War is hell

Rating: Null/10 (6 July 1999)

Stanley Kubrick, with this film, has made clear his beliefs on war. I say "War", because other than the ages (contemporary) of the soldiers, the attitudes and philosophies could easily be applied to any major war and Kubrick's lessons would hold true. I don't believe he is simply condemning the Vietnam War, but war itself because of the effects it has on ordinary people. When we venture behind the policies and grand visions of the brass, we find that war is messy and inflicts damage on more than what was intended.
As with any other movie of this sort, Kubrick inundates us with a boatload of stereotypes. We have the screaming, cursing D.I., the cowboy, the pop-culture intellectual, the big, dumb guy, the laid-back, southern brother, the big, red-headed bigot, the stiff brass, the former athlete platoon commanders, the gook whores, and the angry, young, Vietnamese males. All these are handed well and the relationships between most of them are telling of the reprioritization that must occur in the face of the larger enemy. There is nothing more distasteful for Eightball and Animal Mother than each other. They don't fight each other, however, because aside from trading insults, they have bigger fish to fry. Back in the world, they would not be able to carry on this relationship. Even Cowboy and Joker would probably never have occasion to have dinner together due to their different backgrounds.
The "fighting men" themselves are not ridiculed in this film. There are many moments of laughter from the audience but it is directed more at the situation than at the men. Neither are these men portrayed as icons. They are what they are, kids caught in a wholly unfamiliar situation, with little preparation or support. They are left to fend for themselves in a situation being run from the brigade/division level without regard for the individual. They know sex, guns, war movies, and a childhood filled with the ideals of manhood and the belief that, no matter what, the US will definitely kick ass and take names.
As opposed to Ike, Patton, and John Wayne, Kubric saw the average fighting man would have a completely different story to tell. War is not fun and they are completely unable to see America's policies at work. For others, society's misfits, war was fun, but it was most assuredly not gentlemanly. All of America's conflicting values such as "guns are good, but killing is bad" are thrown out the window when it comes to war. This is how it must be, but there are consequences. Now, finally, I get to shoot a gun and kill people, but without the normal consequences or repercussions. There are no limits. I can have sex with prostitutes and without love. I don't have to worry about foreplay or concern myself with the female orgasm. I can now vent my frustration at being on the ass-end of society, yet constrained by their rules yet fortified by their declarations that the people I'm killing aren't really people at all. Kubrick makes us realize that "society" and "civilization" are ideals that supress our basic, and basest, human instincts. It is a price we gladly pay, but if the shackles are removed, the animal will surface.
There are not many positives in this film. Gunny Hartman is a positive. His rantings and cruelties aside, he is only concerned about the welfare of the men he charged to train. He uses any means necessary to motivate them and prepare them to learn. This is not an easy task, as evidenced by his Whitman/Oswald speech. War, real war, not war as a concept, is ugly. Therefore, he is reduced to elevating these two sordid individuals in order to get across to these "normal" boys what is required to make an effective Marine. All of the fighting men are positives, some in their own way, in that they are doing what they have to to survive. Joker and Cowboy stand out, though, as the two who aren't sure why they are doing these things and aren't sure that they should be. Doc J, the medic, although not a main character, truly embodies what this is about.
There are plenty of negatives. The Vietnamese are all shown in the negative. They are all whores, thieves, dirty-tricksters, and exploiters of their own people. The "brass" are completely negative. They are chock full of meaningless "rah-rah" messages, dry, company-line directives, and intolerance of individuality. The military press with it's "two major themes" and it's glorification of the mundane are laughable. Popular culture and the effect it has had on that generation of young men did them a complete disservice. They are filled with unearned, swaggering, superiority complexes that blow up in their faces when they hit Vietnam.
There are many things to take home from this movie, but as for the mass audience, the main message is the old stand-by--War Is Hell! Other, deeper messages include the parallels between sex and war; and the "Frankenstein" motif in which the doctor (Sgt. Hartman) is destroyed by the very creature he created, Pyle. Due to the many laughs elicited from the audience provoked by the rantings of Hartman,I wonder if a mass audience might find it easy to conclude that basic training is all laughs and exercise and, in turn, not respect it. "Skull-f***ing" may sound funny in the theatre, but I doubt it would be much fun to be on the receiving end.