But though Cannann simply presents huge chunks of boot camp footage, dispassionately and seemingly without judgement, for those interested in cult mechanics there are a lot of interesting thought reform (ie "brainwashing") techniques on display. Cannaan's film covers much of the same material, but is far less critical, the director (who filmed the doc single-handedly, without a crew) omitting narration and plot structure in favour for an unobtrusive fly-on-the-wall style. Eyeballs, Click.", the two big documentaries which attempted to examine life in military boot camps were Frederick Wiseman's "Basic Training" and Gwynne Dyer's "Anybody's Son Will Do". And afterwards, he will rationalise the newly-implanted beliefs and offer his friends sincere and absurd explanations as to why his attitude has changed so suddenly." - William Sargent Prior to the release of Cannaan Brumley's "Ears, Open.
Once he becomes exhausted and suggestible, or the brain enters the "paradoxical" or "ultra-paradoxical" phases, insight can be disturbed even the knowledge of what to expect may be of little help in warding off breakdown. "It is a fallacy that intellectual awareness of what is happening can always prevent a man from being indoctrinated. That aside, an extraordinary look at MCRD San Diego. The only fault I had with this was in not identifying the different recruits and what they were in the platoon. This video is well worth the time to watch, if for no other reason than to understand where a Marine comes from. It captures the DIs too in moments where they are "off," talking among themselves to watch a recruit in need as well as when they are on, screaming to the point of incomprehension, trying to get a recruit to learn. It shows the recruits at their worst, and at their best, as they try to navigate the course from civilian to Marine. This documentary catches the day-to-day training and teaching that goes on.
Everything the DIs do is for a reason though to the recruits, it doesn't seem like it. Poignant, funny, frightening and ultimately triumphant, this video is a must for anyone who has been in the service, is contemplating going into the service or just wants to understand the journey a young man takes to become a Marine. However the Marines have the toughest boot camp of any branch of the military and after the first few moments, my memories faded and I watched what my son went through last year to become a U.S. The first moments of this documentary brought me back to my first few hours basic training with all of the confusion, fear and yelling.