The film 'Full Metal Jacket' is a film that shows the life of a soldier in Vietnam, it portrays the brutalities of the Vietnam war, particularly because it is one of the most notorious wars that has ever happened due to war crimes on the Vietnamese citizens etc.



To start off with, you will instantly see the name of the two companies that contributed to the creation of the film. The Warner Brothers logo appears 3 seconds into the opening credits, whereas 'A Stanley Kubrick Film' appears 12 seconds into the opening scene, straight after the Warner Brothers have their logo shown. These are called conventions, a convention is something that is common, and seen as the normal way to do things, so the opening credits of this film are very conventional.



Secondly, you hear the music throughout the opening scene. The music playing was from that period of time and was originally made about Vietnam. This is also an example of convention, because you will frequently hear background music in the opening credits of the film. Full Metal Jacket's opening credits are also relatively unconventional due to the music contrasting with what is about to happen, the music is rather relaxed and upbeat, whereas the film shows how brutal the Vietnam war was at the time.



In addition to this, you see the shaving of the heads of the new recruits, this signifies the removal of character straight away. Also, you can tell that from that point on, everyone is considered equal. It also shows that their past life is behind them, and they are completely committed to their duty.

Finally, the characters are given nicknames, this once again shows how the characters have completely left their past lives behind and have been thrown into the lifestyle of a soldier.