"WE got the sniper!"

“We got the sniper!” Animal Mother proudly shouts over the crackling fire in the last scene of Full Metal Jacket.

The scene begins in a burning building where Joker is targeted by the hiding enemy sniper. Just nearly avoiding a bullet, Animal Mother steps in and begins firing his machine gun at the unexpected girl before Joker has a chance to react. This portion of the scene was expected for me while the character is almost begging to shoot his gun throughout his entire presence throughout the film. Joker looks astonished, a significant indicator of his role in Vietnam. I think for most soldiers this look portrayed is almost unrealistic for the amount of time they had already been in war.

When the other men enter, Animal Mother instantly takes the credit as he proudly calls himself a “life taker.” Meanwhile, the severely wounded sniper mumbles inaudible words in pain. At this time, all the men reveal an emotion of vulnerability and sadness that has been touched upon little throughout the movie thus far. Even Animal Mother at this brief moment before expressing his hatred for the girl looks regretful to an extent.

What I found most significant in the following moments is that Joker is the one who ultimately takes the life of the sniper. Even though Animal Mother has been built up to be the savage killer, the character who until this point has played the comedic relief is the one who takes the initiative. I believe Animal Mother was encouraging of this action due to his true internal feelings of sorrow for the Vietnamese girl. By forcing Joker to perform the death, he is ridding his conscience of one less casualty and putting it on Joker’s clean slate.

Overall, this ending scene did a good job encompassing the confusion and apprehension many men felt during the Vietnam war through arguably the two most opposite characters in the movie.