tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post1215720531272382000..comments2024-03-28T10:44:41.756-05:00Comments on The War Movie Buff: BOOK / MOVIE: Starship TroopersWar Movie Buffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05999735218343872013noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-52312712299425544182020-01-14T11:52:52.717-06:002020-01-14T11:52:52.717-06:00Sketching out the results of a hypothetical premis...Sketching out the results of a hypothetical premise, like "what if only military veterans could vote?" is one of the great story hooks in the science fiction genre as long as the author is not so in love with the concept that he fails to consider the drawbacks - or at least recognize that people, being people, would find a way to complain in any society. <br /><br />A veteran-only electorate is not impossible to imagine - in some of the older democracies the set of people who met property qualifications to vote and the set of people who had served in war probably lined up pretty closely - but in our modern era it would be vulnerable to corruption (for instance, an ambitious politician might move for the creation of a special army corps which mainly served to put sympathetic voters on the rolls). I like the movie and credit it for making a sound-bite argument for the system during the High School segment but it doesn't do much to explore the idea, other than suggest that such a government would be vaguely fascist.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-18608200465263838662018-06-01T09:32:04.681-05:002018-06-01T09:32:04.681-05:00Little more:
1. One interesting idea in the nove...Little more:<br /><br />1. One interesting idea in the novel is that all officers must have started as enlisted men. (There is a school to jump them up after a while, so it is not like all officers would be old men...but they would all have experience as enlisted men...very different vibe from the sort of class difference in the military...most strong and remaining in the USN.)<br /><br />2. Another minor one in same vein is that the unit chaplain serves in combat. This is actually not so strange as I was in a unit too small for a chaplain so we had a lay minister, who of course had a normal job in the unit.<br /><br />3. The other thing to realize about the novel is that it was a reaction of Heinlein against Eisenhower signing some sort of Test Ban Treaty. Not excusing it. Just good to know the historical rationale for the late 50s politics that creeps in.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-53992564426707335362018-06-01T09:25:53.920-05:002018-06-01T09:25:53.920-05:00The book was for a long time the best selling nove...The book was for a long time the best selling novel at the West Point book store. I agree that the "only soldiers can vote" was disturbing as well as the interludes to lectures. (Not boring. Heinlien hadn't devolved to that...but still bugged me.) The training is idealized but pretty obviously a version of USMC boot camp. The first chapter is an amazing start to a novel and the ideas about the power suits were prescient. <br /><br />I also find the book clearly superior to the movie, on many levels, despite the issues with it. I would say most military officers and science fiction fans agree. I don't think it is such a strange view at all. More the norm, really.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-4317302249298376882014-10-15T22:16:54.916-05:002014-10-15T22:16:54.916-05:00That is such a strong argument! Unfortunately, it...That is such a strong argument! Unfortunately, it confirms my opinion about people who like the book.War Movie Buffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05999735218343872013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-55801040409240478512014-10-13T10:31:36.014-05:002014-10-13T10:31:36.014-05:00You're fucking stupid. Book > Movie by a go...You're fucking stupid. Book > Movie by a god damn mile.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-14164975132562973112012-05-18T23:07:32.247-05:002012-05-18T23:07:32.247-05:00Good line about BH 90210!Good line about BH 90210!War Movie Buffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05999735218343872013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-10365029858538613032012-04-23T23:18:56.578-05:002012-04-23T23:18:56.578-05:00I disliked the book's gung-ho Sergeant-Fury-an...I disliked the book's gung-ho Sergeant-Fury-and-his-Howling-Commandos attitude, along with its simplistic portrayal of all officers and NCO's as competent and conscientious. Joe Haldeman's The Forever War was more realistic. I did like the idea of a society in which citizenship, including the right to vote, must be earned by serving a term of public service. Heinlein later said in an essay that the service required in ST was not necessarily military (although the volunteer is not given a choice) and that 95% of the "veterans" are former civil servants. But the novel, IMHO, did not make that clear. I hated the movie. The characters were more like Beverly Hills 90210 than a military unit.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-20355924429432773152012-02-28T21:06:55.691-06:002012-02-28T21:06:55.691-06:00Thanks. I enjoyed comparing them. I was surprise...Thanks. I enjoyed comparing them. I was surprised I did not like the book. It did cause me to develop my theory that a movie about a book should be better than the book.War Movie Buffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05999735218343872013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-47701634982640930842012-02-27T10:27:13.300-06:002012-02-27T10:27:13.300-06:00Great review and comparison between the book and t...Great review and comparison between the book and the movie. I read the book quite a few years ago and enjoyed it. I also thought that the movie was a lot of fun,although I got the impression that the director spent more time thinking about the bugs than the humans. It paid off, the bugs are beautiful, and the action scenes are amazing. I listened to the commentary, and Verhoeven spent a lot of time talking about his research into military propaganda, but never actually mentioned the book.historyonfilmhttp://www.historyonfilm.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-10416952927157601612012-02-18T16:08:31.487-06:002012-02-18T16:08:31.487-06:00When I said alternative history, I was talking abo...When I said alternative history, I was talking about "Bring the Jubilee" not "Starship Troopers".War Movie Buffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05999735218343872013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-3196139758616686862012-02-17T06:18:36.155-06:002012-02-17T06:18:36.155-06:00Give me the resources of NOW. 3 x phalanx systems ...Give me the resources of NOW. 3 x phalanx systems with comp autonomy conrol. An the gugs go by by.<br /><br />8 7.62 and 4 20mm phalanx guns should remove any threat to horizon in 30 seconds.Hjarloprillarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11023549276841661403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-86405041590574733292012-02-17T06:12:48.496-06:002012-02-17T06:12:48.496-06:00Warmoviebuff
This is not alternative history.
It...Warmoviebuff<br /><br />This is not alternative history.<br /><br />It is set in future. [not 'if the nazis have superpanthers in '44, as in Pzkw V with L71]<br /><br />'what if' [those dangerous words]<br /><br />in 2018 the US military in conjunction with Europa.<br />Take the world by force. [to stop the chinese?]<br /><br />possible .. not alternate. <br /><br />DUH..!!<br /><br />NikHjarloprillarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11023549276841661403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-5165295150143286792012-01-14T15:50:18.178-06:002012-01-14T15:50:18.178-06:00Very interesting. I had not made the connection w...Very interesting. I had not made the connection with the suits in Avatar. Nice catch. I agree with everything you say. <br /><br />Sorry, but I do not read alternative history.War Movie Buffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05999735218343872013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-67424423353366324082012-01-14T14:35:07.413-06:002012-01-14T14:35:07.413-06:00Starship Troopers! Been a long time since I read t...Starship Troopers! Been a long time since I read that one. But I'm glad to see you have mellowed abit and read a fiction book. As I recall I think I preferred The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and Heinlein's short fiction to it. He did have a strong vision of the future that is certain. Not a future for weaklings. The armored suits in avatar are a direct steal from ST. So he was prophetic in a way.<br />The movie: very entertaining and in a number of scenes (the outpost battle and the outerspace shots of the ships being bombarded from the planet)some of the best SF ever filmed. Though I like it, the movie is too Verhoeven. Shallow characters and graphic violence. This guy has no low setting. Not being much of a fan of CGI I have to say this is also some of the most realistic put on film. The bugs are beautifully done. The bootcamp scenes, the rollerball (or whatever it was called) scene and the love triangle business are weak. You are correct a director should finish his source material, but I have a distinct feeling Verhoeven could give a shit what his audience thinks in that regard. You can sum up Verhoeven: graphically entertaining. Ala Tarrintino. ST is at the opposite end of the spectrum from 2001. One can put you to sleep, the other you are afraid to sleep since your body might be ripped in two. You can try reading "Bring the Jubilee" by Ward Moore. An alternative history tale about the civil war and gettysburg in particular. You know to keep the SF ball rolling.JHardyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12975399049775935074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-73457796339809324472012-01-09T22:52:35.605-06:002012-01-09T22:52:35.605-06:00I do not think you will like the movie or book. I...I do not think you will like the movie or book. I agree on Verhoeven. He should have read the whole book regardless of whether he liked it or not. He may have not been telling the truth with that statement, I suppose. My thesis of him improving on the plot relies on him having read the book.War Movie Buffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05999735218343872013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-77521576086739771782012-01-09T02:19:40.603-06:002012-01-09T02:19:40.603-06:00This is one of those books I will most certainly n...This is one of those books I will most certainly never read but I would like to watch the movie at some point.<br />I find it very strange though that Verhoeven didn't finish it. I find this inacceptable.allaboutwarmovieshttp://allaboutwarmovies.comnoreply@blogger.com