Context

This line is spoken by Sgt. Hartman (played by R. Lee Ermey) in the movie Full Metal Jacket, directed by Stanley Kubrick (1987).

Full Metal Jacket is visionary director Stanley Kubrick's take on the Vietnam War. Like every other visionary director's take on the Vietnam War, it ain't pretty. The movie follows a group of Marines from brutal boot camp to bloody battle, and none of it looks too fun.

The quote features the last words of Sgt. Hartman, the troop's abusive drill sergeant. Hartman's hardcore tactics have driven a recruit he nicknamed Gomer Pyle (Vincent D'Onofrio) over the edge, and Pyle is standing in the bathroom with a loaded rifle. Instead of trying to calmly talk Pyle down, Hartman hurls more verbal abuse. The crazed recruit answers by blowing Hartman away and then killing himself. Cheery, we know.

Click here for the whole scene, but watch out—it's bloody (and full of naughty words).

Where you've heard it

A major shout-out came on The Simpsons, when R. Lee Ermey voiced a character who was a whole lot like Sgt. Hartman and who even said, "What is your major malfunction?!" There was also a reference to it in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and in the greatest of all films, Leprechaun 4: In Space. Well, maybe it's just the greatest of all Leprechaun films... Okay yeah, fine; it's really not great.

Additional Notable References:

TV

• The Real Housewives of Orange County

Movies

• Dead and Deader
• The Last Winter
• Reality Check
• The Graveyard
• Red Hook

Video Games

• Crash Tag Team Racing
• Team Fortress 2
• Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

Nope, it's not pretentious, but be careful how you use it. Let us not forget what happened to Sgt. Hartman.