"Coarse" we take in life.

Rating: 9/10 (19 February 2011)

An ultra-violent homage to an era where racism and horrid American ideals are the norm. The age of Vietnam and the fear and pressure on the American psyche. The film focuses on dual acts--both starring the main character who is a deadpan joker named Sgt. Joker. Stanley Kubrick has created an instant classic taking familiar cues from Clockwork Orange and Pulp to create a working satire of the dark age of the American military. Most cannot see the connections between each "act" but I can explain it shortly without going through every nuance. The main idea for the film's entirety is that, and I quote; "though we live in a world of s**t, we are happy to be alive. Because it is better to be alive in s**t than dead in hell(though repeatedly stated that war in fact is hell)." Act one establishes the brainwashing of the marines and (Pyle) whom eventually kill his commanding officer and himself.This sets up for the Full Metal Jacket symbolism that training is all about being ready to kill as if a gun and NOT going back; something Joker has to realize when he is "in the s**t". By the end of the film Joker sees the horrid world for what it is but unlike Pyle, chooses to live in it rather than die for he is not afraid.