Hazing Film Good Happen Young Marine Military Behavior

A "highly acclaimed" (popular; admired; reviewed favorably) 1992 film called A Few Good Man "depicts" (shows) a fascinating, "dramatized" (exaggerated for a play or movie) instance of hazing in the U.S. Marines. Although hazing is not a "standard practice" (something that is common and performed regularly) in the military, it does sometimes happen, and this "fictional" (not based on facts; not a true story) film shows what can happen when hazing "goes wrong" (does not happen as planned and has very bad consequences).

In the film, a young Marine is unhappy and wants to leave the "base" (a place where the military operates) where he is "stationed" (assigned to work and live). His "superior officers" (people who have authority and are higher in an organizations) hear about his plan to share secret information in exchange for a "transfer" (permission to go to a different base). They are "determined" (committed) to improve his behavior before the next evaluation.

However, the young Marine dies. "Attorneys" (lawyers) are "called in" (asked to come) to the base to find out what happened. The attorneys "suspect" (think that something has happened, but do not have proof) that someone ordered a hazing, which they call "code red," and that it resulted in the Marine's death.

As the film follows the attorneys' "investigation" (search for the truth) and the trial, it explores the importance of code reds in the military culture and how hazing can be used to change soldiers' behavior and willingness to "follow orders" (do what one is told). It also "raises the question" (asks) of whether code reds are acceptable if they "further" (promote) national security.