FULL METAL JACKET's cryptic Vietnamese signs translated 

General in Dr. Strangelove was obsessed with fluoride, fits with the toothpaste theme....

The fact that this was filmed in England is mindblowing. Kubrick the absolute genius.

“The French had their own little military conflict in the region before the US” doesn’t really cover it.

Sadly this is a tad lost in translation. Vietnamese is so difficult to translate unless the whole context of the sentence is understood and the reversed grammar is understood. A simple word like 'Moi' can have endless meanings depending on how the accents are used to give the word a totally different meaning. Maybe you need to re edit this deep dive after sitting down with a Vietnamese person for an hour to get the literal translations, even then you may find that different people have a different understanding of a sign, believe me I have experienced this for real. To see so much French influence there at the timeframe of the war would have been normal. If it wasn't there then Kubrick would have made a mistake. The oil reference is important because if you ever fly into Ho Chi Minh city you will notice out in the sea just off the coast oil rigs. Vietnam is sitting on a huge untapped oil reserve. This oil reserve is something China wants desperately to control and that's current news. After the Vietnam War ( Vietnamese call it The American War ) there was a conflict with China who wanted repayment for all the help it gave Vietnam to push America out. So even though both these countries are communist run they don't get along together. If Vietnam gets caught up in a conflict with China today i'm certain America will assist. The South China Sea area is going to explode very soon.

Interesting. "請用黑人牙膏" in the big-toothed smiley guy advert says: "Please use black people's toothpaste!" And it's not even in Vietnamese script, it's in Chinese.

Hey Rob, I live in Vietnam and I asked a friend about two of these signs. He said that ‘Tiep tuc phung su quy ngai’ means: ‘Continue to serve/follow the one you respect/admire’ (the one you admire would usually be a man). And ‘Tam phuon’ is just a common business name, or a common name for a company.

Interesting. My dad, who did 2 tours in Vietnam, took me to see this film twice, and I wish we could have talked about this movie and what it meant to him but he never did. I figured it was just Vietnamese advertising for products, but the Shell phrase especially is intriguing - I would never have thought it had messaging in it. Clever.

For many years now, the time has been beyond ripe for a good and deep Full Metal Jacket analysis. This was a treat and a half to watch.

3:24 smiling man looks more like a black men from a colonial french region. White tooth... hint

"Central" and "pheonix" maybe referring to the CIA and the Phoenix program?

The Shell logo can also be seen as the rising sun.

I think "To endlessly serve the devil" was Royal Dutch Shell's actual slogan.

The three flags on the fist is from the Vietnam War, in my guess, as the US, SOUTH Korea, and Australia had military contingents deployed. South Korea was a new US ally (or client state) eager to secure US support at home, so they helped the US in Vietnam and not without controversy.

I agree the with the "devil" metaphor, but I see it as the "devil" orchestrating a war where everyone dies/he is the only victor. They were playing both sides. Those Hueys/tanks/fighter jets/napalm run on fuel.

Great stuff here Rob, a few things popped into my head with your points. - The Leyna sign relating to "Little Angel" "Light" and the name Helen. In Eyes Wide Shut the daughter is named Helena and wears angel wings in her first scene - With "Little Angel" in mind and the references in the other signs to Hell or the Devil (along with the fires everywhere) the fact that the cardboard Indian cutout is perched on Joker's shoulder reminds me of the classic cartoon trope of having and angel and devil on opposite shoulders trying to sway you towards their pain of view. Note John Wayne fighting an Indian is over his other shoulder - The toothpaste signs along with what you mentioned, keeping teeth white brings to mind the idea of White Washing and US imperialism brining the great white hope - Finally the fist poster at the end. I think you're right on with a power controlling the soldiers i.e. governments/ corporations. This reminds me of a prominent shot in the first half of the film where Hartman forces Pyle to strangle himself with Hartman's hand. The shot is a close up of the hand gripping Pyle's neck. This shot also reminds me of a shot from EWS where Ziegler's hand is very large in the foreground of the shot where Bill is reviving Mandy. Ziegler is established as the powerful figure in Bill's world. Combine that with Dr. Strangelove's single glove and there's a repetition of large powerful hands controlling people.

I remember buying his analysis for The Warriors a few years back and it was really good

5:25 did anyone else catch the rather large and prominent painting of jesus looking towards joker? it feels out of place in a scene with overt consumerism, even the girl is a product to be bought...

The street signs are there to give it a lived in appearance, and often used to describe how to view the war scenes in the film, Hynos toothpaste was discontinued due to it's being toxic to humans with numerous illnesses, (including cancer) and because of Hynos' toxicity being comparable to the horrors of war.

"Boots" is a derogatory term for new Marines by other Marines.

Great analysis, Mr. Ager, it's strange to find someone with such dedication on movies nowadays.

3:51 Those Chinese characters “黑人牙膏” on the hynos billboard actually mean black person toothpaste

Thanks for pointing all this out - have to say I missed every single detail you point out - only ever watched it on VHS for the first forty times & even the DVD isn't all that!

“33” is decent beer, but I prefer Huda beer, brewed right there in Hue 🍺👍✨

I hardly think John Wayne "avoided the draft"...He was 36 years old when Pearl Harbor was bombed...How many 36 year old men were drafted?

Collative, 90% of your speculation in the movie is incorrect its painful. If you happen to see this comment, please take time to read it. Mỹ Toàn means Beauty (that is) Preserved

Given the general theme of the film overall, I'd guess the demon being served is war. The Shell logo being used to reinforce the symbolism overtly because of the probabilities of oil being a motivation, but also more indirectly as just showing the roll of money in war as a general concept

The kid in the toothpaste add is in a position, almost like a sniper pose. ??

@24:20 that is not the flag of North Korea. It's the flag of South Korea which along with Australia was the only country to send significant military forces to fight alongside the US in the Vietnam War. It's not a Korean War era poster.

This is unrelated to the topic but has anyone else noticed that in the scene with the hooker the same cars are going around in circles? It’s very distracting once you notice it lol

The Urban Dictionary thing is not legit. Search for any name on there and they're gonna have a feel-good fortune type of description for the name. A search for my name returns this: "A loving and caring guy who puts others first. Will be or is an amazing boyfriend and always makes sure that their couple is happy. Loved by many, especially by their signicicant other. Once they have found that special girl they will stick with then forever. Incredibly sweetie and sensitive. :) ".

Funny thing about Full Metal Jacket is anytime I think of the movie itself, I always remember the vietnam scenes first. The first half of the movie, I remember the dialogue but the second half the visuals are iconic

Tooth paste kid is aiming a metaphorical rifle at em

10:08 There are diacritic markings on the sign. The coloring of the sign just makes them hard to see is all.

Wow in my ignorance i assumed the 2nd half of the film was shot on location in a southeast asian country. I'm now blown away by the fact it was shot in England.

Fantastic. Really enjoyed this one. Always love how much in-depth research you perform and analyze to present these amazing studies of film and cryptic imagery, especially regarding Kubrick’s releases. Great work Rob!

Oil did play a role in tension in South East Asia as Indonesia was used by the oil companies to ethnically cleanse 500 smaller ethnic groups in the area so that they would negotiate a deal with one nation than a whole bunch of them.

There's an American beer called "Rolling Rock" that has "33" on the cans and bottles, too. The "33" symbolized 1933, the year the 18th Amendment was repealed, ending Prohibition. The motto on the cans and bottles is "Same as it Ever Was". Probably a coincidence.

I thought it interesting that the picture of the smiling man in the toothpaste ad looked a lot like the American propaganda cartoons of the Japanese, circa WWII, with the exaggerated teeth.

I can see you put a great deal of thought into this. Great viewpoints! Thank you for the effort and video

Lol John Wayne was 60 when the Vietnam draft happened! I love this video!

Another theme used by Kubrick was Mickey Mouse. Hartman says, “what is this Mickey Mouse shit” when Pyle is in the bathroom screaming. MM dolls on the windowsill in the journalist office. Finally , the soldiers sing the MM theme song at the movie’s ending.

The fist poster @ 24:15 is actually showing the US flag, “South Korean” flag [may have accidentally said NK flag], and Australian flag. These 3 countries, other than South Vietnam committed the most troops to Vietnam. US-2.7 million soldiers. Australia-60,000 soldiers. South Korea-320,000 soldiers. So rather than the Korean War of the 1950’s, I think it is saying something about the Vietnam War and these countries that fought there, much similar to the rest of the symbology the video covers.

16:03 "Le Ngoc" is not part of the billboard, it seems to be a sign designating the name of the theatre itself. "Ngoc" apparently means "gem," so my thought is the "Le" here is the French article. As we know, it was long a tradition, prior to multiplexes, for movie theaters to have their own names; think for instance of "Bijou."

Rob - so much stuff here - you've caught some things that make me think - I want to flag to you: - As you've pointed out - Joker does his John Wayne impression in all three Acts of the film - You've done an amazing thing identifying the film in the movie theatre as being the John Wayne film - Red River. - The phrase, "IS that you John Wayne? Is it me?" Makes no sense - but it's also in the book. John Wayne has a meaning in this film. Perhaps as the symbol of American agression. - Notice the Eagle in the Battery in the sign - this is the same eagle that appears on the Colonel's insignia. - The painting of Jesus when Rasterman chases the guy who steals his camera. The Colonel in the burial scene, and Hartman both reference Jesus or the Virgin Mary - The representation of women in this film - all three main women characters - the first hooker in red shows her face. The second hooker who screws the guys in the movie theatre hides her eyes with big sun glasses. And the third girl - the sniper - you don't see at all - she's hidden - until she's killed. All three girls are about the same age - the same size and look roughly the same. - Once last thought - I alway thought the 3 acts don't flow - and as you say - the Editor says he only wants stories about toothpaste or winning battles. Maybe the 3rd act is Joker's imagination - or something he authors. He is imagining the toothpaste and winning battles. Much like the Shining - which I believe to actually be occurring in Jack's novel - that 3rd act is actually a story Jokerman writes for Stars and Stripes???

Latin script, not English lettering, just being pedantic. After all it is a result of French colonialism.

Love your channel man!

If ya think about it, Kubrick was really genius when it came to sending his audience cryptic messages. Every one of his films gives hints to something else that's supposed to remain unknown information. As we all know that, during The Shining, there were numerous references to the taking of the moon landing. How, I'm not going there here but the references we're almost be blatant. Oh yeah..strange thing is recently: after 50 years, a strange monolith nj ust popped up in the the middle of the badlands of Utah! The structure is apparently made of a seamless 3 sided stainless steel (but not) material big enough for 3 people to stand on top of it. Where did Kubrick even get the idea to include this object? Here though, an excellent job on the signs, Rob! I always wondered why they always showed those I'd ass teeth. That started as as a Japanese propaganda thing in WW2, NOT "the Nam"! The U.S. first used these as cartoons on before feature films at theaters to get the public involved. When it didn't work fast enough, well..we got the shit bombed out if us in Pearl Harbor! That was all it took! Great work as usual..

Wow I didn‘t know the movie was released in the academy ratio. Thanks Rob, you are a master!

Ager Kubrick Need I say more? Thanks for the content, Rob!

I just want one thing in life. Full frame HD Kubrick movies, 4k (or higher) in their original aspect ratio, how they were INTENDED to be shown. Not cropped. Like why the fuck do they crop Kubrick?

I think this is such an interesting g video. One of the best I’ve seen for days.

Anyone else notice that somebody moved a sheet of plywood that was blocking a window hole, thereby allowing the sniper to kill Cowboy? Is that discussed here? Hopefully

I had noticed something in full metal jacket and it freaked me out. Definitely the lyrics to that fucking boot song. Is that a reference to Orwell? It may as well be.

Very thorough, complete analysis once again, from the great Rob Ager. Thank you Sir for posting, much appreciated--your work is stellar.

There was actually a fourth scene referencing John Wayne. The scene when Joker is speaking with the soldiers who are posing with the dead body and he responds to Animal Mother's threat to tear him a new asshole. "Well, pilgrim, only after you eat the peanuts out of my shit!"

also, another thing to note here is that there are SIX diamond shapes next to Joker during his interview outside the cinema which carry the snipers name (the actress)... there are also six diamonds (two large, four small) on the building opposite the round 'CREME' (innuendo?") building with the incomplete writing on it - the scene where they plan to take turns 'raping' the prostitute... again, is that scene with the prostitute comparable to the interpretation of the 'rape' of the female sniper as covered in one of your other videos?.... How deep do these connections go between the scenes? Fascinating stuff!

3:25 "But strangely, there's no citations." You don't spend a lot of time on Wikipedia, do you, Rob? Edit: I just got to the urban dictionary part with Phuong. I hope you threw that in as a joke, but I can't quite tell. In case anyone else isn't sure, teenagers use Urban Dictionary to write up sentimental BS about their friends using their name as the entry, and you can find an example of this under basically any name you can think of. But if you're trolling, you got me pretty good on that one.

"He personally avoided the draft." - A deftly crafted line. Given the current attitude towards John Wayne, it's safe to presume the line is included to take a shot at Wayne. However, Wayne was 57 years old when the draft was instituted. John Wayne wasn't a draft-dodger, but "he personally avoided the draft" is correct, even though it's ridiculously used. John F Kennedy also personally avoided the draft, mostly because he was dead. I personally avoided the draft, mostly because I wasn't born. See how ridiculous that sounds?

Rolling Rock Beer, also has the number 33 on the label .

Looking at the sniper building, the shape of the hole looks a bit like shape of Texas.

the kid ad was actually a perlon ad. and during the camera theft scene, the shopping center with the large vietnamese man's face and all the other nearby signs look as if they were all painted onto a flat surface so that it would appear to be multiple individual signs.

12:15 Actually, the reason many of these kinds of small deer are near extinct are that their skin was used in luxurious gloves, as in one individual had to be killed to make one glove.

The toothpaste smiling man seems to be more of an outrageous looking caricature of the North Vietnamese that is mocking the soldiers as they move through Hue.

My mind is blown from the sign being shot down minus the 2 letters around 9 minutes in the video. Kubrick's a genius. And great catch Rob. Love watching you dissect these videos.

Quality content, as always. It might be a stretch, but it would be cool if someone that's speaking vietnamese and is interested in the film would give these signs a go and see what they make of the translations. Btw: have you thought about the analysis of Blow-Up (1966)? I'm still looking forward to seeing that some day.

25:50 besides the word “Unite” Bob, under it, the first 2 lines are “To destroy communism...”, the rest is not visible enough for me to see. I think it might be interesting

The Vietnamese beer brand name of "33" is an enigmatic number. Rolling Rock beer in the U.S. has been placing the number "33" conspicuously embossed in the glass and printed on the label for decades, without any context. My guess is that if it is not Masonic, then it could also be referring to the repeal of Prohibition (Volstead Act) in the United States in 1933. I'm not sure how this works into the plot of the film however.

The poster at 24:00 shows the flag of South Korea. The South Korean government sent thousands of soldiers to fight in the war on the behalf of the US.

Could be overthinking, but it seems as if the native american in Joker's shoulder is holding something that resembles the US flag, and at the other side of Joker is another one being thrown away. Maybe it's about the two options cultures have when confronting a higher power: either join us or you go away. Also, notice how one side of Joker is significantly darker than the other.

I have read that Kubrick was a charter subscriber to Fidelio, the British publication of Lyndon LaRouche.

Very cool and interesting take I hadn't thought about. I can't wait to hear just about anything from you in regards to The Lighthouse! I thought it was so very good to the point where it may be my all-time favourite, but there seemed to be layers to it I didn't understand and I'm sure it's flawed, I haven't had the chance to rewatch it yet but I'm looking forward to the discussions around it, praise or criticism.

I saw this movie the night before I went to boot camp. Didn’t get a lot of sleep that night..... or the next few months.

Also, you can't spell "SHELL" without "HELL".

South Korean and Australian troops were present in the Vietnam War on the US/ARVN side and the poster probably references that.

Today I’ve organized my Rob Ager/Collative Learning folder on my computer (I’ve purchased several of Ager’s longer analysis (including the 60 minute FMJ analysis.) Great stuff all of it.) And just when I thought I was done, whaddayaknow? I’m not done after all, cause this just popped up. You gotta stop Rob, you’re producing content faster than we’re able to keep up! Just kidding, great stuff as always, keep it up. I’m gobsmacked by your attention to detail, you’ve made me look at movies in a different way than before. Nice to see more FMJ content/analysises. The Shining, 2001 ASO and EWS has been covered so well, so it’s nice to see Kubrick’s other movies getting the same treatment. Are you considering doing a Paths of Glory analysis in the future?

To give a bit of context, Beckton is an East London suburb, to give to an idea it's roughly 8 miles from Tower Bridge, So given how close that is to central London, it's amazing how they manage to give the impression of building a mini Vietnam that close. Today, Beckton gas works as long be demolished, some areas are still standing and still used for filming but majority as been demolished and now it's a massive shopping complex called Gillions reach.

So, were you trying to say that 1/2 the mission (winning hearts and minds) goes out the window when the other 1/2 (to kill the enemy) becomes the focus, or it always was the only one that mattered?

Nobody with any sense views the second half of that film as "disjointed nonsense". The only thing disjointed about any of it of course is the quick cut right in the middle taking us from bootcamp to Joker nearing the end of his time in Vietnam. The book on which the film is based, The Short Timers, is a disjointed, stream of consciousness masterpiece. The screenplay adapts that into a more conventional narrative. So, people who say that are nuts and shouldn't waste their time talking about movies.

Maybe tanphuong means "follow your heart", referring to heart and direction

Interesting....youtube is only recommending this to me now. A full year later.

the heart stuff, i believe has to do with the sniper, she was the young hooker from earlier, one of the crew recognizes her. that connects your boots metaphor and also connects hearts to the location of the sniper and connects it to cowboys heart and of course her hooker boots.

I didn’t think it could be made boring, but you did it

11:41. Why not just listen to the translations on Google Translate? There's a speaker symbol right beneath the word.

Not sure if Stanley Kubrick hypothetically intended to make this connection, but Phuong was also a main character in Graham Greene's "The Quiet American" (a 1955 novel set during the earlier French war in Indochina), being a Vietnamese woman that was at the heart of a love triangle between the other two main characters, Thomas Fowler and Alden Pyle (see discussion segment from 22:07-23:49). Also, the poster discussed toward the end of the video seems just as likely to be a Vietnam War poster as a Korean War poster, since the United States, South Korea, and Australia also participated in that war against the pro-NVA/Viet Cong forces.

The Shell logo next to the Devil sign is actually a sunbeam, a “shining” sun because the illuminati are “illuminated”. It all ties to Eyes Wide Shut again

Like every Kubrick film, there’s a point in the movie where you shake your head and say to yourself “What in the hell is going on here?” Only after multiple viewings can you start to unravel what’s actually happening. In Full Metal Jacket that moment is when they cut to the 2nd half of the film after Private Pile blows his brains out. That bass line from the intro of These Boots Are Made for Walking sets the scene so perfectly. It might be the best use of pop culture music ever used in a movie score. It’s just too perfect.

Some of the Vietnamese words do seem significant, and there were Vietnamese involved in the film. Although Kubrick may also have been inspired by actual signs in photos of Saigon during the conflict.

And the pearly white teeth, may also refer to the pearly gates, Kubrick was a genius.

London partially demolished to look like a warzone. I'll take things that aren't needed now for 500 Alex.

The fist sign - remember that Australian,South Korean and U.S. troops fought

Wait, did you really use Google Translate? You should've at least brought in someone who knows Vietnamese.

not sure if someone has pointed it out already but the torn poster would not be related to the Korean war. The US, Australia and South Korea all sent troops to Vietnam (as well as other countries) - they were the top 3 foreign countries who invaded Vietnam. Doan Ket means solidarity/united, so it would be a poster urging people to be united against these invading forces.

I've always wondered about these signs since I knew the film was not shot in Vietnam. Thank you.. great, video perspective and info as always Sir 👌 Also, when the editor says the line you referenced about drunks and combat and such, I always thought the toothbrush reference and the hearts and minds reference were the first two things he was planning on speaking about, then following up and adding the third mine about combat action. "Drunks who give half their pay to buy hooks toothbrushes and deodorants; wining of hearts and minds okay? And combat action that results in a kill..." I never bothered to consider that the winning of hearts and minds statement was part of the previous toothbrush statement. I always received that as 3 "reasons" as him stating the 2 in question and then adding the combat resulting statement as a 3tf previously unconsidered reason. Looks like you are most likely correct though. Which is why I keep coming back to this channel lol

Just my take but I believe the constant use of advertisements were a nod to the real motives of the u.s invasion being to corporatize Vietnam

Loved it, btw perhaps an idea- find an old Vietnamese sr and ask for extra insights

Rob, when are you going to do a team up with Oliver Harper?

The fist poster is most likely a reference to the Vietnam war, not the Korean war. Australia had many troops in the Vietnam war, of course, but there was also a contingent of South Korean soldiers present.

Beckton gasworks are not 'near London' also. Beckton is in zone 2 or 3 on the underground. It's part of London.

I really like your theories on this second half of the film. Never really would have thought of it that way. It makes me think that maybe it wasn't really a film about war after all.

Regarding the "center/direction" and "phoenix" mystery: perhaps what Kubrick was conveying is "this way, a phoenix" or "in this way, a phoenix is made". This can relate to the transformation of an old society(Vietnam) into a new one but also, since it is right above the building Joker and Rafterman are behind, it can be a statement about Joker's death and rebirth, triggered by Cowboy's demise. In that moment, Joker resolves to kill the sniper, an act which kills his innocence for good and triggers a rebirth. This again relates to the duality of man, a major theme of the movie. The first act of the film shows us the death and rebirth of Leonard Lawrence, even reinforced by Hartman's quote: "You are definitely born again hard." I feel that with this sign, Kubrick was restating the central theme of the film just as we reached the moment it had all been building up to: Joker's rebirth.