Super duper ‘Starship Troopers’
In Verhoeven’s flick, his protagonists fight monstrosities such as the ones pictured above. Verhoeven uses the action and violence as a foil to make a statement about American militarism and nationalism.
April 13, 2017
“Starship Troopers” is Paul Verhoeven’s 1997 science-fiction masterpiece, adapted from Robert Heinlein’s 1959 novel. It’s also the greatest movie ever written. It’s like Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, but good and still relevant to society.
What makes “Starship Troopers” so good is that at first glance, it’s okay. To the casual viewer, it’s just a good-guys-versus-bad-bugs movie. However, to the dedicated fan, it’s a hard-hitting exposé on American militarism and uber-patriotism.
To the casual viewer, it’s just a good-guys-versus-bad-bugs movie. However, to the dedicated fan, it’s a hard-hitting exposé on American militarism and uber-patriotism.
— Op-ed Editor Walker Allen
In Verhoeven’s movie, mankind is retaliating against a race of arachnids after a series of attacks on earth. This is the main premise for the movie, but it’s also the first clue that something might be up.
Asteroids are launched by the arachnids that hits earth and devastates several major cities. However, once the main characters, members of a futuristic military, encounter the arachnid, they find that they’re nothing more than savage, primal bugs. Here’s where the viewer should start thinking critically.
How can a bunch of dumb bugs harness the power to launch asteroids and aim them toward earth?
Think about it.
The short answer is that they can’t. The asteroids were false-flag attacks organized by the global military to encourage their citizens and soldiers into a war. Verhoeven’s characters live in a one-government world that venerates the military, the same way some people do to sports teams. Citizens are almost forced to join the ranks of the Federation’s military in order to live comfortably in society.
Members of the Federation’s military are intentionally dressed in leather outfits that remind the viewer of Nazi commandants. Propaganda clips are interspersed through the film that echo “Birth of a Nation” and “Triumph of the Will.” Soldiers are ingrained with authoritarian phrases like “Violence is the supreme authority!”
The film is oddly prophetic considering America’s involvement in the Middle East coming off of 9/11 — a sudden rush of young people impulsively enlisting after a sudden, shocking, and emotional attack.
The Federation’s citizens are so outlandishly nationalistic and xenophobic that any second-time viewer cannot help but recognize “Starship Troopers” as the satire it really is — a comedic think-piece orchestrated by Verhoeven to make a brilliant statement on America’s attitude toward the wars of the 21st century.
