“Full Metal Jacket” is a 1987 work by Stanley Kubrick. The war drama was based on Gustav Hasford’s semi-autobiographical novel “The Short-Timers” and remains one of the most popular films about the Vietnam War in the history of cinema. The director focused on showing the rigor that prevails in a special military camp for marines.
“Full Metal Jacket” fans outraged by censorship of the film’s poster
The main character of the film Joker, Sergeant JT Davis, who also serves as the narrator of the film, joins one of the units as a war correspondent in the second part of the film. He observes the cruel process of dehumanization of soldiers. One of the most popular symbols used in the film is his helmet, which has a peace symbol and the inscription “BORN TO KILL”.
The meaning of the symbols is explained in one of the scenes in the film, in which the Joker talks to the colonel. JT Davis’s superior asks his protégé if his helmet is a “sick joke.” He denies it. “I was trying to convey something about the duality of man with this, sir,” Joker explained. Then he added that he was inspired by Carl Jung.
Matthew Modine accuses Amazon of censorship. And all it took was a click
The Joker’s helmet inspired artist Philip Castle to create a popular poster for the film, featuring an almost entirely symbolic object. Almost 40 years after the premiere of “Full Metal Jacket”, a scandal broke out on the Internet regarding alleged censorship of graphics. The decision to remove the “BORN TO KILL” inscription from the popular poster was made by the Amazon Prime Video platform, where you can rent or buy access to the production.
The lack of the inscription was noticed by Matthew Modine, who played the role of the Joker in “Full Metal Jacket”. He expressed his outrage about this decision on the website X, he was not the only one. Fans of the production did not hide their anger in the comments. “Who made this decision? It not only changes Philip Castle’s iconic work, but also shows a complete lack of understanding of this symbolism,” the actor noted.
There are also voices online explaining the platform’s decision. The inscription “BORN TO KILL” has not disappeared from the video thumbnail, it only does not appear after clicking on it. It can be assumed that there are purely technical reasons behind the decision.
Full Metal Jacket Photo Amazon Prime Video / still from the website
Full Metal Jacket Photo Amazon Prime Video / still from the website
After clicking on a thumbnail on Amazon Prime Video, users are taken to a board with a description of the plot of a given work. If the cover photo had subtitles, the summary might be unreadable. The theory is most likely true, because in the case of other productions available on Amazon Prime Video, the same principle was used. The thumbnail with captions has been replaced with a photo in the background without them. decider.com asked the company for a comment on the matter, but they did not receive a response.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
