# Is that you John Wayne? Is this me? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 17, 2006, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-you-john-wayne-is-this-me/340432 "2006-01-17T23:21:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bubastis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d07c76/32.png) [@bubastis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubastis)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2006, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-you-john-wayne-is-this-me/340432/1 "2006-01-17T23:21:30Z")
Private Joker says this several times during Full Metal Jacket. What on earth does it mean? Is it a quote from something? Is it meant to be funny? Why does he say it at all, is it relevant to his plight? ---
**Author:** ![bubastis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d07c76/32.png) [@bubastis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubastis)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-you-john-wayne-is-this-me/340432/2 "2006-01-18T08:43:20Z")
BUMP! Come on, no-one as any help? ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-you-john-wayne-is-this-me/340432/3 "2006-01-18T09:06:38Z")
I have no idea. But barring a more specific refernce, I’m guessing it’s just an ironic commentary on the heroic John Wayne movie version of war vs. what he’s actually experiencing. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-you-john-wayne-is-this-me/340432/4 "2006-01-18T16:40:49Z")
He’s saying something about the duality of man. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-you-john-wayne-is-this-me/340432/5 "2006-01-18T19:42:12Z")
**Inigo Montoya** Is that a Jungian thing? ---
**Author:** ![vl\_mungo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc8723/32.png) [@vl\_mungo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vl_mungo)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-you-john-wayne-is-this-me/340432/6 "2006-01-18T23:25:39Z")
My take… If that’s you (John Wayne)… then what am I (Pvt. Joker) doing here? Either that or the duality thing. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-you-john-wayne-is-this-me/340432/7 "2006-01-18T23:32:12Z")
> [@wolf\_meister](#): > > **Inigo Montoya** > Is that a Jungian thing? Dunno about that, but it’s one of those movie quote things. Some piece of shiny brass was giving Joker a hard time about having a peace symbol on his helmet cover along with the phrase, “Born to Kill.” Asking him if it was some sort of joke. Joker explained “I think I’m trying to say something about the duality of man, sir.” It’s probably more relevant to the OP than I intended it to be. Guess it’s time to watch the movie again with my Art Goggles on and look for pluralisms and stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-you-john-wayne-is-this-me/340432/8 "2006-01-18T23:53:51Z")
> [@Inigo Montoya](#): > > He’s saying something about the duality of man. Oh, Come On! Why don’t you pitch in and join the team and help out for the “Big Win”? ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-you-john-wayne-is-this-me/340432/9 "2006-01-19T00:06:52Z")
**Inigo Montoya** I picked up on your “duality of man” reference in Full Metal Jacket and I thought you would have picked on mine (“It’s the Jungian thing sir”.) It seems that **Gatopescado** is familiar with that dialog. Anyway, here is the IMDB “Full Metal Jacket” quote page: > **[Quotes from "Full Metal Jacket"](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093058/quotes)** > > Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: I bet you're the kind of guy that would fuck a person in the ass and not even have the goddamn common courtesy to give him a reach-around. I'll be watching you. Look for the dialog between Private Joker and Pogue Colonel. (Sorry **Inigo** for your taking me seriously in my posting and your typing an explanation with which I was already familiar. :smack: I should have added a smilie or something 😃 ). ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-you-john-wayne-is-this-me/340432/10 "2006-01-19T00:18:36Z")
I’m an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![bubastis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d07c76/32.png) [@bubastis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubastis)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-you-john-wayne-is-this-me/340432/11 "2006-01-19T00:22:07Z")
> [@Inigo Montoya](#): > > He’s saying something about the duality of man. It always seemed like he was doin a John Wayne impersonation, albeit a bad one. I’ve only ever watched FMJ on a scratchy video. Maybe on DVD it sounds more like the duke. But if he’s doing an impression, then it seems like its John Wayne talking to himself, like talking to his relfection. [This article](http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/02/21/full_metal.html) is all I can find on the subject… I’ve re-read it a couple of times, and if my answers in here, then I must be too dumb to see it. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-you-john-wayne-is-this-me/340432/12 "2006-01-19T01:37:57Z")
FULL METAL JACKET The screenplay [http://corky.net/scripts/FullMetalJacket.html](http://corky.net/scripts/FullMetalJacket.html) ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-you-john-wayne-is-this-me/340432/13 "2006-01-19T04:22:15Z")
No Inigo, I’ll take the blame. :smack: Anyway, I believe his first John Wayne imitation occurs in the first barracks scene where R Lee Ermey is “introducing” the new recruits to the Marines. Private Joker mumbles his John Wayne imitation and R Lee Ermey gets pissed and wants to know who said that. I don’t think that really helps the OP but at least we know where the John Wayne references begin. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Long\_Road](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5a626/32.png) [@The\_Long\_Road](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Long_Road)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-you-john-wayne-is-this-me/340432/14 "2006-01-19T04:30:07Z")
The book the movie is based on, “The Short Timers” is much more depressing than the movie could ever hope to be. The futility of everything they are doing just becomes a weight on the reader. It looks into Marine life and shows their personalities being stripped away. The Marines start talking to their rifles as if they are their girlfriends, not just fatso or whatever his name is. When Joker goes to Vietnam, the brutuality of the war is given much more weight. A local’s daughter riding a Water Buffalo is killed and the grandfather runs up screaming that he wants payment for the Water Buffalo. I once took it to mean he was being a smart ass by asking the drill instructer if he is John Wayne and if he was working to turn Joker into John Wayne. Don’t know now but might go reread the book for further thought.