When They Severed Earth from Sky -
How the Human Mind Shapes Myth
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Monday, 31 August 2015
What did everyone think of Starship Troopers? (Hopefully everyone got and finished it at this point. =P )
I was always deeply ambivalent about this book. The image of armored space marines was, for me and lots of other nerds, foundational. But, the society he describes is kinda grim. It's great at mobilizing people to be soldiers, but isn't there more than that? Anyway, what about you guys?
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spaceloaf said @ 8:37pm GMT on 31st August
Maybe I'm an idiot, but to be honest I'm not sure I got the point.
I mean yes, on one hand it does sort of romanticize the whole "esprit de corps" thing. But as you say it also shows a very sparse existence. Rico basically lost his home, almost all of his family, and so many of his friends. He also has no real interests, hobbies, or aspirations outside of the military. In fact, by the end whatever kind of person have may have been seems to have been completely assimilated into the military culture.
If the goal is to advertise some quasi Fascist philosophy, this does a pretty poor job of it. It's like make a communist propaganda film waxing poetic about how all of society is unified while spending lots of shots showing the long lines for food and basic living supplies. The footage doesn't support the rhetoric.
spaceloaf said @ 8:38pm GMT on 31st August
Maybe I'm an idiot, but to be honest I'm not sure I got the point.
I mean yes, on one hand it does sort of romanticize the whole "esprit de corps" thing. But as you say it also shows a very sparse existence. Rico basically lost his home, almost all of his family, and so many of his friends. He also has no real interests, hobbies, or aspirations outside of the military. In fact, by the end whatever kind of person have may have been seems to have been completely assimilated into the military culture.
If the goal is to advertise some quasi Fascist philosophy, this does a pretty poor job of it. It's like making a communist propaganda film waxing poetic about how all of society is unified while spending lots of shots showing the long lines for food and people in absolute poverty. The footage doesn't support the rhetoric.
<-- Entry / Current Comment
spaceloaf said @ 8:37pm GMT on 31st August
Maybe I'm an idiot, but to be honest I'm not sure I got the point.
I mean yes, on one hand it does sort of romanticize the whole "esprit de corps" thing. But as you say it also shows a very sparse existence. Rico basically lost his home, almost all of his family, and so many of his friends. He also has no real interests, hobbies, or aspirations outside of the military. In fact, by the end whatever kind of person have may have been seems to have been completely assimilated into the military culture.
If the goal is to advertise some quasi Fascist philosophy, this does a pretty poor job of it. It's like making a communist propaganda film waxing poetic about how all of society is unified while spending lots of shots showing the long lines for food and people in absolute poverty. The footage doesn't support the rhetoric.
WELL I AM NOW.