Full Metal Jacket

Full Metal Jacket Imagery

Passed Over

We see Pyle passed by every recruit climbing over the ladder during training. The image gives a visual representation of how Pyle is feeling passed over by the other recruits.

Every Man's Responsibility

Kubrick shoots Pyle falling into the muddy water during training as he has his arm wrapped around Joker. The image shows the men of the squad all converging on Pyle to help him up. It shows how they are all working to help him, and also how one man can also bring down the entire unit.

Sun and Shadows

Kubrick shoots the recruits doing a rope obstacle course as the sun is setting red. The men all become shadows as the sky looks more like blood. The imagery shows how these men's identities are being taken away, and how they are becoming less of themselves, merged into the mass of marines, soldiers whose only focus is to learn to kill.

Kill Kill Kill

While the squad stands in formation with their rifles, they repeat what Sgt. Hartman yells at them. But we see that Pyle does not speak. He's somewhere else in his mind. Kubrick cuts to a close up of Pyle and then dissolves into the next shot as "kill, kill, kill" is being screamed by everyone around him. The imagery tells us that this killer mentality is penetrating his mind and he is consumed by it.