Shit Sandwhich

As far as American involvement in Vietnam goes, I don't believe it could be put simpler than Private Joker's editor at "Stars & Stripes" newspaper. "This is a big shit sandwhich, and we are all about to take a bite." In fact, Americans are working on that painfully stale crust at the end of the sandwhich over 40 years later. The rhetoric in the three visual selections (Full Metal Jacket, Platoon, and George C. Scott's Portrayal of George S. Patton's memorable speech) assigned is so obvious in it's nature that it was hard to analyze each selection for content as opposed to just watching an excellent film. That fact aside, There were specific moments in Full Metal Jacket and Platoon that simply defined the general discontent expressed by Stanley Kubrick and Oliver Stone in their respective films. Towards the end of Platoon when Sgt. Barnes (Tom Berringer) is seconds away from hitting Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) over the head and the reflection of napalm shines in his eyes, this scene represents America's involvement in Vietnam. The fact that "we were not fighting the enemy, we were fighting ourselves" shines as bright as Barnes' eyes at the analogy of the soldiers being napalmed by their own troops at the end of a horrendous battle. It represents what the American government did to almost 60,000 of its young men over the course of what is considered by many as the most unnecessary war in American history.

As cliché as it might sound, the opening scene to Full Metal Jacket in which the enlisted men are getting their head's shaved one after another in unison to the tune "Hello Vietnam" by Johnny Wright. There are so many devestating scenes in this piece of visual rhetoric to pick from but I believe, even after viewing this movie at least ten times, that this scene shows the misery that was the Vietnam War. The contrast of a happy, major-chord constructed, folk song and the twenty or so faces that look like someone just shit in their cereal makes a stunning piece of cinema. As Kubrick is known for his taboo style of film, he goes with a simple approach and proves that simple can be the best option. This scene portrays a sense of brevity amongst these soon to be "brothers of the corp" as well as the complete and utter isolation that is boot camp and war. While one spends 8 weeks with 25 other men who are just as miserable, this movie shows that under such circumstances, it is possible to be alone. This realization is shown in the faces of the men as they see their hair falling to the floor. At this moment, they know they are fucked.