DISTANT FUTURE MONTH #9: Starship Troopers, by Paul Verhoeven (1997)

Type of Media: Film

Adapted from the Robert Heinlein book of the same name, Paul Verhoeven’s Starship Troopers is one of the only film adaptations of a book that has utter contempt for its source material. Both present a society where people can only become full citizens and gain the right to vote by completing state service, but where Heinlein saw a meditation on personal responsibility and meritocracy, Verhoeven saw fascism. The result is a satirical sci-fi action movie, a bloody tale of jingoist soldiers proudly rushing headlong into a conflict with an enemy they barely understand, but nonetheless hate.

It’s the 23rd century and humanity has unified into a single Federation, exploring space and colonizing new planets. The only alien race we’ve encountered so far is the Arachnids, named for their resemblance to giant insects, who propagate throughout the galaxy by launching asteroids laced with spores randomly out into space. The story centers on high school sweethearts John Rico and Carmen Ibanez in Buenos Aires, who plan to join the military after high school and stick together. However, while Carmen’s high test scores land her in space pilot training, Rico is sent to the Mobile Infantry to become a G.I. Carmen ultimately breaks up with Rico.

A scant few weeks after Rico and Carmen begin training, an asteroid strikes Buenos Aires, killing millions of people and destroying their home. The Federation calls it a deliberate attack by the Arachnids and declares war, calling for a strike to the Arachnid home planet of Klendathu. The invasion is a disaster, with the Arachnids having much better defenses and more troops than the Federation realized, so the plan switches to take out the Arachnid’s colony planets first. Rico and Carmen both lose friends and gain new scars on their respective campaigns, but their commitment to the Federation doesn’t waver as they forge illustrious military careers.

Many people missed Verhoeven’s satire when Starship Troopers first aired, thinking it was at best a run-of-the-mill sci-fi action movie and at worst an appeal to reconsider fascism. The film rarely lets its mask slip as it follows Rico and Carmen, but in propaganda commercials intercut throughout the film things become more obvious. In one, a group of kids stamp on some cockroaches on the sidewalk as their parents cheer them on. In another, a military intelligence officer demonstrates the best way to kill an Arachnid warrior by shooting one trapped in a cell, basically torturing a prisoner of war. Probably the most ridiculous one has two Mobile Infantrymen showing their rifles to some children in a park, and ends with them breaking out some live ammunition to fire off like they’re just having some wholesome Federation fun.

Rico’s story plays things more straight, embracing the danger, chaos, and camaraderie of being an infantryman. The Mobile Infantry are above the civilians of the unenlisted population, but below all of the other citizens in the military. They’re the ones who lead the charge and get killed, and Rico loses more war buddies than any of his friends in other branches. He soon comes to wear this risk like a badge of honor, at one point telling Carmen, “M.I. does the dying, Fleet just does the flying.” By the end of the movie his war cry is, “Come on you apes, you wanna live forever!?”

However, as much as the film has sympathy for Rico, it definitely condemns the Federation as a whole. Verhoeven grew up in the Netherlands while it was occupied by the Nazis, and he fills Starship Troopers with their imagery. The military’s dress uniforms are based on those worn by the Nazis, with the military intelligence officers sporting a long black coat that is very reminiscent of the SS. The Federation’s flag is a stylized version of the Imperial Eagle. The leading cast is incredibly white, especially when you consider they’re from Buenos Aires. Verhoeven wanted audiences watching to have a moment of, “wait… are we the baddies?”

Fans of war movies like Apocalypse Now and The Deer Hunter will find a lot to like here, as well as fans of satire. You should especially watch Starship Troopers if you’re a fan of Robocop, Paul Verhoeven’s better-known film.