Reputedly Verhoeven refused to read the book itself, believing it to be facist propaganda, which is why his decidedly un-facist civilization in the film is so damn funny.
Yep, this. Not to mention that the film practically opens with the Bugs destroying Buenos Aires. What are the Terrans supposed to do at that point? Some (including wiki) have speculated that the humans attacked first, but that just isn't in the film. It also tacitly acknowledges that the war as presented is just: I'm quite sure the Bugs would have been extremely pissed if humans nuked Hive Cluster 16 or whatever. Why wouldn't they be?
So it's a movie about coming of age and fighting a 100% justified war in defense of (as you said) a very free and prosperous society. I mean, they let their boot camp trainees just quit at any time. Some repressive nightmare.
Not to mention that the film practically opens with the Bugs destroying Buenos Aires
There is a reason why almost all the "its a brilliant work of satire and everyone is too Fascist to get it" folks have to invent the headcanon of "the asteroid was a false flag" theory.
Despite there being zero anything whatsoever even suggesting or helping that theory. Only "bugs too dumb to throw rock that good, must be humans lying."
The movie fails on everything it tries to do so hard it doubles back into being the opposite.
Yeah. That's what I would say too if I was surrounded by communist progressive-authoritarian filmmakers and producers asking questions about my movie. I've heard that Verhoeven was essentially run out of Hollywood sometime around 2000, when he returned to the Netherlands to make films.
The sarcastic tone in the movie pokes fun at herd morality and thinly disguised self-interest put forth as the moral high ground. No where in the film does it criticize the social or political system as far as I can tell. It just kind of presents it, expands on some of the natural consequences, and let's the viewer decide. Refreshing, really.
Reputedly Verhoeven refused to read the book itself, believing it to be facist propaganda, which is why his decidedly un-facist civilization in the film is so damn funny.
Yep, this. Not to mention that the film practically opens with the Bugs destroying Buenos Aires. What are the Terrans supposed to do at that point? Some (including wiki) have speculated that the humans attacked first, but that just isn't in the film. It also tacitly acknowledges that the war as presented is just: I'm quite sure the Bugs would have been extremely pissed if humans nuked Hive Cluster 16 or whatever. Why wouldn't they be?
So it's a movie about coming of age and fighting a 100% justified war in defense of (as you said) a very free and prosperous society. I mean, they let their boot camp trainees just quit at any time. Some repressive nightmare.
There is a reason why almost all the "its a brilliant work of satire and everyone is too Fascist to get it" folks have to invent the headcanon of "the asteroid was a false flag" theory.
Despite there being zero anything whatsoever even suggesting or helping that theory. Only "bugs too dumb to throw rock that good, must be humans lying."
The movie fails on everything it tries to do so hard it doubles back into being the opposite.
Yeah. That's what I would say too if I was surrounded by communist progressive-authoritarian filmmakers and producers asking questions about my movie. I've heard that Verhoeven was essentially run out of Hollywood sometime around 2000, when he returned to the Netherlands to make films.
The sarcastic tone in the movie pokes fun at herd morality and thinly disguised self-interest put forth as the moral high ground. No where in the film does it criticize the social or political system as far as I can tell. It just kind of presents it, expands on some of the natural consequences, and let's the viewer decide. Refreshing, really.