Patrick Spieß

Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket". Portrayal of the Vietnam War Patrick Spieß

Seminar paper from the year 2013 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1,3, Martin Luther University, language: English, abstract: The Vietnam War was a traumatic event of the recent American history. Due to harsh criticism both at home and abroad of the American involvement in Vietnam, the film industry struggled to produce notable Vietnam War films during the conflict. Only in the late 1970s Hollywood came up with significant films that were trying to came to terms with the past. Down to the present day, the film industry has produced a number of Vietnam War films. What is special about these films is that they show a high level of diversity. In this seminar paper I will examine how the Vietnam War is portrayed in Full Metal Jacket and outline its context in relation with other filmic presentations of the Vietnam War. In particular, I will focus on the drafting and military drill of young men, as well as on the effects that the drill and the war itself had on recruits. I will first introduce the historical event the film is dealing with and outline its filmic presentations and film-historical context. Then I will briefly introduce the film and provide information regarding its historical context. The central question of this paper is, which specific perspective is illustrated in Full Metal Jacket and to what extent the film can be classified along other Vietnam War films. In resuming thoughts I will first establish what stance Full Metal Jacket takes towards the Vietnam War and how this perspective is created. Finally I will introduce selected scenes and examine the method of the film in portraying the Vietnam War.