Don't you eyeball me!

staring can be interpreted in several ways (admiration, contempt, curiosity, etc.). I don't think Mayo was particularly staring at Foley in a menacing way (he was probably just being attentive) but it is Foley's job as a drill instructor to breakdown his recruits and show them who's in charge. It was probably just an off-the-cuff remark meant to give Mayo a sense of inferiority.

I agree Mayo wasn't exactly trying to psych him out (although Mayo was an arrogant little twerp to begin with and Foley didn't like this), it seemed Foley wouldn't tolerate any kind of defiance with his recruits (and he f*<ks with them a bit to keep them second-guessing, like the bit where he has a go at Sid for adressing him as "you" - "I am not a ewe! A ewe is a female sheeep!" and I thought not allowing eye contact was part of this.

Sorry to digress here, but when my dog (a labrador) was young, a dog trainer came over to our house a few times to help discipline him (he was very excitable and still hasn't lost totally lost this at the age of 11) and he said our dog was messing us around too much (he has a dominant nature, despite being very gentle) that sometimes we should give him less attention and not so much eye contact. I always thought it was interesting that he said that because my dog uses his eyes a lot to communicate with me and my parents. He's not the kind of dog that makes a lot of noise so it's amazing how skilfull he is at using this to get us to engage him. Sometimes I'm watching TV and he's in my line of vision just staring at me, trying to get me to take my eyes off the TV and onto him (usually he's got a toy and wants me to play with him, his idea of fun is getting me to chase him with it). Sometimes I wonder if it's all part of his alpha male nature and natural defiance, if he's trying to get us to do what he wants us to do (like the way little kids act up to get attention or things from their parents).

Anyway, sorry to bore you with all that. I know dog behaviour is different from human behaviour but then we are descended from apes and a lot of animals have similar ways of asserting social status.

I don't recall it being used by white drill instructors in any other films. Just out of curiosity, in what other films did you hear the expression used by a drill instructor?

I have seen quite a few films with boot camp scenes in them (Full Metal Jacket, Jarhead, Tigerland, Biloxi Blues, Starship Troopers, GI Jane, Private Benjamin, Stripes, Heartbreak Ridge, Glory) but to be honest I can't remember any particular moment where the "don't eyeball me" phrase was used, except in Hot Shots! where there is a spoof of typical DI chewing out scenes (except in this case it's Lieutenant Commander because all the pilots are junior officers) and the guy doing the chewing out is indeed black, so they probably copied the eyeballin' line from Officer and a Gentleman.

The verbally abusive lines that DI's shout in film kind of all roll together, so sometimes you hear a quote and can't quite which film it is, this is probably why I thought another DI had said it. But then perhaps because of this film the eyeballin' phrase has been reused in other script and maybe even real DIs use it in their routines.

I just didn't quite what it was about and had no idea it came from street slang (unless perhaps an ex-military man claims otherwise). But thanks for replying!

reply share

add reply

formatting help

[deleted]

BS!!! Maybe you movie commandos should actually go to boot camp before being "experts"!

The correct expression is Eye-F@#$ing...and it's not a black thing nor does it have anything to do with aggression and everything to do with maintaining discipline.
Along with not looking there's also no scratching, squirming, weight shifting, nose wriggling or any other movement.

reply share

add reply

formatting help

Thanks. What confused me as well was that it seemed like Foley didn't like anyone looking him in the eye at any time, not just while they were at attention, he even said "Don't you eyeball me!" when he was making Mayo do press-ups in the mud.

reply share

add reply

formatting help

Ditto with Grendelkhan's statement. Also, don't forget the number 1 statement by Foley. "DO not look your superiors in the eye". That's what he is trying to teach them. They have to be broken down of their civilian habits and be taught how to do things the military way. Tha is why when he meets the officers for their 1st salute, he DOESNT look them in the eye, because he's no longer the superior.

reply share

add reply

formatting help

In the UK, IIRC, the formal-less formal-relaxed progression is

Attention
At Ease
Stand Easy...

Look at anything with Windsor Davies as a W01 or BdeSM or equivalent...

reply share

add reply

formatting help