Starship Troopers (1997)
Rating – 3.5/4
**SPOILERS**
The Federation is at war! Every day, there is an attack by the bugs and countless, innocent lives are lost to those filthy insects! And the Federation needs your support! Everybody, everywhere is doing their part. The mobile infantry are doing their part. The government is doing their part. Even the children are doing their part. Service guarantees citizenship. So, join up now!
Would you like to know more?
Directed by Paul Verhoeven and with an all-star cast of Casper Van Dien, Denise Richards, Dina Meyer, Jake Busey, and many more, Starship Troopers is the story of humans vs. alien bugs. There are guns, guts, girls, starships, and of course, troopers.
In the future, humanity has mastered space travel but democracy has collapsed. In its place stands the mighty Federation, which restricts rights like voting and government service to people who become Citizens. Wanting to become an official Citizen of the Federation, Johnny Rico (Van Dien) enlists in the mobile infantry and becomes a soldier during the human-bug war. With guns blazing and nukes exploding, Rico and his fellow soldiers slowly devolve into killing machines and are willing to die for the federation.
And they get to kill lots and lots of bugs. Damn those parasites to hell!
It’s so over-the-top with the blood and guts and wartime reporting that it almost feels like a parody. Every character delivers their lines with the utmost sincerity about how the bugs are the enemy and humans are the superior race and every soldier will die for humanity. Doesn’t that sound familiar? Ultimately, Starship Troopers is a satire of militarism and fascism.
Would you like to know more?
Let’s look at some of the clues.
The Federation officials all wear uniforms that resemble WW2 German military uniforms, complete with lightning bolt symbols for ranks.
The propaganda videos resemble the old wartime broadcasts from the 1940’s and are riddled with propaganda, from discrimination against insects or messages about how great the Federation is.
The speeches given by the government officials are shot from low angles. Leni Riefenstahl anyone?
War is glorified and dying in combat is portrayed as honorable.
If Nazi Germany or Imperial Japan come to mind (or any fascist or totalitarian state), then you’d be one hundred percent correct! Maybe you could become a Citizen with your knowledge too!
Starship Troopers mocks the ridiculousness of fascism and the government and shows what happens when people blindly follow orders without question. Rico and his soldiers don’t even question why they are fighting, just that it’s for the good of humanity. Go to war, die, and who cares? You’ve brought honor to the Fatherland/Emperor Federation.
Throughout the film, it’s clear that humans are the real enemy and they are invading the bugs’ territory. I don’t suppose the word “Imperialism” rings a bell? Besides the endless propaganda and warmongering, the Federation also suppresses basic rights like voting and free speech and commits false flag operations in order to push their agenda.
Seriously, where have we heard this before?
And it’s interesting to note that humans call the enemy “bugs”, even though they are arachnids. Try replacing “bugs” with any ethnic slur and it’ll take on a whole new meaning.
Where have we heard rhetoric like that? Germany. Rwanda. Armenia. Sound familiar?
And Paul Verhoeven is no stranger to satirical works either, having directed Robocop and Total Recall, which both deal with consumerism and corporate corruption.
And even if the satirical message doesn’t land, Starship Troopers is still an enjoyable sci-fi action in its own right. Take out the message, and it’s still a well-made war film, with bugs as the enemy. It’s just humans vs. aliens at its core and it does not need anything more to be enjoyable. It’s got action, humor, and starships just as it advertises. But adding the satirical elements makes it rise above other action films and makes it stand out as something deeper. You hear it many times, but this film really shouldn’t be taken seriously. It’s a satire, it doesn’t need to be.
So, come on you apes! You wanna live forever?
