Blanket party
Encyclopedia
A blanket party is a means of corporal punishment
or hazing
conducted by a peer group. Blanket parties are most frequently conducted by groups within the military
or military academies. In a blanket party, the victim is restrained by having a blanket flung over him and held down at the corners while he sleeps, then the remaining members of the group strike him repeatedly with improvised "flails" (a sock or bath towel containing something solid, most commonly a bar of soap
).
During the times of Vietnam, the weapons used varied. Often it was an entrenching tool-folding shovel which was part of the field gear, or a bunk adapter-piece of pipe used to put a bunk on top of another. Blows to the head were avoided.
Also seen were scrub brushes used for KP although these were more often used for a G.I. Scrub when a person wouldn't bathe. Sometimes the person was also urinated upon while pinned down.
The act of the blanket party became widely known within pop culture by its portrayal in the Stanley Kubrick
movie Full Metal Jacket
.
The use of blanket parties and other forms of corporal punishment are now illegal within America's military.
Corporal punishment
Corporal punishment is a form of physical punishment that involves the deliberate infliction of pain as retribution for an offence, or for the purpose of disciplining or reforming a wrongdoer, or to deter attitudes or behaviour deemed unacceptable...
or hazing
Hazing
Hazing is a term used to describe various ritual and other activities involving harassment, abuse or humiliation used as a way of initiating a person into a group....
conducted by a peer group. Blanket parties are most frequently conducted by groups within the military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
or military academies. In a blanket party, the victim is restrained by having a blanket flung over him and held down at the corners while he sleeps, then the remaining members of the group strike him repeatedly with improvised "flails" (a sock or bath towel containing something solid, most commonly a bar of soap
Soap
In chemistry, soap is a salt of a fatty acid.IUPAC. "" Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. . Compiled by A. D. McNaught and A. Wilkinson. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford . XML on-line corrected version: created by M. Nic, J. Jirat, B. Kosata; updates compiled by A. Jenkins. ISBN...
).
During the times of Vietnam, the weapons used varied. Often it was an entrenching tool-folding shovel which was part of the field gear, or a bunk adapter-piece of pipe used to put a bunk on top of another. Blows to the head were avoided.
Also seen were scrub brushes used for KP although these were more often used for a G.I. Scrub when a person wouldn't bathe. Sometimes the person was also urinated upon while pinned down.
The act of the blanket party became widely known within pop culture by its portrayal in the Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
movie Full Metal Jacket
Full Metal Jacket
Full Metal Jacket is a 1987 war film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick. It is an adaptation of the 1979 novel The Short-Timers by Gustav Hasford and stars Matthew Modine, Vincent D'Onofrio, R. Lee Ermey, Arliss Howard and Adam Baldwin. The film follows a platoon of U.S...
.
The use of blanket parties and other forms of corporal punishment are now illegal within America's military.
In popular culture
- In the film Full Metal JacketFull Metal JacketFull Metal Jacket is a 1987 war film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick. It is an adaptation of the 1979 novel The Short-Timers by Gustav Hasford and stars Matthew Modine, Vincent D'Onofrio, R. Lee Ermey, Arliss Howard and Adam Baldwin. The film follows a platoon of U.S...
the members of a platoon in training give a blanket party to Private Leonard Lawrence (nicknamed Private Pyle, a reference to 1960's U.S. television character Gomer PyleGomer PyleGomer Pyle is a bubbly, gentle, rural auto mechanic character played by American singer/ television actor Jim Nabors. Gomer Pyle became a character on the TV sitcom The Andy Griffith Show, when actor Howard McNear, who played Floyd the barber, suffered a stroke and took a respite from acting. Jim...
). - In the stage play and film A Few Good MenA Few Good MenA Few Good Men is a play by Aaron Sorkin, first produced on Broadway by David Brown in 1989. It tells the story of military lawyers at a court-martial who uncover a high-level conspiracy in the course of defending their clients, United States Marines accused of murder.It opened on Broadway at the...
a pivotal plot point is the death of Private Santiago; the extrajudicial punishment given to Santiago is referred to as a "Code Red," a term invented for the play. - In one episode of The Wayans Bros.The Wayans Bros.The Wayans Bros. is a situation comedy that aired from 1995 to 1999 on The WB. The series starred real-life brothers Shawn Wayans and Marlon Wayans. Both brothers were already well-known from the sketch comedy show In Living Color...
Brothers, Marlon and Shawn have a stakeout in their apartment and throw Pops (their father) a blanket party when he enters their home, mistaking him for a burglar who had previously robbed them. - In the Family GuyFamily GuyFamily Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
episode "No Chris Left BehindNo Chris Left Behind"No Chris Left Behind" is the sixteenth episode of the fifth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on May 6, 2007. The episode features Chris after he is kicked out of James Woods High School, and is forced to attend an upper-class academy...
," Chris Griffin falls victim of a variation of a blanket party when he goes to a private boarding school. He is beaten with socks that contain money rather than soap. - In the American Dad!American Dad!American Dad! is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane and owned by Underdog Productions and Fuzzy Door Productions. It is produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television...
episode "Bullocks To Stan," Stan Smith uses a blanket party in an attempt to toughen up Jeff. - In the South ParkSouth ParkSouth Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
episode "Lice CapadesLice Capades"Lice Capades" is the third episode of the eleventh season of Comedy Central's animated television series South Park, and the 156th episode overall. It first aired on aired on March 21, 2007. In the episode, all the students at South Park Elementary are checked for head lice and, to his horror,...
," when everyone thought Kenny had lice, CartmanEric CartmanEric Theodore Cartman is a fictional character in the American animated television series South Park. One of four main characters, along with Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Kenny McCormick, he is generally referred to within the series by his last name...
tells everyone to get a sock and bar of soap. While it appears that they're going to give him a blanket party, they are actually going to wash him with the soap and dry him with the sock. - The film Igby Goes DownIgby Goes DownIgby Goes Down is a 2002 comedy-drama film that follows the life of Igby Slocumb, a rebellious and sardonic New York City teenager who attempts to break free of his familial ties and wealthy, overbearing mother...
begins with a blanket party. - In The ShieldThe ShieldThe Shield is an American television drama series starring Michael Chiklis which premiered on March 12, 2002 on FX in the United States and concluded on November 25, 2008 after seven seasons...
episode "Dragonchasers" JulienJulien LoweDetective Julien Lowe is a fictional Los Angeles Police Department officer and a new member of the Strike Team, a four-man anti-gang unit in the television drama series The Shield. Lowe is played by Michael Jace.-Rookie:...
and two other police officers give a blanket party to a cross-dressing criminal who tried to infect DannyDanielle SoferSergeant Danielle "Danny" Sofer is a fictional Los Angeles Police Department sergeant in the television drama series The Shield. Sofer is played by Catherine Dent....
with HIVHIVHuman immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
. - In The ShieldThe ShieldThe Shield is an American television drama series starring Michael Chiklis which premiered on March 12, 2002 on FX in the United States and concluded on November 25, 2008 after seven seasons...
episode "Playing Tight" Julien is given a blanket party by a number of police officers as revenge for losing their jobs as a result of bullying him about his homosexuality. - In the JAGJAGJAG is an American adventure/legal drama television show that was produced by Belisarius Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television and, for the first season only, NBC Productions...
episode "The Brotherhood", Harm Rabb is suspicious of the members of Charlie company having blanket parties. - In "Resurrection Ship", a second-season episode of the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica, Karl "Helo" AgathonKarl AgathonKarl C. Agathon is a fictional character on the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica TV series, portrayed by Tahmoh Penikett.-Background:...
and Chief Galen TyrolGalen TyrolGalen Tyrol is a character on the television series Battlestar Galactica. Tyrol is responsible for the maintenance of the Vipers and Raptors aboard Battlestar Galactica...
receive a blanket party from several members of the Battlestar PegasusBattlestar PegasusBattlestar Pegasus is a fictional spacecraft that appears in the both the original and the reimagined television series Battlestar Galactica.- Battlestar Galactica :...
crew.