Starship Troopers actually a satire on making a big screen satire

The recent online discourse about the nature and themes of the 1997 sci-fi hit Starship Troopers has prompted director Paul Verhoeven to confirm that the film is actually a satire on making a sci-fi satire.

“Making science fiction satires is very difficult. Particularly with the internet. All sorts of people have very, very stupid opinions about the film that you are trying to make when its themes are clear and obvious,” explained the directing legend.

Verhoeven went on to explain that the bugs in Starship Troopers are representative of him and his team, just trying to make a satirical film.

“I think that’s clear. The bugs are not a physical threat, they are an intellectual threat. The same threat that a person making a satirical film might be. Then there is humankind, in this film they represent discourse around satirical films. Just randomly attacking the bugs or, in reality, filmmakers, with various weapons that actually represent bovinely stupid opinions.

“That’s what Starship Troopers is really about.”

He also went on to say that Showgirls was actually a satire on censorship, but no one believed him.