Autistic character from full metal jacket?

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25 Apr 2013, 10:28 am

Was the character Pvt. Leonard 'Gomer Pyle' Lawrence from full metal jacket suppoused too have autism?

I was wasn't sure too post this thread on the film part of wrong planet but i will just post it here anyway

sacrip
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25 Apr 2013, 11:33 am

I didn't get that impression, no. We never saw him under normal circumstances (outside of boot camp) and his character is more easily described as "guy under stress who snaps" than anything else.

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Lonermutant
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25 Apr 2013, 11:43 am

Jamesy wrote:

I always believed he was just mildly learning disabled.

CyborgUprising
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25 Apr 2013, 2:08 pm

In the book and in the movie, he is described as possibly being a "Section 8," though the exact nature of his mental condition is never made known. Personally, it seems as if he has mild retardation and possibly another psychological malady.

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25 Apr 2013, 9:16 pm

Jamesy wrote:

Was the character Pvt. Leonard 'Gomer Pyle' Lawrence from full metal jacket supposed too have autism?

No an autistic person would be smart enough to get in good physical-condition before going to boot camp. :roll:

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26 Apr 2013, 7:52 am

[Moved from General Autism Discussion to Television, Film, and Video]

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SpeakerToAnimals
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26 Apr 2013, 5:50 pm

Hadn't thought of Pyle but Kubrick always struck me as a possible Aspie: obsessive attention to detail, repetative behaviour, shunned public functions, etc.

He seemed drawn to Aspie-like characters too: HAL9000 in 2001 (affectless, rule driven, confused by human behaviour), Alex in A Clockwork Orange (wordplay, special interest in music), the kid from The Shining.

He also worked on AI: Artificial Intelligence before his death and the android kid in that always struck me as Aspie.

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27 Apr 2013, 2:36 pm

CyborgUprising wrote:

That was my take.

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27 Apr 2013, 9:32 pm

He just struck me as someone who was bullied till he snapped.
For some reason I always sympathized with him.

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Kraichgauer
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29 Apr 2013, 2:23 pm

Vincent D'Nofrio who played Pyle in fact has been diagnosed with Asperger's.

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Autistic character from full metal jacket?