Corruption and Critique of the United States Military
“Man says go, got to do what the man says” Mule says in the 1973 film, The Last Detail, as he describes the rules of the military to a group of anti government hippies in New York City. The movie, starring Jack Nicholson not only critiques the United States military itself but also talks about life inside the military and how Mule and Buddusky are stuck inside a system which is corrupt. Despite the fact that this film is a dark comedy, it is this evaluation of the corruption of the military which makes the film so poignant not only for it’s time, but for viewers today.
The Last Detail is filled with critiques of the American military. The movie, taped in the early 1970’s deals with the end of the Vietnam War and the negative response to this very unpopular war. I think that this is most obviously seen in the actual content of the film. Eighteen year old Meadows is being sent to prison for eight years for the theft of forty dollars. He is being sent to a prison where he will not be able to fend for himself for the purpose of being made an example of. The character of Meadows himself is pathetic and so naïve that it is hard for the audience not to feel bad for him and be angry with a system which would penalize him so harshly. Though Buddusky and Mule’s job is to show him a good time before leaving for jail and allow him to experience things he hasn’t been able to, this is sad in many ways because his life is being taken away before he gets to actually enjoy it. The viewer cannot help but feel bad for a character that is so likeable and is being punished so severely.
The director is also making us doubt the importance of the military by his choice of music. A carnival like music is associated with many scenes in the film. This gives the impression that the military is not supposed to be taken seriously. The drumming noise of typically patriotic songs doesn’t evoke a feeling of nationalism in the audience but instead, when played during scenes where there are fights and during comedic moments, it’s is lighthearted and comical, there to poke fun at the American military establishment.
Another way in which the film makes the audience lose respect for the military is by having the characters themselves actually doubt the establishment for which they work for. When Buddusky suggests that Meadow’s mom should write letters to her Congressman about the unfair treatment of her son, Mule responds that she can write letters until she owns the post office. Both Mule and Buddusky know that nothing can be done for Meadow because the system is unfair and doesn’t care about the circumstances of the individual. The film gives the impression that the individual is not what’s important in the military. The three main characters in the film are very likeable and have strong personalities which relate with the audience. But, in the military they are not treated with the respect that we believe they deserve. In a culture which looks so highly on the individual it becomes difficult to understand how the military could refuse to see the circumstances of the individual, in this case the punishment of Meadows. The director forms a wall between the American audience, who respects and idealizes the idea of individualism. As opposed to a military that refuses to look at the individual circumstances of Meadows. This wall furthers our dislike of the military itself.
But the thing that I found most interesting about the film was the fact that Mule and Buddusky seem stuck in their roles as petty officers in the army. The two are not married and seem to be trapped in a profession which is corrupt, but still comfortable and familiar to them. Nicholson says that, “I guess that we’re just a couple of lifers” meaning that they will forever be in this establishment because there is nothing else out there for them. Much like Meadows, who will be spending a chunk of his life in prison Mule and Buddusky are stuck in a system which doesn’t respect or appreciate them. At the end of the film when we discover that their papers to allow them to bring Meadows to prison have not even been signed by their head officer the audience realizes how insignificant and disposable they must be. They aren’t even appreciated enough to be remembered to be signed out. This mentality of being “lifers” is an important theme that the film deals with. There is this underlying idea that the American military is over all corrupt and unfair. Not only as an establishment but for those individuals who are apart of it.