#280 | Starship Troopers (Book + Film)

#280 | Starship Troopers (Book + Film)

From KnockBack: The Retro and Nostalgia Podcast by Last Stand Media & Studio71

March 6, 2024 · 2h 24m · Episode 280

About this episode

The episode explores the differences between the Starship Troopers book and film, discussing themes of fascism, citizenship, and human aggression.

With all of the hullabaloo surrounding Arrowhead's hit PS5 and PC game Helldivers 2, we figured we'd delve into its most obvious inspiration: Starship Troopers. Most people know Starship Troopers as the 1997 Paul Verhoeven sci-fi flick, but it's actually much more than that. It all started as an award-winning novel written back in 1959 by an author named Robert Heinlein, and strangely, the film and book couldn't possibly be more different in many respects. But because the book (which is awesome) is a quick read, and the film (which is good, but not nearly as good as the book) is comparatively short, too, so we figured we'd digest both, take lots of notes, and compare and contrast the two. The result is an interesting conversation, one that asks questions like: Is the book really fascist-aligned, as often claimed? Are the bugs the victims of human aggression, and could we ever come to terms with such a race? Does the idea of earning one's citizenship actually not sound that crazy, after all? Could every human have a deathwish, deep down inside? Clearly, we've much to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Topics covered

  • Starship Troopers
  • book vs film
  • sci-fi
  • fascism
  • citizenship
  • human aggression

Keywords

  • Starship Troopers
  • Robert Heinlein
  • Paul Verhoeven
  • Helldivers 2
  • sci-fi film
  • book adaptation
  • fascism
  • citizenship

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Arrowhead

Products: Helldivers 2

Books & works: Starship Troopers, Starship Troopers (Book + Film)

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