Characters like Joker from Full Metal Jacket are usually used for comic relief, but Stanley Kubrick goes further using Joker to further themes in his movie, like the duality of man. Kubrick simultaneously uses Joker’s upbeat and spirited character as a contrast to the inhuman marines, in order to show the loss of innocence and morality from war.

To understand Joker, it is important to understand how Kubrick structures his movie. The movie is divided into three parts: the training at Parris Island in which Joker graduates as a military journalist, the Tet offensive and the Battle of Hue. In each part the mood changes drastically as it starts out in the light hearted training and ends with the dark Battle of Hue.

The duality of man is a major theme in this movie and Joker is Kubrick's catalyst to portray this theme by using his comedic nature. The most obvious indication is that on Joker’s helmet it says “Born to Kill” while he wears a peace symbol on his vest. The next sign comes in one of the scenes during the Tet offensive, in which Joker goes to write about an incident where Viet Cong killed 20 public officials who worked for the South Korean government. In the beginning of the scene Joker looks utterly disgusted by the incident as he stands over the dead bodies, but soon after he is found making sarcastic comments about the incident with the other marines. This scene shows Joker’s two sides, one which is a normal human emotion of disgust and the second is Joker’s senseless character. A perfect line by Joker demonstrates his character as he addresses some journalists “I wanted to see exotic Vietnam the Jewel of Southeast Asia, I wanted to meet interesting and stimulating people of an ancient culture, and kill them.”(Kubrick) Joker’s line also demonstrates a lot about his character and the concept of the duality of man. For a while the viewer was made to believe that Joker was innocent and peaceful, but by the end of the line Joker is returns to his dark personality. The last scene in the movie best demonstrates this theme, in the scene the platoon marches in the dark with a city burning in the background while the soldier sing “The Mickey Mouse Club House.”

Through the three parts of the movie Joker meets many marines who made the transition from young men to killing machines, a transition Joker has not yet made. At the beginning of the movie Joker meets Gomer Pyle who is a fat and idiotic recruit. Gomer’s clumsy nature gets him in trouble with the Drill Sergeant who abuses and beats in an attempt to straighten him out, with little effect, the Drill Sergeant turns to Joker to fix Gomer, which Joker has some success at. Gomer had been dehumanized by the abuse, and was broken by it. On the last night on Parris Island, he kills the Drill Sergeant before killing himself. During the Tet offensive Joker meets a jacked up and experienced machine gunner named Animal Mother. He seems to be the character most affected by the war as he is completely void of emotion, the only sign of humanity is his instinct for preserving the lives of him and his squad. Nothing important happens to Joker’s character during the Tet Offensive except for meeting the squad. The finale takes place at the Battle of Hue in which the squad suffers some of its first casualties and the movie takes a dark turn. The squad finds itself pinned down by a Viet Cong Sniper who kills three marines one of which was Joker’s best friend. Seeking revenge Joker kills the sniper, which he soon realizes was a teenage girl. This event changed his personality as he finished his transition from being a young and innocent man into a killing machine akin to Animal Mother

Joker’s last line in the movie best sums up both themes and how Joker’s character has changed “I am so happy that I am alive, in one piece and short. I’m in a world of s***, yes. But I am alive. And I am not afraid.”(Kubrick) In one way, this line shows that Joker has lost his humanity as his only interest is to live. In another way it shows the ironic duality of man as Joker is happy while simultaneously being in a world of s***.