STARSHIP TROOPERS, HELLDIVERS II, And Military Memes. Do You Want To Know More?

A book from 1959 casts a long shadow into the present.

The influence of the novel STARSHIP TROOPERS (1959) by Robert A. Heinlein can still be felt in 2024. It created the genre “Military Science Fiction”, which is frequently featured in video games… notably in the recent hit game HELLDIVERS II.

And in 2024, something peculiar can be noticed on social media: “Meme” graphics use imagery and quotes from the 1997 movie STARSHIP TROOPERS, frequently to invoke the message of dedication to a cause, or to express resistance to an implacable enemy.

There are many different “Starship Troopers” memes circulating online. This one stands out: Vladimir Putin takes the role of repulsive alien insect, while Russian dissident Alexei Navalny (who was murdered by the Kremlin regime in 2024) becomes a mind-reading officer of the Federation. This meme is confused about its message… but then again, I have no love for a war-mongering tyrant.

So how does the 1959 novel hold up? Well…

There's exactly one segment in it that I think is genuinely good.

It's the passage where Heinlein describes in detail a "combat drop" - where the protagonist, a soldier in a future war against aliens called "bugs", fights in mechanized armor. The description of the armor and its user interface was so far ahead of its time, it seems advanced even today.

The rest of the novel is a tedious, dishonest bore.

I could go into the long-winded political sermons, that feel like enduring the reactionary rants from a cranky relative during a family Christmas dinner. (Seriously. Even the old “bring back spanking” complaint is included.)

I could go into the dishonest depiction of military life... the euphemisms and double-talk that obviously are intended to lull the reader into thinking war is a simplistic, bloodless boys' adventure.

But I want to emphasize how boring this book is. There's very little actual combat in it! Mostly it's about the antiseptic, unbelievably conflict-free military life between missions - and the sermons. Those unending sermons.

Robert A. Heinlein, one of history’s most influential Science Fiction writers. He is often labeled “right-wing”, but writers tend to be politically quirky and hard to pin down. (Photo source: Wikipedia.)

Heinlein really could write good, even great SF stories. Several of his works are rightfully considered classics. This just isn't one of his best. Critics have pointed out how STARSHIP TROOPERS marked the beginning of a decline in his work.

However, the novel was a monster hit. It spawned a whole sub-genre of militaristic SF… and lots of games in the same vein… and a number of responses from other SF writers. If you want to read good Military SF, try Joe Haldeman's gritty novel THE FOREVER WAR. It is indirectly a critique of Heinlein’s portrayal of future war, and was written by a Vietnam War veteran who saw real combat (unlike Heinlein).

(Parenthesis: I’m not exactly a peacenik. I did military service. My fellow recruits used language that would make Heinlein's protagonist faint on a couch. And I support my country Sweden joining NATO. We may not be threatened by giant space bugs, but an imperialist Russia on our doorstep is enough of a threat to warrant military readiness. Real war is awful and shouldn’t be glorified or encouraged… but if you have no choice but to fight to defend your country, you fight. Even if you hate it.)

Paul Verhoeven’s 1997 movie STARSHIP TROOPERS is an obvious send-up of the novel. Heinlein (who passed away in 1988) would've hated it, which is only fair since Verhoeven really disliked his book and deliberately made the movie carry an anti-militaristic message. (He has been quite outspoken about this.)

Heinlein probably would’ve objected to the game HELLDIVERS II as well, as its joking references resemble Verhoeven’s anti-war satire rather than the novel.

Paul Verhoeven, that crazy Dutchman, is a special kind of satirist. His approach could be summed up as excessive, unsubtle and full of dark humor. He is smarter than he might appear.

Verhoeven’s STARSHIP TROOPERS movie is made to resemble fictional propaganda that exists inside the totalitarian society of the movie. That is where some frequently-memed bits come from: recruitment shorts for the fictional space military of the “Federation.” And in those shorts are planted clues: The heroes are not what they seem. The glorious war is not what it seems. Do not take the superficial message at face value.

My favorite “clue” scene is this, quite subtle one: One of the space soldiers is handing out guns to excited children. They grab these tools of death - and their grasping hands are eerily similar to a 1930s Nazi poster with the slogan “Work and Bread.”

Now, about those Starship Troopers memes…

I’ve noticed how many of the memes seem to be using bits of the 1997 movie rather unironically - almost as if the users were referring to the 1959 novel. Not to sound smug or anything, but I wonder… did someone miss the point of the movie?

Seriously though, I think something more sophisticated may be happening. Many meme creators are fully aware that Verhoeven’s movie is a satire of fascism… but they ignore it and use his imagery anyway. Because it is so striking.

On the Internet, you can have it both ways: Laugh at the satire while simultaneously indulging in playful rah-rah militarism.

HELLDIVERS II, produced in peaceful little Sweden - my country. And we just joined NATO. Coincidence? Perhaps. But note the colors in the background… (Image © Arrowhead Game Studios,)

The enormously popular game HELLDIVERS II (made in Sweden) does succeed in having it both ways. The backstory and plot suggest, very tongue-in-cheek, that the heroes of the game are living in a militaristic dictatorship (or so-called “managed democracy”)… while at the same time, the gameplay is all about fighting a bloody space war with gung-ho enthusiasm.

Gaming journalists - society’s foremost defenders of truth, integrity and impartiality - are Concerned. Headline: “For some Helldivers 2 players, the fascist role-play has gone too far” (Polygon, March 8, 2024).

It can be annoying when some people miss the point of satire, or use play as a pretext to be jerks… and yet I’m too old to see any serious danger here. Fandom subcultures are not where you find coherent or consistent politics; people are there to indulge in a hobby. A multiplayer online game is not a political movement (a view that perhaps not everyone agrees with).

Will there be a moral panic over militaristic games in 2024? Maybe, but it will probably fizzle out. They don’t make moral panics like they used to…

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