Scene Overview

(00:44:10 – 00:45:22, 1 min and 10seconds)

In this sequence, the main characters are Pyles, Drill Sergeant and Joker. Pyles is the main protagonist who we follow in part one. Pyles ended Drill Sergeant’s life and then he killed himself with the rifle in the toilet.

Entire Scene Analysis

MISE-EN-SCENE

Setting

The overall design of a setting can shape how we understand story action. In the sequence that I choose, the setting is in the toilet. It is said the committed suicide scene should happen in their dormitory but the director Stanley Kubrick changed to the toilet. The occurrence of this scene is unexpected especially in a close and quite place. It will reveal a fear and horror atmosphere. Color is an important aspect of setting. The main colors in the scene are white and red. The commodes and the wall of toilet are miserable white. White, we always think that represents the grave, purity and equality. But in Kubrick’s movie, it becomes the endorsement of extreme violence. The red blood highlights the theme of dehumanization and stupidity of war. And Pyles’s sudden change shows the movie theme of duality of man.

Actors Performance

When Drill Sergeant saw Pyles was holding the weapon, he commanded Pyles to put down the rifle. He thought he can control the situation but he did not know Pyles was totally changed because of him. He deserved it. Joker was scared when he saw Pyles killed Drill Sergeant, but he became the person who “born to kill” in the war. Joker’s performance in the whole movie reveals the duality of man. In this scene Pyles gave us the deepest impression is his expression. His cold expression and fierce eyes let us see his inner pain and hatred of the war. We all feel sympathy for what happened to him.

Costume

Costume in narrative cinema is used to signify character, or advertise particular fashion, or to make clear distinctions between characters. In this scene, Pyles wore white pajamas. I think that Pyles shots Drill Sergeant is not on purpose. His nature was kind. The boot camp had a negative effect on Pyles, as he understood that the war was just dehumanizing them into “indestructible weapons”. But he cannot retaliate to the war. So he ended Drill Sergeant’s life and suicide. He accused the bloody war and the harsh reality.

Sound

The diegetic sound is voices of characters in the scene. When Drill Sergeant commanded Pyles although Pyles said nothing, but his silence made the atmosphere tenser. I think the non-diegetic sound is also a point to create the tension. The slow pace indicated the death is coming

Light

The light is not really strong in the sequence because it happened at night. We only can see the moonlight came from the windows. The moonlight shone to the actors’ face to create strong contrast between the brightest and darkest parts and also create strong shadows.

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Stanley Kubrick uses a lot of medium shots. Medium shot shows a character from the waist up, and there is space for hand gesture to be seen. Form the following two medium shots we can see their inner feelings from expressions. The director uses deep focus to show us the whole scene. Foreground and background is visible so we know how much it appears sharp and clear.

EDITING

Montage is used in this sequence. A series of short shots are edited into the sequence to condense space, time, and information. Montage connects shots to from a sequence, leading to a finished motion picture. It makes the scene more realistic and cruel. The whole process is very smooth and connects perfectly.

Deconstructed Meaning

The sequence that I choose is the end of the first part. Pyles is the main line we follow in the first part. Pyles was changed but no one could expect his outbreak. All the techniques that the director uses, including mise-en-scene, cinematography and editing want to reveal the themes. Duality of man, dehumanization and stupidity of war are embodied. Pyles was a victim of pre-war. We sympathise with his character as he fails a lot during boot camp training, and gets picked on by the Drill Sergeant for being fat. Pyles’s upshot is not only a tragedy but also is a nightmare of whole war victims.

Bibliography

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/13662/an_analysis_of_background_movement.html?cat=4

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093058/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_Metal_Jacket

http://movie.mtime.com/11617/comment.html

http://movie.douban.com/subject/1300055/#reviews

http://www.historyinfilm.com/jacket/index.htm