About two weeks after its debut, Helldivers 2 is still firmly anchored at the top of the rankings of the most played titles on Steam, and it is very likely that the latest effort from Arrowhead Game Studios will also be well placed in the rankings of the PlayStation ecosystem. The IP's explosive popularity even had an impact on the ratings of Starship Troopers, the late '90s cult hit that Helldivers clearly took inspiration from. In this regard, we decided to put down on paper some thoughts on the thematic assonance of the two works, digging a little beneath their veneer of warlike glorification.
Space propaganda and insects
If you are part of that large group of gamers who see in Helldivers 2 more than a reference to Paul Verhoeven's sci-fi blockbuster, well, we certainly won't blame you (here's the review of Helldivers 2).
On the other hand, the work of Arrowhead Studios is quite explicit in outlining its sources of inspiration, and the developers themselves have never hidden their attachment to some cornerstones of pop culture from the 80s and 90s, appropriately transformed into the box of resonance of a proposal that is as effective as it is exceptionally popular. It is certainly no coincidence that the “endemic” diffusion of the title has caused a sudden surge in public interest in Starship Troopers, which in recent days has begun a rapid rise in the ranking of the most viewed films in streaming, reinforcing its status as cinematic cult. The links between the imagery of Helldivers and that depicted in the 1997 film are quite clear: in both cases we have a totalitarian and heavily militarized “democracy” placed at the center of a universe full of threats, painted as such by pharisaical propaganda fueled by ever abundant doses of xenophobia, self-indulgence and nationalist rhetoric, aimed at acclaiming the sacrifice of the (armed) masses in the name of a faded patriotic ideal. Yes, there are also insects, but that is almost an element of secondary value.
We can even say that Helldivers 2 brings to the screen an extraordinary postmodern evolution of the satirical core of Starship Troopers, a film that on the one hand seems to celebrate, through a staging full of foment, the strength of humanity in the face of such a hateful enemy how powerful, and on the other hand it exposes and wittily mocks the dark side of certain sociopolitical models, with particular reference to American culture.
Between literature and cinema
Wanting to philosophize a little about the power and dangers deriving from the adoption of the doctrine portrayed by both works, we invite you to think about how much cohesion and participation the slogans and cooperative dynamics of Helldivers have generated among the ranks of the gaming community 2, almost to replicate the mechanisms described in the scary novel The Wave by Todd Strassler. It goes without saying that this comparison should be framed as a simple intellectual “divertissement”, since we are still talking about a video game, and it doesn't even cross the thought of accusing the title of ideological proselytism.
From the opening cinematic, Helldivers 2 makes its mocking approach blatantly clear, but the abstract container defined by its game mechanics can still offer us an effective example of the power of propaganda and the enchantment of tribalism. On the other hand, the novel which inspired – at different degrees of separation – both Starship Troopers and Helldivers 2 is still much more ambiguous and controversial today, thanks to what were Robert Heinlein's conservative positions at the time: an author who was changeable to say the least, who throughout his life explored almost the entire spectrum of ideological currents in twentieth-century America.
Although it is Heinlein's most famous work, Starship Troopers represents in all respects the swan song of the author's youthful period: a militaristic epic that exerted a great influence on science fiction literature, and consequently on the diffusion of “topoi” deeply rooted in the collective imagination. It would therefore not be nonsense to say that the author has in some way contributed to defining the characterization of characters such as Master Chief or the Doom GuySlayer, and even before that, the armored ranks of the Space Marines of Warhammer 40K.
More generally, we can trace back to the American author the trope of the “super soldier of the future”, in turn the incarnation of many of the archetypes identified by Umberto Eco in his essay “Eternal fascism”, starting from a distorted and unscrupulous vision of heroism, subservient to the cult of action. For his part, Paul Verhoeven, after reading just a couple of chapters of Heinlein's novel, decided to follow a very different path, making his Starship Troopers the last act of the dystopian anti-establishment trilogy started with RoboCop and continued with Atto of strength (here is the review of Robocop Rogue City).
If at the time the critics did not particularly appreciate the Dutch director's direct work, today the film has been widely re-evaluated and recognized as one of the best sci-fi films of the 90s, thanks to a satirical verve that is very current. All the more reason we can only rejoice at the renewed popularity of the cult, triggered by the resounding success of a title which, at least in part, inherits its spirit.