Starship Troopers is a 1997 film directed by Paul Verhoeven, written by Edward Neumeier , and starring Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer and Denise Richards. The movie is partially based on the novel by Robert Heinlein. The movie uses many of Heinlein's characters and settings, but both the plot and presentation differ enough that the movie is described only as "based on the book by Robert Heinlein." However, some dialogue is straight out of the book, or some variation of it. A report in an American Cinematographer article contemporaneous with the film's release stated that the Heinlein novel was optioned well into the pre-production period of the film, which had a working title of Bug Hunt at Outpost Nine; most of the writing team reportedly were unaware of the novel at the time. This explains both the vast divergence between the two, and the volume of the uproar amongst Heinlein's fans when the movie came out, on Usenet and in other places.

This movie polarised both popular audiences and critics, as did the original book. On one level, the movie tells a straightforward action-adventure science fiction story, with attractive stars, innovative CGI special effects, and an entertaining but - as some people interpreted it - clichéd and often ludicrous plot. However, beyond this, it attracted widely divergent responses. Fans of the novel often regarded it as a shallow insult to a great work. Others regarded it as a clever satire of what they saw as the book's endorsement of fascism, as well as propaganda films in general. Some even considered it an artistic experiment in evoking certain emotions (such as sadism, militarism, and patriotism) greatly lacking in Western cinema. Still, many simply assumed that the movie was endorsing fascism and responded to this negatively or positively depending on their political beliefs. In 1999, the video release was banned in Germany for excessive brutality, glorifying militarism, xenophobic tendencies and an overall nationalistic attitude. (Video and cinema releases fall under different jurisdictions in Germany.)

The Film's Ideas

The film depicts a future state that is broadly reminiscent of America, except that it is extremely militaristic and uncompromisingly warlike in its attitude to attacks from a species of bug that lives in a distant solar system. On one level, the movie encourages us to identify with the gung-ho antics of the Earthlings as they successfully destroy the bugs. Their attitude, combined with the unsuccessful first attack on the bugs' homeworld, is similar to the Vietnam War. At the same time, there is considerable moral ambiguity, as it is never stated that the bugs started the war. Furthermore, there are several scenes that appear to be deliberately reminiscent of the Nazi propaganda film Triumph of the Will, and some of the military costumes resemble those of Nazi Germany, particularly Neil Patrick Harris's Colonel Carl Jenkins, whose costume apes that of the Gestapo. At the conclusion of the film, the main characters are depicted training new recruits barely in their teens, which may be a reference to the children and old men drafted for the Volkssturm as a last-ditch defence of Germany in the final days of the European theatre of World War II.

However, the society depicted in the film also contains notable differences from fascist ideology, and at times seems more reminiscent of liberal politics. For one, the society depicted in the film is very open about sex and sexuality. Men and women bathe together, and they appear to feel natural about it. Second, humanity's army consists of soldiers of all races, sexes, and religions. Third, military service is not obligatory, and civilians that have not served in the military are well respected (as evident by the high-society status of Rico's parents). However, these civilians are not allowed to vote.

See the Gifford paper PDF noted at the entry for Robert Heinlein for (much) more depth on this issue.

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