Our emotional response to a film is determined by how we are made to connect with the charcters. How far do you agree/

Full Metal Jacket introduces us to a range of characters who all, apart from a couple, manage to conform accordingly to the rules and also make the audience rot for them to succeed and get better. The two characters that don't immediately conform to the whims of Sgt. Hartman are Pyle and Joker, the latter of whom challenges Hartman in a way that he doesn't take as a threat but rather as a show of bravery. However Pyle challenges Hartman to the point where he takes it almost as a personal insult and aims to embarrass him to not let it happen again. From this point onward, the character of Joker realises that he cant act out of line and proceeds to make himself a better marine, but as or Pyle, he still doesn't seem to learn for almost the rest of bootcamp and drives a wedge between himself and the audience through his complete incompetence.

For awhile, the rest of the marines don't seem effected by Pyle and see him only as someone to laugh at in private as his actions only serve to make the rest of the look better in the eyes of Sgt. Hartman. I therefore begin to feel aligned with the group when Pyle starts metaphorically and physically drags the group down with him in the slow motion running scene. We begin to see Pyle's incompetence taking its tole on them and preventing them form advancing further into their training. The reaction shot from cowboy when Pyle once again cannot accomplish a task that seems almost mundane to the rest of them reminds us that the marines aren't emotionless robots but in fact people who feel frustration at the sight of people holding them back. This reinforces our alignment with the group as it shows us their humanity without them having to fail in the process. these scenes show Pyle as the weakest link in a strong chain.

Other things that may encourage us to form a disconnect with Pyle is his overall physical appearance when compared to the rest of the group. whilst the other marines are all very similar in  height, weight and attitude creating a unifies structure which we find very easy to align with and root for, Pyle stands out from this by being bigger in height and weight creating a visual signifier that he is very different fro the norm.