Full Metal Jacket and Platoon

Both of these movies had an interesting and effective take on the experiences soldiers had during the vietnam war. FMJ used more satirical and psychological methods while Platoon used more of the soldiers' violence toward innocent villagers, and killing in general, to portray the marines' brutality and the psychological effects of the war.

In the beginning of FMJ, we hear a joyous country song being played while the marines are getting their heads shaved. This is a great example of satire. The song in itself is a contradiction. The lyrics are talking about soldiers leaving to go die in vietnam, which is a sad thing, however, the music is upbeat and cheerful. This is a running theme throughout the movie. I think this is Kudrick's way of putting us in the soldier's mind when they are trying to escape reality. Wouldn't you want to sing a happy song in your head if you knew your life was going to be a living hell for the next few years? I know I would. Later in the movie, the same use of a tone clash is applied to the first major city battle that the marines encounter. While tanks in the background are demolishing the city, a camera crew walks by filming the scene with 'Surfin Bird' playing. Again we are taken from a state of suspense to a state of careless fun, just as the soldiers are doing. My favorite satirical moment was definitely the chopper scene where the gunner is killing any vietnamese he sees. He is doing a horrible thing by killing people that may or may not be VC, including women and children, however, he makes a joke out of it to make himself feel better. By using the fact that we never know who's a VC or not, he is able to justify the killing for himself, which is enough to stay sane most of the time. And in the midst of all this, Kudrick still finds a way to make us laugh by having the gunner say that you can kill women and children by just not leading 'em so much. The words are funny, but the action is not. I think this is the entire idea behind FMJ. It's a funny way of telling a sad story.

In Platoon, the movie is narrated by the main character that is played by Charlie Sheen, who sees all kinds of horrific acts and death across vietnam. This movie shows much more violence and killing in general than FMJ, which I think creates really a better sense of how life as a soldier really was, beyond the scope of just fighting and moving on like in FMJ. By focusing on the killing of civilians and VC and the overall constant hell the soldiers lived in, Platoon was able to portray the side of the war that FMJ did not.