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Full Metal Jacket and the Spectacle of Imperial Masculinity.

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Title: Full Metal Jacket and the Spectacle of Imperial Masculinity.
Authors: Bandyopadhyay, Ranjan1 (AUTHOR) ranjanbandyopadhyay27@outlook.com, Ray, Avishek2 (AUTHOR)
Source: Australian Feminist Studies. Dec2025, Vol. 40 Issue 126, p521-530. 10p.
Subject Terms: *Masculinity, Sexual objectification, Colonies, Militarism, Motion pictures
Geographic Terms: United States
Abstract: This reflective paper critically engages with Full Metal Jacket as a lens to examine the commodification of women's bodies, US militarism, and the enduring power of Western masculinity. One of the film's most infamous scenes features a Vietnamese sex worker approaching two American soldiers and uttering the now-iconic line: 'Me so horny, me love you long time'. Now a global pop-cultural reference, the phrase encapsulates the racialized and sexualised framing of Asian women as subservient, exotic objects – a trope rooted in colonial power structures and military occupation. Rather than simply denouncing these hegemonic portrayals, we examine how they are constructed, what histories they draw upon, and what desires they reproduce. Representations are never neutral; they are battlegrounds where ideology, power, and aesthetics converge. We therefore move beyond mere exposure of stereotypes to critically engage with the social and libidinal structures that sustain them. These tropes are not relics, but afterlives of imperialism, inscribed in gendered geographies of war and desire. Viewed through this lens, Full Metal Jacket becomes not just a cultural text, but a contested site where dominant meanings are shaped, resisted, and reimagined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Australian Feminist Studies is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: Full Metal Jacket and the Spectacle of Imperial Masculinity.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Bandyopadhyay%2C+Ranjan%22">Bandyopadhyay, Ranjan</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> ranjanbandyopadhyay27@outlook.com</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ray%2C+Avishek%22">Ray, Avishek</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Australian+Feminist+Studies%22">Australian Feminist Studies</searchLink>. Dec2025, Vol. 40 Issue 126, p521-530. 10p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Masculinity%22">Masculinity</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sexual+objectification%22">Sexual objectification</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Colonies%22">Colonies</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Militarism%22">Militarism</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Motion+pictures%22">Motion pictures</searchLink>
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  Data: This reflective paper critically engages with Full Metal Jacket as a lens to examine the commodification of women's bodies, US militarism, and the enduring power of Western masculinity. One of the film's most infamous scenes features a Vietnamese sex worker approaching two American soldiers and uttering the now-iconic line: 'Me so horny, me love you long time'. Now a global pop-cultural reference, the phrase encapsulates the racialized and sexualised framing of Asian women as subservient, exotic objects – a trope rooted in colonial power structures and military occupation. Rather than simply denouncing these hegemonic portrayals, we examine how they are constructed, what histories they draw upon, and what desires they reproduce. Representations are never neutral; they are battlegrounds where ideology, power, and aesthetics converge. We therefore move beyond mere exposure of stereotypes to critically engage with the social and libidinal structures that sustain them. These tropes are not relics, but afterlives of imperialism, inscribed in gendered geographies of war and desire. Viewed through this lens, Full Metal Jacket becomes not just a cultural text, but a contested site where dominant meanings are shaped, resisted, and reimagined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Australian Feminist Studies is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1080/08164649.2025.2523942
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 10
        StartPage: 521
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Masculinity
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Sexual objectification
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Colonies
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Militarism
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Motion pictures
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: United States
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      – TitleFull: Full Metal Jacket and the Spectacle of Imperial Masculinity.
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            NameFull: Ray, Avishek
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          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 12
              Text: Dec2025
              Type: published
              Y: 2025
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              Value: 126
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