FREE ESSAY ON KUBRICK, EISENHART, AND STUFF ABOUT CONFORMING

KUBRICK, EISENHART, AND STUFF ABOUT CONFORMING

Stanley Kubrick uses his film, Full Metal Jacket to say that people today are brainwashed
products of decades of conditioning. Kubrick strongly encourages us to relish individual
thought. He expresses that society's ideology encourages conformity, which can eventually
cause fatality. Also the article "You Cant Hack It Little Girl: A Discussion Of The
Covert Psychological Agenda of Modern Combat Training" by R Wayne Eisenhart realizes the
extreme repression on individuality in the Marines. 
We all like to think of ourselves as individuals. However, in truth, we all live in a
mass denial created be ourselves to feel less guilty about instituting severe pressure
to, and the consequences if one does not, conform. The way one learns about oneself is
often through others' words and actions. This outside feedback creates a role for a
person that he/she accepts as "who he/she is." Therefore, it is the words and actions of
another that forms the self-identity of a person, and ad this relationship develops,
positive, reinforcing words and actions become necessary for ones healthy existence. Of
course, there are varying degrees of conformity, and in most people there is the struggle
to hold on to their individuality. This struggle is apparent in the scene in Full Metal
Jacket when Gomer Pyle is beaten with soaps in towels. The other members of the troop
become upset at Pyle's nonconformity, and their negative feelings eventually reached the
point of violence. Then Pyle's struggle was ended and he became like the others, a
killing machine. In his article, Eisenhart recognizes that "the training process created
intense emotional conflicts generated by the formation of a male role," and that there
was a "continual structured effort to degrade and shape the individuals self-image."
(32)
Because all throughout history conformity was a necessary way of life, one may see
society now as completely brainwashed. Kubrick depicts the longstanding tradition of the
US Marines as a kind of cult where everyone is uniformly behaved and not one thought is
individual. Even Joker, who has an image of originality in the film, eventually gives in
to the group. First in the scene where he is cajoled in to hitting Pyle with the soap,
and second when he struggles with himself, but ultimately conforms by killing the
Vietnamese sniper at the encouragement of his peers. In the beginning of Full Metal
Jacket, the head shaving, which has been a part of military orientation for ages, is
symbolic of the men leaving behind their personalities and individuality in order to be
accepted into a group. The music playing in this scene further emphasizes the loss with
the repeated "goodbye," and the new prefabricated self-image with "hello Vietnam."
Eisenhart further describes this military brainwashing as "a certain 'blank look' in his
eyes signifying the achievement of psychological control." (29) 
One can easily see the parallel between military uniformity, and everyday civilian life.
Even such an accepted institution as education is really an attempt at creating identical
model citizens. For example, in high school, a student is rewarded for complying with the
rules, joining clubs, participating in class and doing well (according to an appointed
figure) academically. However a student is severely punished for failing, or being
antisocial and even further excommunicated from the society. Another method society uses
to force conformity upon people is the consumerism ideology in America. Money is taught
to people from birth to be one of the most important aspects of life, through the media,
personal accounts and just about everything. One eventually believes that they must have
a lot of money in order to have an enjoyable, successful life. To get money, one conforms
to be the person who is awarded a well paying position. If one does not conform to the
standard they will not be paid well, will not be able to buy things media tells them they
need, and therefore be "different" and unwanted. In both situations, such harsh labels as
"excommunicated" or "unwanted," the individual may become depressed and ultimately
suicidal. 
Kubrick blatantly makes a connection between nonconformity and death in Full Metal
Jacket. Pyle, the most unique of the troop, murders both the Drill Instructor and himself
in the second most horrifying and important scene of the film. The first is when Joker,
after seeing his mates be effortlessly slaughtered, confronts the Vietnamese sniper and
kills her. Kubrick makes the connection by showing Joker's fight with his own morality in
the hesitation over the dying girl, and then finally in compliance with his role as a US
Marine, he kills her. 
I believe through Full Metal Jacket and "You Cant Hack It Little Girl: A Discussion Of
The Covert Psychological Agenda of Modern Combat Training," one is meant to realize that
we should cherish our individuality and be wary of institutions of conformity. Eisenhart
discusses throughout the article the effects of Marine bootcamp on the person. Kubrick
uses the vehicle of the US Marines to express his opinions about our ideology, which
encourages us to become one uniform mass. My optimistic opinion is that as long as there
are people like Kubrick and Eisenhart to make the downfalls of society obvious, we can
still hold on to a bit of our individuality. 
Bibliography
Gracey, Harry L. "Learning the Student Role: Kindergarten as Academic Bootcamp." Down to
Earth Sociology. Ed. James M. Henslin. New York: The Free Press, 1999. 418-430.
Eisenhart, R Wayne. "You Cant Hack It Little Girl: A Discussion Of The Covert
Psychological Agenda of Modern Combat Training." Journal of Social Issues 13.4 (1975):
13-23.