Who's the leader of the club
that's made for you and me?
M-I-C K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E
Hey there. Hi there. Ho there.
You're as welcome as can be.
M-I-C K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E
US Marines Mickey Mouse March
And so ends Full Metal Jacket, the amazing film by the late Stanley Kubrick about the Vietnam War. The rendition of an innocent children's song in the face of the cruel effects of war always makes me think, People aren't cut out for war. Some humans are evil and groups of people can be heartless hawks, but the Average Joe or Jane — those who get sent to fight our wars — are expected to witness and/or commit terrible acts of violence (as individuals).
Modern warfare, where planes overhead and unmanned aerial vehicles deliver the payloads that destroy entire villages, has divorced many a soldier from having a hand in the worst of the carnage (at least in the beginning) - but the psychological toll doesn't appear to be any lighter. I recently watched Jarhead, an adaptation of the book by Anthony Swofford about his time serving in the Marines during the first Gulf War (remember that one, kids?). In it, Swoff and his Marine buddies are trained and psyched up about liberating Kuwait and 'kicking some Iraqi butt' - and (spoiler alert) it never happens. They never see combat action. Mentally they're ready to kill or be killed but they end up being sent home after spending months in the desert.
It's surely highly dangerous to string someone out so much that they're ready to execute killing orders at the drop of a hat and the expect them to be perfectly well-adjusted when they're demobilised and sent home.
More films like Jarhead and Full Metal Jacket are needed to keep our society engaged and aware of the toll military conflict has on its citizens (Canongater Dan recommends Generation Kill and The Hurt Locker too). Far from glorifying violence, these very important films capture what wars of (supposed) liberation do to the human beings who have to fight them.
