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On the podcast this week, Steven and Sean are defending Earth from a marauding swarm of murderous space bugs! Or is it that we\\u2019re the real monsters and the space bugs just want to live their buggy lives, raise a horde of their own little insect babies, and maybe retire to Shlergen-5 one day if their retirement accounts perform well enough? Either way, this week, we\\u2019re talking about the Paul Verhoeven film from 1997, Starship Troopers.

Here\\u2019s what we\\u2019ve all got to look forward to in the future:

• Intergalactic wars between Earth and whatever the hell gets in our way.
• Mandatory co-ed shower time (yay?).
• Extremely effective, anti-bug propaganda.
• A return of Nazis who aren\\u2019t exactly the Nazis we\\u2019re usually familiar with.
• Soap opera-level drama between us, the ones we love, and the people who are actually right for us.

Weird, that list sounds all too familiar. Could it be the case that this film is actually a mirror being held up to our lives and society? Are we currently living in this Starship Troopers future world? Let\\u2019s see:

• Intergalactic bug wars? No space travel and no bugs, but there are loads of wars.
• Co-ed showers? Not yet, I guess.
• Effective propaganda? Check.
• A return of Nazis? Check, but they never really went away.
• Soap opera love? That\\u2019s always been a check.

Oh, boy. That\\u2019s a lot of checks.

Could it be the case that this film is actually a great satire aimed at humanity\\u2019s insistence on blowing up any opposition and certain countries\\u2019 fawning obsession with the military? Well, yeah. That\\u2019s the whole point of this film. Sure, there are loads of drama, butts and boobs, and grisly violence, but that\\u2019s just what\\u2019s on the surface.

To get to the real meat of the story, you need to dig about as deep down as the bugs do for their labyrinthine, underground homes. When you get there, the story opens up and becomes a lot more than just what\\u2019s on-screen. Not only is this one a great b-movie for us to share, it\\u2019s also a great indictment of humanity\\u2019s lust for conquest and blood. Take that, us!

(Recorded on January 25, 2021)

Links to Stuff We Mentioned:

Starship Troopers - IMDb

Starship Troopers trailer - YouTube

Paul Verhoeven - IMDb

RoboCop - IMDb

The Lion King - IMDb

Aladdin - IMDb

The Evil Dead - IMDb

UNSC Starship | Halo Alpha - Fandom

Casper Van Dien - IMDb

German diaspora - Wikipedia

The Wizard of Oz - IMDb

The Price Is Right - IMDb

Schutzstaffel - Wikipedia

Pacific Rim - IMDb

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith - IMDb

The Dark Knight - IMDb

Tropic Thunder - IMDb