith, they always learn. Alex is “cured,” Humbert will be hoodwinked by the very Yankees he thinks are “rubes”, young Redmond Barry will grow into the life of a stereotypically feckless wastrel, Dave becomes the star child, imprisoned in his “zoo”, Jack “is” always The Caretaker, Joker will become a real Marine. Conform or die, or even conform & die, seems to be at play.

By: Kelly Riley

Kelly Riley — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 02:20:27 +0000

You are full of it and my friend just lost $5.00

By: John Klima

John Klima — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 15:31:26 +0000

Wow. I’ve got nothing new to add beyond the comments already here. Kubrick is perhaps my favorite director, and FMJ one of my favorites.

The seeming disconnect between the two parts of the movie bothered me for a long time until one day when I said, ‘Well, what would it be like to go from basic training in the US to being thrown in the jungle in Vietnam?’

I think it would be a lot like the disconnected feeling the two parts of this movie give you.

Great write-up David. As always, lots of salient points and nuggets to create further thinking. I’m with JJA, if I hadn’t seen the movie before I read this, I’d want to to go see it now.

Now if only I could afford the boxed set….

By: Brian

Brian — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 01:21:24 +0000

Maybe.

By: David Louis Edelman

David Louis Edelman — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 00:03:13 +0000

Also Kubrick credited the part of ‘Sniper’ to one ‘Ngoc Le’ but played the role himself in heavy makeup and prosthesis.

Methinks that a leg hath been pulled.

By: Brian

Brian — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 22:43:39 +0000

I was just curios who played the woman SNIPER in this film? Does anyone know? Thanks.

It is surprising that many movie buffs do not know this!

Stanley Kubrick delighted in hiding easter eggs in his movies for his devoted legion of cinnephiles. For example in the monolith scene on the moon in ’2001′ Kubrick is one of the extras – but you can’t tell because he’s wearing a pressure suit!

Likewise Kubrick played the voice of the officer that Cowboy is talking to on the radio, requesting an air strike on the sniper’s position, before the character was shot. Also Kubrick credited the part of ‘Sniper’ to one ‘Ngoc Le’ but played the role himself in heavy makeup and prosthesis.

The give-away for this is an interview Stone conducted with Rolling Stone writer Terry Southern for the August 1995 issue where he hinted at his hijinks and that ‘Ngoc Le’ is Vietnamese for ‘the no(where) man’.

From ‘A writers life: A Wunderkid interviews Terry Southern’ by F. Saberhagen in the literary quarterly “Berserker Curents”, published Winter, 2003 by GoodLife Publications.

By: vaden thompson

vaden thompson — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 20:57:56 +0000

I am so military minded that I just have to watch every single WAR MOVIE out there, even if I have already seen them more then 5 times.I really enjoy watching FMJ the most and I was just curios who played the woman SNIPER in this film? Does anyone know? Thanks.

By: Linking and Driving, Without the Driving October 26th through November 7th | Semantic Drift

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 00:34:14 +0000

[...] Full Metal Jacket: The Jungian Thing – A thoughtful deconstruction of one of the greatest war films of all time. via David Louis Edelmanâ

By: Ken Preston

Ken Preston — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 21:54:08 +0000

I saw Full Metal Jacket when it came out, and I think I was expecting another Platoon, which I really liked.
FMJ just left me feeling cold.
My only real memory of the film is when the fat kid falls down, and everyone in the cinema fell about laughing, as though we were watching some stupid comedy.
I couldn’t laugh though, I didn’t see it as funny at all, and looking back I kind of remember that laughter having a desperate quality about it, as though the audience were desperate to find something enjoyable about the film.
Enjoyed reading your views on the film. There is no doubt at all that Kubrick was a genius, but I found most of his films difficult to appreciate.
Apart from Dr Strangelove. Saw that at university (not for the first time) and the audience was just right. Very funny indeed.

By: Andrew T.

Andrew T. — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 14:21:59 +0000

Sorry, didn’t include the book:

http://www.amazon.com/Kubrick-Inside-Film-Artists-Maze/dp/0253213908