Machines

Machines. As discussed in class, these are beings that run solely on logic, follow orders to the tee, and rely solely on the commands of their operators. To many in the military, this is the ultimate vision of a soldier. To become a killing machine, a body without thought. The films Platoon and Full Metal Jacket both convey similar themes of the dehumanizing nature of war, but through different styles of film direction and character development.
The opening scene of Platoon throws the actor Charlie Sheen directly into Vietnam. As a haze falls around him, he begins to observe his surroundings and is greeted by the body bags that are being carried onto the carrier he just exited. During this scene, Stone focuses in on the faces of the other soldiers that Charlie Sheen is staring at, most notably is the face of one hardened old man. The face is dirty and stern, and the eyes that Taylor stares into are tired and encircled by black. The scene presents the effects of Vietnam on the young soldiers coming into Vietnam. Seemingly there are only ways a soldier leaves Vietnam, in a body bag or emotionally scarred by the horrors of war. In this scene, Stone presents his method of expanding the character development of Taylor through his point of view.
This contrasts with Kubrick’s method in the beginning of Full Metal Jacket. In the boot camp, the cadets are all part of a unit, all on a mission to become “killing machines”. Although their emotions and personalities are deconstructed, Vietnam is still far away. This allows Kubrick to display the effects of the “process” into two different ways. On one side, the harsh conditions and pressure to cast away humanity drives Gomer Pyle into a psychotic state. In his final scene, the close up on Gomer Pyle’s eyes reveals the vacancy that he has forced into himself. The consequences of Pyle’s efforts serve as a foil to Joker’s resistance to change in boot camp. Despite Hartmann’s attempts to break him down, Joker stands his ground and is firm in his own beliefs about authority and the war.
In this respect, Taylor and Joker are shown to be two very different characters. Taylor’s motivation is revealed because he doesn’t know “why only the poor have to fight” and is later motivated by anger and revenge in their final battle. Joker’s motivation to fight, however, remains hazy throughout the film. This is best displayed at the conclusions of both films. In Platoon, the film ends with Taylor finally getting his revenge and heading home from the war. Although he notes that, “the war inside him is never over”, the audience is still left with a sense of closure that Taylor is finally heading home. Contrary in Full Metal Jacket, the fare of Joker after they regroup is left uncertain. Kubrick deliberately chooses to film this scene very darkly lit and hiding the faces of the soldiers. Joker is lost in the sea of soldier’s singing along to the “Mickey Mouse Club” and a sense of closure is never reached. By the leaving the audience unsure, Kubrick effectively mirrors US sentiments to the Vietnam War. Like Joker, the motivations of our role in Vietnam are unsure and even when departing from Vietnam, the necessity of accomplishment is never met.