SSC Film Studies

Alignment and Allegiance in FMJ

Alignment in film is the process we as an audience go through that allows us find a level of identification with a character, group or ideology in the film. In the film Full Metal Jacket we are not granted any alignment at first, but throughout the film we are granted certain identification with the entire group or core, with this level of alignment slowly building throughout the first part of the film.

An example of a alignment in a typical fashion would come from the film Platoon as the form and content of the film causes us to align with the character portrayed by Charlie Sheen. The use of sad music and point of view shots cause us to have an emotional sensation and align with his character as we immediately identify with him and see the war in Vietnam from his perspective.

However, there is very little chance to align with any one character in the film Full Metal Jacket and very unlike Platoon we are not granted a way of identifying with a character at the start of the film. In the beginning of the film, we are not offered any alignment to any one character, leading us to already align slightly with the group. However, in the beginning of the film every one of the characters heads are being shaven, with causes them to lose their identity to the spectator. This is shown in the form of the film, as it is repeated for every one of the characters while they are being shaven. All shots of the shaving scene are shown at the same camera angle, making each of the characters identical and similar. This introduces one of the main themes in the film, the theme of loss of identity. This causes the audience to not be able to identity one character to identify with, and this sends an unclear message to the audience. The use of music in the scene also helps to give an unclear message to the spectator, as the music is very casual and unlike a war film such as Full Metal Jacket and is even considered an anti-war song. This causes juxtaposition as the music is completely opposite to what is going on in the scene and the entire film as a whole. This again makes it harder for the spectator to align with a character as each one has lost their identity and the spectator and audience do not know what to think about the music.

As the film progresses, there is still a lack of alignment to a character throughout, but instead the alignment to the group is beginning. This is shown in the form of the film, such as the mise-en-scene as each and every one of the characters is in the same costume all with a lack of identity or character to them. Every shot we are granted is also a shot of the group, and in nearly every single shot there is at least two or more of the unit in the shot. Most of the shots are wide shots of the entire group in training or marching/running together in synchronization, showing that they are a successful unit together. This causes us to align more with the group as we see them as a cohesive unit, and this causes the spectator to have a detachment of an individual and instead attach to the group. However, there is an exception to the group in the character of Private Pyle, who is isolated throughout the film from the group.

 Throughout the entire boot camp scene we see the unit always together working together or at the same time in sync, but the character of Pyle is always out and isolated, as there is always a group or unit around him but he is never apart of it. There are many examples throughout the film of how alone he is, and he is always shot on his own away from the group. Examples would be on the climbing frame, as he is climbing up on his own through the middle, while groups of two climb in synchronization around him, leaving him on his own isolated. While the audience may feel sympathy towards Pyle at first, they soon start to adopt the group view and see him as a threat, as he isn’t part of the unit and drags them down, in some cases literally. For example, in the running scenes there is a shot of Private Joker being dragged down  by Pyle as he has to help him run with the group, and the isolation of Pyle is shown in this as he is centered in the middle of the road while the rest of the group is to the sides of the road. These types of shots are frequent throughout the film of Pyle being center of the camera in isolation while the rest of the group is around him to the sides in a unit. We also start to see Joker being dragged away from the unit, and so Joker instead adopts the group view of Pyle as a threat which causes him to turn on Pyle to try and isolate him even more from the group.  We also begin to align more with the group against Pyle in the jelly donut scene, as the group begins to get punished for the wrongdoings of Pyle. His isolation is again shown in this scene as he is the center of the screen with the unit being punished around him, and this scene is vital as its when we truly see Pyle as a threat and no longer sympathize with him.

At this point the audience has aligned more with the group and see Pyle as a threat to the group. In the scene after boot camp we see Joker finally fully adopt the group view and become a part of the unit, and his alignment to the group is shown in the soap beating scene. This scene also causes us to fully align with the group as everybody knows and sees Pyle as a threat to the stability and cohesiveness of the unit. In the scene, Joker makes the choice to take part in the soap beating of Pyle, and while the audience  may lose a level of respect towards Joker for taking part in it we go through an allegiance, as we morally judge the character of Joker. Despite the loss of respect for him we still align with him and the group as we know that Pyle is a threat and its after this scene that we start to see Pyle almost as an antagonist, and we begin to fully understand the group and their motivation for seeing Pyle as a threat.

After this, we get one of the only point of view shots in the film, and its from Joker when he is witnessing Pyle talk to his rifle. This shot reverse shot helps us to understand the view of the group in seeing Pyle as a threat, and it also tells the spectator about the mental stability of Pyle, showing that he is losing his mind and becoming an even bigger threat to the group. In the conversation between Joker and Cowboy in the toilets we also realize how isolated Pyle is from the group as the two characters refer to Pyle from his first name instead of his given Marine name, calling him Leonard while still referring to each other in their Marine names. This shows that they don’t see Pyle as part of the unit and instead an entirely different person. The both start to talk like Sargent Hartman in this scene, showing that they have adopted the Marine speech and are talking like a unit as well as working like one.

In the final scene with Pyle, it begins with the same non-diegetic music as the soap scene. This tells us that something serious is going to happen at the end of it, as we have begun to associate the music with bad happenings. This is the scene in which we truly see Pyle as the threat that he is, as we learn about his insanity and possible mental disorders that would lead him to eventually murder and commit suicide.