Ripping the blanket - Cadet Kelly (2002) Discussion

[–] sxcnsweet_babii_girl 18 years ago

I think it was because Kelly had disobeyed the rules that Captain Stone had already given to her...therefore that is why the blanket was ripped. The commandant couldn't do anything about it seeing as Kelly was the one who had done the wrong thing.

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[–] Bradley-drake 18 years ago

Yeah thats right, I'm in the Navy and if i dared have a blanket like that at recruits I would have been slaughtered... Kelly is in the wrong there and if she said anything she would get in more trouble. That said now im not a recruit I have a spider man bedset.

Gretchen: You're weird.
Donnie: Sorry.
Gretchen: No, that was a compliment.

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[–] tbcat 18 years ago

Why? What's wrong with blankets? When you're out in the army, you need to be warm. Please explain, as I'm very confused.

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[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] ktmarley2002 18 years ago

I think there are some things that are being overlooked.

1) Kelly obviously wasn't deliberately disobeying Captain Stone's orders.

2) Captain Stone's power has clearly gone to her head.

3) Captain Stone willfully damaged the property of another person. That's a form of vandalism, which is in fact a crime.

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[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] ktmarley2002 18 years ago

Point of clarification: Kelly may be friends with Captain Stone at the end of the movie, but they start out as enemies, so to speak. In fact, from what I've read online, what Stone originally wants is to make life miserable for Kelly -- mainly because she's different, which is really pathetic.

Also, whether or not Stone's power truly went to her head depends on whether or not her rule against cadets having their own blankets is really necessary. If it IS necessary, the power DIDN'T go to her head. But if it ISN'T necessary, the power DID go to her head. Leader-type figures who make unnecessary rules aren't fit to be obeyed. Rules are only necessary if they're made for our own good, as well as for the good of others.

Like I said, I don't believe Kelly deliberately broke the rules. I believe the truth of the matter is that Kelly misunderstood that particular rule. It's clear that she wasn't trying to let Stone see the blanket. Kelly could easily have mistakenly assumed that Stone meant that the blanket could stay as long as it was kept out of her sight, when in fact she meant that the blanket had to leave her barracks. Plus, Stone never mentioned WHY she never wanted to see the blanket again, which might easily cause Kelly to think of her as selfish.

Now if I was the commandant of a military school, intentional infliction of any kind of damage upon a cadet's personal belongings would earn a commanding officer a dishonorable discharge, which is considered equivalent to having been fired from the most recently held job.

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[–] timgdx 17 years ago

I was in the military, Stone was WAY out of line damaging her property. What she SHOULD have done was, as suggested, take the blanket to the commandant who probably would have had it stored away.

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[–] kelli_barnett2001 16 years ago

The colors of the blanket were NOT regulation, not by Stone's rules, but by the Academy's rules...and Kelly did actually disobey her on purpose. She threw the blanket back on the bed the first time that she was told to get rid of it, and then kept it long enough that she was forced to hide it(poorly) when the barracks were inspected again. Another point of everything being the same is to teach unity and uniformity. Everyone goes into training or a military academy as an individual, and they all come out as one tight-knit unit.

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[–] slcarr72 18 years ago

But it was like a security blanket, and she wasn't used to army life. I would have opened up a can of 3000-year-old Chinese whoop-***. Seriously. I'm watching the movie on Disney right now. I wouldn't even have let it go that far. I would have stolen my mom's money and gotten on a plane to go exploring with my dad. I would have been like, Screw you! I'm outta here! That's her personality and that's what she should have done.

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[–] priestly-nichols 11 years ago

How was Captain Stone ripping the blanket any different than Kelly getting Stone's dress muddy? Both destroyed the others' personal property, yet Kelly was reprimanded for her accident, while Stone got no punishment for the same "crime"

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[–] SaidNDone 8 years ago

one was unintentional

Azula >>>>

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[–] jamiegrey3000 18 years ago

I don't get why Kelly didn't wait then wreck something of Cadet Stones then she could have been expelled and gone somewhere better like she wanted to.

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[–] baseballbat_jon 18 years ago

i really enjoyed this film.

in the blanket scene i noticed a problam, when captin stone done the mess and uniform check kelly was not wearing uniform captin stone would not of botherd about her bunk or anything she should of got her assistant to ask her about why she was not in uniform while she carried on with other cadets if she had a valid reason e.g. she had not yet received it because she had just got there. otherwise there would of been a much greater punishement than ripping her blanket. that would be the propper procedure that captin stone would have followed. and we did not see Kelly being informed of any of the rules so if i was her when she ripped the blanket i would of given her a great SLAP!!!

BIG J

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[–] ktmarley2002 18 years ago

Exactly. Since Kelly was never informed of any of the rules, she couldn't possibly have broken them. Not knowingly, anyway. And I don't care why Captain Stone ripped Kelly's blanket, she had no right to do so. She should have left the blanket alone. Seriously - someone should give Captain Stone a knuckle sandwich. Or perhaps Major Rigby should break up with her. Better still, maybe General Maxwell (the commandant) should kick her out of the army.

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[–] stan0125 18 years ago

Another point... technically, it's not actually that easy to rip a blanket... I was in Girl Guides for years, and I never ripped a blanket, not even a fire-weakened one... so, if there were no tears in the blanket already, and there shouldn't have been, why did it rip? Also, why was the tear so neat? Usually it would be ragged...

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[–] WritingJester 18 years ago

Oh, how did the blanket rip? First, it was pretty old, so that could've helped. Second, even if it wasn't, there's that rip. It's called movie magic, idiot. You aren't supposed to notice it, you're supposed to only look at the nice movie, not the frigging details that DON'T MATTER!

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[–] purple_ismy_luver 18 years ago

I would just like to point out that Stone had already told Kelly that she was not to have the blanket in her barracks. Kelly disobeyed her, and she was punished for it.

Emalee.

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[–] ktmarley2002 18 years ago

Point of clarification: As I recall, Stone didn't DIRECTLY tell Kelly that she was not to have the blanket in her barracks. She said that she DIDN'T WANT TO SEE the blanket in her barracks. I imagine Kelly could easily have misinterpreted that. Also, Kelly didn't have time to remove the blanket from Stone's barracks, so her only choice was to keep it hidden from Stone.

If Kelly HAD deliberately disobeyed Stone, it was probably because she came to the conclusion that Stone cared about nothing and no one but HERSELF and what SHE wanted, as Stone never gave her reason for not wanting the blanket in her barracks. Kelly probably thought that Stone had made a bad rule. Keep in mind that Stone rules with an iron fist and doesn't treat Kelly with respect, and that Kelly doesn't understand military life.

Also, vandalizing someone's belongings is a worse crime than disobeying their orders. The way I see it, it really doesn't matter why Stone ripped Kelly's blanket. As far as I'm concerned, nothing can justify vandalism. And like I said before, if I was in charge of a military school, any instructor who inflicted any kind of damage upon a cadet's personal items - and I mean for ANY reason - would be dishonorably discharged. Rather than ripping Kelly's blanket to shreds, Stone should have simply confiscated it and locked it away somewhere.

Stone should also have informed Kelly of the way things work in military schools.

From what I've read online, Stone had set it as her goal to make life miserable for Kelly, which to me implies that her power went to her head.

Personally, I think that Kelly should have taken measures to force Stone to let her have the blanket in her barracks.

And as that particular restriction was clearly NOT made for Kelly's own good, I still think Stone needs a knuckle sandwich.

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[–] dmcBW 18 years ago

Kelly may not have had enough time to get rid of the blanket but having a blanket like that in a military enviroment is against SOP (standard operating procedures) so therefore its against the rules. Secondly, Stone may have ripped the blanket because it wasn't uniform. Trust me, as a Army ROTC cadet EVERYTHING is about being uniform and sharp. It's all about precision and junk lol. As for vandalism, ehhhh not so much. I mean yea she should've confiscated it and it was wrong but she had to do something about it. She was probably to pissed to confiscate it, and Kelly needed to be made and example of. Stone may have ripped the blanket to show the other cadets that she means business and that if you disobey SOP you WILL be punished.

If her stepdad was commandant don't you think he would've helped her with the rules and stuff? Lack of parenting maybe???

Stone may have made it her life to ruin Kelly's but you have to understand that's how it works. When you have done something like that for years and someone comes along and just *beep* up terribly and makes a mockery of all the stuff that you worked so hard for it hurts and makes people angry. Happens with our Varsity Drill Teams all the time. I'm always yelling at the new guys and so is everyone else. That's just how it works. If someone makes a mockery of everything you care about you get pissed.

A7X

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[–] ktmarley2002 18 years ago

Another point: I seriously doubt that Kelly knew anything about the standard operating procedures of the military environment when she first arrived. Plus, she wasn't seen being informed of them by anyone, not even Stone or Maxwell. This being the case, technically it can't be said that Kelly went against SOP.

In addition to that, I don't believe Kelly meant to make a mockery of anything that Stone cared about, and I'm sure that trying to make life miserable for the cadets is NOT part of an instructor's job.

Hmm...maybe that particular restriction is part of having each cadet equally prepared for war.

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[–] Armywifey2006 17 years ago

She may not have meant to but she did make a mockery of what Stone believed.

There is NO excuse for not knowing the rules. In real life she would have been given a book with a listing of every rule the Academy has.

Vandalism? Over a blanket that a 15 year old girl had? I am sorry, she had a room at her stepfathers. She could have left it there and should have.

Also...Stone gave her a direct order. If you know anything about the military(which you don't) anything that isn't regulation is to be confiscated...meaning destroyed, gone, not there anymore, not going to get it back. Stone gave her a chance to get rid of it, Kelly did not therefore Stone got rid of it for her.

My opinion, she should have had the blanket there in the first place.

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[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Jsilcox09 17 years ago

First off, Stone is n the position ot reprimand Kelly. Secondly, she could've put it in her trunk until she could take it to her step-father's house. Stone never went into her trunk. I kno little about regulation b/c of friends and a sister in JROTC and an aunt who was in the CAP (Civil Air Patrol), I do know when a commanding officer gives you an order, you must follow or get disciplined and that's what happened there. Whether or not the order's for your own good doesn't matter.

Just how close can I get Lord to my surrender without losing all control.

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[–] bethie-3 17 years ago

She was doing her a favor. That blanket was a sheet.

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[–] branenj001 16 years ago

Honestly, I think if this had been realistic, a ripped blanket would would be a pretty minor thing compared to other punishments received. The Military are real sticklers when it comes to how a uniform looks, how a boot is shined and tied, how a bunk looks, etc. My husband is in the Navy and I know that he doesn't even trust ME to iron his uniform, he does it himself because he knows exactly how they want it looking. It takes him forever to polish his boots too. I know that she was just in Military SCHOOL and not the actual Military but she was being prepped for things like that so I imagine the strictness is similar.

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[–] Ghostwriter14 16 years ago

A lot of people have been sayin' how Capt. Stone was really cruel in this movie but it's revealed (SPOILER AHEAD) that she's at her last year at the academy 'cause her dad's been transferred. It's my opinion that she was upset and angry, and was just taking it out on the cadets.
Jack drinks jack, Jack drinks jack. Jack's got fans.
Catch ya on the flip side.

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[–] jwhale9382 11 years ago

Skipping ahead, this is why court martials don't work!

Brother Maynard, bring forth the holy hand grenade!

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[–] morenomark-1 11 years ago

This is the moment in the movie that does it for me. This is where Kelly should have said, "Okay. That's enough of this crap", and turned BAD. Most of the people on this thread have already pointed out the obvious: Kelly was a teenage girl, going to a bohemian-style school, who was in no way prepared for a move to a military school. Her allowing the blanket to stick out was foolish, but the moment Captain Stone started to tear it, that's the moment where Kelly should have just beaten the crap out of her. She didn't ask to be there. She didn't want to be there.

This movie always reminds me of The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner, where a reform school kid is found to have one great skill: he is an excellent long-distance runner. At the big meet he easily outraces the other runners, then stops dead at the finish line - without crossing it. In the end, the point he gets across is that he doesn't want to be there and he isn't going to be their hero. This is what Kelly should have done at the big meet at the end. What were they going to do, send her to reform school? LOL

Sorry, but I've always wanted to see a "bad girl" Kelly version of this. Her lack of discipline is problematic? Well, duh!

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[–] BabyGrape 10 years ago

^ That was interesting, morenomark-1.

I keep trying to understand the message of this movie. That your enemies can become your friends? It's just hard for me to see it when I don't think Kelly should have gone there anyways. It's a specialized school and that wasn't Kelly's specialization.

ENGAGED 19 *beep* TIMES?

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