Private Joker and the Duality of Man

Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket is a film where many aspects of film run together to create this work of art. I believe that his characters are well developed and are a crucial part of the mastery of this film. In this post I plan to discuss a main character Kubrick enhances in his film. 

Private Joker, played by Matthew Modine, is a main character in the film as he stays with us throughout the duration of the film. We see him developed as a soldier and as a human being over the course of the film. We start at the first scene, where the soldiers stand at the foot of their bunks, getting an earful from Sergeant Hartman (R. Lee Ermey). None of the characters really stand out hear because it is the start of the film so no relationships have been made between the viewer and the soldiers. I also believe that this scene was intended for viewers to see that all the soldiers were the same and Ermey’s character was above them. He even says, “…You are all equally worthless.” But we do get a sense of why Private Joker gets his nickname. A sly remark by Joker and the drill sergeant tears him a new one.

As the narrator in the first section of the film, we get an initial hint at Joker’s role in the war as a Journalist, (Gruben). His insights as a narrator aren’t very deep, as he doesn’t have many lines as a narrator. We can see Joker’s growth in his time at camp. He separates himself from the others to help Private Pyle, at first on his own and then he is made squad leader and personal assistant to Pyle. He demonstrates his leadership abilities to the sergeant when asked if he believes in the Virgin Mary, repeatedly saying no while being beaten by the drill instructor. Joker explains why he doesn’t reverse his answer and is rewarded the position of squad leader. This shows that Joker is intelligent, and that he sticks up for what he thinks is right. He is intelligent because he knows that if he change his answer, he will be chastised more, and he honors himself by doing what he believes is right. The next sequence in the film is when we see Joker helping Pyle through obstacles. At this point, we know how much of a struggle it is to get Private Pyle to do anything right, but Joker seems to be succeeding more than anyone thought. But after a series of slip-ups by Pyle, the group starts taking their anger out on him by holding him down and beating him with bars of soap. All the platoon members take a whack at him but Joker hesitates. Something in Joker’s human nature was telling him not to beat up poor Private Pyle. I think it was because Joker had helped Pyle grow and get better at a lot of things, and he realized he is just a slow learner. But then he realizes that it is Pyle’s wrongdoings that punishes the squad, and to get back at Pyle for it, Joker hits him repeatedly, more than any other platoon member. This scene is very important in the analysis of Private Joker because we start to see the duality of this man arise. He can be helpful and kind, but also violent and mean. This duality of Joker also is represented later on in the film when he wears the peace pin and a helmet that says “born to kill” on it. He even responds to being asked about it, “I think I was trying to suggest something about the duality of man, sir.”

When it comes time for graduation, Sergeant Hartman reads off each soldier’s assignment. When he gets to Joker, he reads that Joker is assigned to Basic Journalism. And responds with, “you’re not a writer, you’re a killer.” This is another example of Joker’s duality. He comes to camp and claims he is a killer, yet he requests to be a writer for the Marines. We cannot be too sure of why Private Joker wants to be in the war, and it seems to us that even he doesn’t know. It almost seems like the war is just a place for him to be and not a battle for him to be apart of. When interviewed about being in Vietnam, the soldiers question reasons for being in Vietnam and if they are killing the right people. Joker’s response is a sarcastic one stating the reason he came was to, “…see the exotic Vietnam. The jewel of Southeast Asia. I wanted to meet interesting and stimulating people of an ancient culture and kill them.” However, when Joker is in prime position to kill, his gun jams, suggesting Joker was never actually ready to kill, as if he wouldn’t be able to do it. And when the lone sniper is shot down, the soldiers want her to ‘rot’ and be left for dead. Joker, however, says they can’t leave her like this because as we have seen before in the film, Joker has a sense of what is right and wrong, and his morals often lead him to do the right thing. After a moral struggle, Joker then puts the girl out of her misery and does exactly what she asks for; he shoots her.

Joker is a character we see grow throughout the movie. We see him develop as a soldier of war, but also as a human being. Joker’s so called duality defines him. The two sides of him we see reflect in us too. I believe Kubrick is trying to suggest something about the duality of man through the character Joker. “Joker can be studied thematically as a mouthpiece for Kubrick's own political ideology, a means for expressing his opinions on war and the dynamics of human behavior,” (Gruben 271).

Gruben, P. (2005). Practical joker: The Invention of a Protagonist in Full Metal Jacket. Literature Film Quarterly, 33(4), 270-279.