``Starship Troopers'' What does the controversial science fiction war action story convey?

Admiring fascism!? A cynical look that is often overlooked

Johnny, Carmen, and others later become warriors, but at the beginning they are still high school students. Johnny, who is active in a near-future sport like American football, is popular at school, and his girlfriend, Carmen, has a serious personality, but she also gets excited when she meets other men. Dizzy, a dominant girl who is Johnny's classmate and competitive teammate, is in love with Johnny, but it doesn't seem to be reciprocated.

Johnny's friend Carl, a science major, has supernatural powers and wants to join the military where he can make use of them. Up until prom, the final event of high school, the main focus is on the youth drama that they weave together. However, the reason why it is not easy to empathize with them is because they have been brainwashed by fascistic ideology as a result of growing up in the environment mentioned above. Naturally, Johnny and his friends head to the battlefield voluntarily.

Ed Newmeyer, who wrote the screenplay, says the film is a parody of war stories. It depicts a young man steeped in fascism who is willing to sacrifice his life for the military in a rather extreme manner, eliminating realism and using a graphic novel-like touch.

"Starship Troopers" (c)Photofest / Getty Images

A typical example of this is the military propaganda footage that is often inserted between stories, such as children crushing insects that look like Bugs, a mother gleefully cheering them on, and encouraging children to use guns. , you can't help but laugh at the scenes that contain dark humor. By the way, during World War II, Disney produced a number of films designed to raise military morale in the United States.

However, some viewers did not understand such humor. The Washington Post, one of America's leading daily newspapers, criticized Verhoeven as a neo-Nazi and branded the film a far-right film. There were also criticisms that the film glorified fascism. It's a story where Johnny overcomes hardships and becomes a war hero in the end, so in a sense it can't be helped that it's misunderstood.

So why are there so many ridiculous military propaganda videos inserted throughout the film? Of course, this is to make the audience see the story objectively, but this point seems to have been overlooked by the angry audience.

When I interviewed Verhoeven, who came to Japan to promote the film when it was released, he said, ``This film has a Brechtian humor.'' Brecht refers to the German playwright Bertolt Brecht, known for his work `` The Threepenny Opera .'' He was a revolutionary playwright who rejected the idea of ​​empathizing with others and encouraged theater to be viewed objectively.

``Starship Troopers'' should be viewed from that perspective, and instead of empathizing with it, we should take a closer look at Johnny and his friends. Verhoeven also says this in the audio commentary on the DVD: ``This movie cannot be called a straight entertainment piece.''

Verhoeven, who experienced World War II, is particular about depicting battles.