Explain This Full Metal Jacket Insult

[xiix]

“Did your parents have any children that lived?”

Huh? What does this insult imply? I just don't get it. That was the #1 top insult from a list of top 20 movie insults @ http://www.theshiznit.co.uk/review.php?id=220

So what is so insulting about that insult? Would anyone care to break it down for me?

cheers.

[Phlosphr]

As in, you are so insignificant that it's like you are not even there, or, ever been born.

[xiix]

I was really hoping there was some more meat to it I mean, obviously 'you' exist if I'm uttering an insult directed towards you.

meh.

[Johnny L.A.]

I remember my dad using this line when I was a kid. IIRC John Wayne said it in one of his war films. (Was he a pliot? Flying Tigers maybe?)

I'd always assumed the recipient was being called brain dead.

[Loach]

Originally Posted by xiix

I was really hoping there was some more meat to it I mean, obviously 'you' exist if I'm uttering an insult directed towards you.

meh.

Sorry it is not literal. On a related note. I hate to break it to you but there actually are more things in Texas than steers and queers.

[Johnny L.A.]

Originally Posted by Loach

there actually are more things in Texas than steers and queers.

Queers and illiterates. And I saw you reading a book!

[Loach]

From FMJ I like "You're so ugly you could be a modern art masterpiece" a lot better.

[movingfinger]

How about, "Is it true your brother is an only child?"

[essell]

"Looks to me like the best part of you ran down the crack of your mumma's ass and ended up as a brown stain on the matress! I think you've been cheated!"

My favourite for sure.

[jjimm]

An Irish farmer I know, to his wife, regarding the lamb chop on his plate:

"Was it dead before you killed it?"

[Incensed]

Since this thread is the one that finally got me out of lurker mode (2-3 weeks-apologies) I thought I'd add my point of view.

The insult in question-

"Did your parents have any children that lived?"-in itself isn't that extreme, but in the context, I've always viewed it as a leading question, like a prosecutor baiting a defendant on the stand. In other words, the Gunnery Sergeant knows that the answer can only be an affirmation, and, when it inevitably comes from Private Pyle, he unsprings the realinsult. So the whole thing goes-

GS-"Did your parents have any children that lived?"
PP-"Sir, yes Sir."
GS-"I'll bet they regret that."

The implication being that Private Pyle's parents would have been generally happier had he been stillborn. For my money, I can't think of anything more insulting.

Although I think that quote (as explained above) stands up on its own, you just cannot appreciate the level of vitriol Ermey interjects into Full Metal Jacket without having seen it- the first 45 minutes or so are the Sistine Chapel of profanity.

[Omegaman]

I think mines got to be "Well, you talk the talk. Do you walk the walk ?" Very lame, but oh, so true.

[xiix]

thanks Incensed, that makes much much more sense now that it has been put within the context of the dialogue. Wow.

as an aside...

<hijack>

Should the term in question be spelt 'dialog' or 'dialogue'? My dictionary says either one is acceptable, but surely there is one commonly accepted spelling?

</hijack>

[carnivorousplant]

Originally Posted by xiix

“Did your parents have any children that lived?”

Who did the DI ask this of, the Protagonist or the fat guy?

[Blalron]

Here's one insult I never really got:

"I will motivate you Pyle, if it short dicks every cannibal on the Congo!"

[Incensed]

Carnivorous Plant-The fat guy, aka Private Pyle played by Vincent D'Onofrio. Incidentally it is also the first exchange between the sadistic Gunnery Sergeant and the hapless private. No introductions, nothing, just "Did your parents....?" Talk about disconcerting.

Blalron- I never quite understood that one either. My (admittedly thin) conjecture would be that "short dicks"="fucks over", so that the Gunnery Sergeant is declaring that he will fuck over everyone in the world, including those in darkest Africa, in order to make Private Pyle a Marine.

[carnivorousplant]

Originally Posted by Incensed

Blalronthe Gunnery Sergeant is declaring that he will fuck over everyone in the world, including those in darkest Africa, in order to make Private Pyle a Marine.

Thanks for the actor and thanks for the above; I didn't get it either.

D'Onofrio mentioned in an interview the social difficulty of putting on weight for the role.

And of course,

SPOILER:

His character kills R. Lee. In real life, R. Lee would've taken the rifle away and shoved it up his ass, but it was just a movie.

[SSG Schwartz]

Originally Posted by Blalron

Here's one insult I never really got:

"I will motivate you Pyle, if it short dicks every cannibal on the Congo!"

Short dicks=Short changes.

I will motivate you if it cheats every cannibal on the Congo. Why cannibals on the Congo? Because it is alliterative. It doesn't mean anything on its own any more than "fuck the dog" or "closer than a red c**t hair." Why does it have to be red, just because it is.
If you want to know how to cuss, ask an NCO.

Sgt Schwartz

[Scarlett67]

I always thought of "Did your parents have any children that lived?" as the equivalent of "You're a walking abortion," as in not really a functional productive human being.

[Wee Bairn]

Originally Posted by Scarlett67

I always thought of "Did your parents have any children that lived?" as the equivalent of "You're a walking abortion," as in not really a functional productive human being.

That's my interpretation as well. And my fave line has to be the one regarding a reacharound. And isn't that one half of a great movie or what?

[Ellis Dee]

Originally Posted by xiix

Should the term in question be spelt 'dialog' or 'dialogue'? My dictionary says either one is acceptable, but surely there is one commonly accepted spelling?

I have no definitive answer, but the way I use them is that conversation in a movie is dialogue, while option screens on a computer are dialog boxes.

[Loach]

You know what? I think it's time for a link. Obviously the language is NSFW.

[Lizard]

Originally Posted by Wee Bairn

That's my interpretation as well. And my fave line has to be the one regarding a reacharound. And isn't that one half of a great movie or what?

Ditto!

[Trunk]

Of course it was the second half of the movie that gave us this:

"How can you shoot women and children?"

"Easy. You just don't lead them as much. Ain't war hell?"

Anyone remember the SNL skit where (IIRC) Phil Hartman was playing a drill sergeant like R. Lee Ermey, only he wasn't very good at coming up with insults?

"And you. . .what's your name?"

"Joe"

"Well not any more. From now on, your name's gonna be. . ."

::looks private up and down::

"Mister Feet Attached to Legs."

[Smitty]

Originally Posted by Sgt Schwartz

Short dicks=Short changes.

I will motivate you if it cheats every cannibal on the Congo. Why cannibals on the Congo? Because it is alliterative. It doesn't mean anything on its own any more than "fuck the dog" or "closer than a red c**t hair." Why does it have to be red, just because it is.
If you want to know how to cuss, ask an NCO.

Sgt Schwartz

I interpreted it to mean the same as "...even if it hair lips the devil," which is something I heard a lot growing up.

It means, "I will do this no matter how difficult it is for me to accomplish." Giving the devil a hair lip, or cutting off the dick of every cannibal in the Congo would be hard work, hence the saying.

Why the reference to "short-dicking" the "cannibals?" Just another way to show his unpleasantness. All those colored folks over there are cannibals and have long schvantzes, don't you know?

[Max Torque]

Okay, as long as we're discussing the movie, someone help me out here:

Joker and Cowboy are mopping the head. Joker is worried that Pyle is going off the deep end. Cowboy says, "I wouldn't be surprised." Then there's a pause, and Joker says, "I wanna slip my tube steak into your sister. What'll you take in trade?" Cowboy says, "What do you got?" Scene ends.

...? What the holy hell is that last bit all about? "Sister"? What? Huh? Is this some kind of gay sex come-on? Seriously, what was going on there?

[gulliver]

Joker wants to fuck Cowboy's sister and wants Cowboy to arrange a deal.

Typical frat-boy (barracks) trash talk, I would imagine.

[Loach]

Originally Posted by Max Torque

Okay, as long as we're discussing the movie, someone help me out here:

Joker and Cowboy are mopping the head. Joker is worried that Pyle is going off the deep end. Cowboy says, "I wouldn't be surprised." Then there's a pause, and Joker says, "I wanna slip my tube steak into your sister. What'll you take in trade?" Cowboy says, "What do you got?" Scene ends.

...? What the holy hell is that last bit all about? "Sister"? What? Huh? Is this some kind of gay sex come-on? Seriously, what was going on there?

After many weeks without even seeing a woman that is pretty much all you talk about (other than the crazy guy in the upper bunk). Just some good natured ribbing about banging his sister which Cowboy doesn't take offense to since they are buddies. Seems like they go back and forth to each other like this all the time.

[Jurph]

Originally Posted by Max Torque

Okay, as long as we're discussing the movie, someone help me out here:

Joker and Cowboy are mopping the head. Joker is worried that Pyle is going off the deep end. Cowboy says, "I wouldn't be surprised." Then there's a pause, and Joker says, "I wanna slip my tube steak into your sister. What'll you take in trade?" Cowboy says, "What do you got?" Scene ends.

...? What the holy hell is that last bit all about? "Sister"? What? Huh? Is this some kind of gay sex come-on? Seriously, what was going on there?

Joker mentions Cowboy's sister because the news that one of their bunkmates going insane doesn't appear to register anything more than mild apathy. Joker is seeing if anything will rile Cowboy, or if he's just dead on his feet, marking time until he graduates. And yeah, he really is saying "I want to f*** your sister." Earlier in the film, Gunny Hartman says something similar: "Hell, I like you! I'll let you come over to my house and f*** my sister!" There may be a connection between the two exchanges -- for example, showing that Hartman's use of the absurd-but-vulgar becomes the commonplace-and-tangible subject of conversation for his recruits.

[vivalostwages]

One of the boys in Stand by Me asked a similar question of young Jerry O'Connell, who was not all that bright: "Did your mother ever have any kids that lived?"
The reply: "What do you mean?"

[Loach]

Originally Posted by Jurph

Joker mentions Cowboy's sister because the news that one of their bunkmates going insane doesn't appear to register anything more than mild apathy. Joker is seeing if anything will rile Cowboy, or if he's just dead on his feet, marking time until he graduates. And yeah, he really is saying "I want to f*** your sister." Earlier in the film, Gunny Hartman says something similar: "Hell, I like you! I'll let you come over to my house and f*** my sister!" There may be a connection between the two exchanges -- for example, showing that Hartman's use of the absurd-but-vulgar becomes the commonplace-and-tangible subject of conversation for his recruits.

I don't see it that way at all. It is not a response to the apathy of Cowboy. It is just a continuation of a conversation that has been going on for weeks. Maybe I've spent too much time in barracks in my life.

[gigi]

Originally Posted by xiix

Should the term in question be spelt 'dialog' or 'dialogue'? My dictionary says either one is acceptable, but surely there is one commonly accepted spelling?

I thought dialog/analog/catalog/etc. was American and dialogue/analogue/catalogue/etc. was British. So the latter goes with "spelt".

[whole bean]

Originally Posted by Smitty

I interpreted it to mean the same as "...even if it hair lips the devil," which is something I heard a lot growing up.

It means, "I will do this no matter how difficult it is for me to accomplish." Giving the devil a hair lip, or cutting off the dick of every cannibal in the Congo would be hard work, hence the saying.

Why the reference to "short-dicking" the "cannibals?" Just another way to show his unpleasantness. All those colored folks over there are cannibals and have long schvantzes, don't you know?

David Allan Coe tells me the phrase is "harelip the pope." I guess for a fundamentalist protestant the two might be synonymous. That, or he needed a near rhyme for "joke."

[Wakinyan]

Originally Posted by Max Torque

Joker and Cowboy are mopping the head. Joker is worried that Pyle is going off the deep end. Cowboy says, "I wouldn't be surprised." Then there's a pause, and Joker says, "I wanna slip my tube steak into your sister. What'll you take in trade?" Cowboy says, "What do you got?" Scene ends.

...? What the holy hell is that last bit all about? "Sister"? What? Huh? Is this some kind of gay sex come-on? Seriously, what was going on there?

Probably more like a "f*** it" attitude here reflected on a specific barack jargong the viewer can't be familiar with. One shouldn't read anything else into it; but a manifestation of the black comedy Kubrick is fond of. It certainly has nothing to do with any sisters.

Edit: I was going to quote another fellow, but never mind, I think my point gets through anyhow.

[Chronos]

"closer than a red c**t hair." Why does it have to be red, just because it is.

Doesn't lighter-colored hair tend to be finer in cross-section than darker hair? That would mean that, in fact, as close as a red c**t hair would be closer than as close as a brown c**t hair, so the distinction is meaningful.