15 Most Dehumanizing Moments In Stanley Kubrick's Films

9. The Sniper Prays €“ Full Metal Jacket (1987)

Another Kubrick classic that deals with the theme of dehumanization head-on, Full Metal Jacket is an anti-war film split into two parts. In the first part, a group of boys go through boot camp to become marines, and in the second part some of their stories continue into the Vietnam War. Having already covered World War I and the Cold War, it is with the senseless Vietnam War that Kubrick hit the nail on the head with most force. Towards the end of the film, Joker and the squad he's in are ambushed by a hidden sniper. After almost shooting Joker, the sniper - who turns out to be a young girl - gets wounded. The men surround her, and their faces express apathy of the worst kind. As the sniper prays and begs for death, Joker hesitates and (for the first time in the film) kills a human being up close. This mercy killing is one of the most humane acts in the film, which only serves to highlight how dehumanized the soldiers have become.