Full Metal Jacket, should "Gomer Pyle" (I know that was name from an old TV show) have been released from the marines rather than forced to fail?

[shockedcanadian]

In the movie it is clear he was deficient, mentally and otherwise, almost certainly drafted and not a volunteer, right?

Now, disregarding the unrealistic 180 he does after being beaten by his squadron, shouldn't he have been Dishonourable Discharged or what have you before he went over the edge?

It would seem to that the he would be a potential danger to his fellow marines even in the odd case in which he did succeed. It's a unique and entertaining movie but the issue of him being allowed to stick it out never say well with me. Some guys can overcome physical deficiencies through hard training to reach a basic level, but he was clearly not cerebrally sufficient.

Am I right or wrong on this?

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

In the movie it is clear he was deficient, mentally and otherwise, almost certainly drafted and not a volunteer, right?

Now, disregarding the unrealistic 180 he does after being beaten by his squadron, shouldn't he have been Dishonourable Discharged or what have you before he went over the edge?

It would seem to that the he would be a potential danger to his fellow marines even in the odd case in which he did succeed.

Am I right or wrong on this?

Wrong. They didn't discharge people for screwing up because that would be one quick way out if you were drafted.

 

[yidnar]

In the movie it is clear he was deficient, mentally and otherwise, almost certainly drafted and not a volunteer, right?

Now, disregarding the unrealistic 180 he does after being beaten by his squadron, shouldn't he have been Dishonourable Discharged or what have you before he went over the edge?

It would seem to that the he would be a potential danger to his fellow marines even in the odd case in which he did succeed. It's a unique and entertaining movie but the issue of him being allowed to stick it out never say well with me. Some guys can overcome physical deficiencies through hard training to reach a basic level, but he was clearly not cerebrally sufficient.

Am I right or wrong on this?

he didn't fail until the very end of training .. he actually improved and became a seemingly well trained soldier .. until he shot his Drill Instructor ..you cant kick people out for struggling to make it through Training .. and he emitted no signs of murderous violence until he actually committed the act ..

 

[shockedcanadian]

he didn't fail until the very end of training .. he actually improved and became a seemingly well trained soldier .. until he shot his Drill Instructor ..

I think he graduated if my memory is correct. Yes, he did the most amazing turn around after his team tortured him with the soap in the towels and with Jokers help and new found motivation, he because a great sharp shooter and improved substantially.

However, the unrealism aside, I think someone should have determined that he was clearly on the spectrum and could be a liability in real conflict.

That's just my take anyways as I know Vietnam needed all the soldiers they could muster but there had to be some threshold.

 

[yidnar]

I think he graduated if my memory is correct. Yes, he did the most amazing turn around after his team tortured him with the soap in the towels and with Jokers help and new found motivation, he because a great sharp shooter and improved substantially.

However, the unrealism aside, I think someone should have determined that he was clearly on the spectrum and could be a liability in real conflict.

That's just my take anyways as I know Vietnam needed all the soldiers they could muster but there had to be some threshold.

how do you diagnose someone as being violently dangerous when they exhibit no signs and have no history of such behavior ..

 

[shockedcanadian]

how do you diagnose someone as being violently dangerous when they exhibit no signs and have no history of such behavior ..

I'm not referring even to him going over the edge eventually, I'm referring to an identification well before that point that he was on some spectrum, he was not intellectually fit for service.

 

[JustAnotherNut]

I really have no idea or experience in the matter so this is just my opinion.....


Not all 'spectrum' have violent tendencies, and similarly not all 'normal' really are. IOW, him flipping that mental switch is an individual thing. That is something that can happen to anyone.

Hollyweird portrayed the character as being obviously having some kind of mental deficiency to make it easy for the viewers to see it........but that same breakdown could have happened to Joker or any of the others. Just because they look weird doesn't mean they are and just because they look sharp as a tack doesn't mean they are either.