You do know the bugs didn't send the asteroid, right? - Starship Troopers (1997) Discussion

[–] cosmicfish 11 years ago

Most people don't seem to get that until they either read reviews or watch it a few times. I would guess that a majority of the fans miss or gloss over the satire and political elements and just enjoy the CGI, action, and Dina Meyer's tits.

http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-common-movie-arguments-that-are-always-wrong/

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[–] wielderofspoons 11 years ago

Is it ever explicitly stated beyond doubt within the movie who sent the asteroid?

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[–] Lord-Bigglesworth 11 years ago

It's an asteroid. No one sends asteroids anywhere. The only thing explicitly stated about the asteroid is that it "originated from the Klendathu region." They do also say that the spore of the arachnids can impact asteroids in space and send them shooting in different directions, but there is never ANY evidence (nor any logic behind the idea) that the arachnids could somehow AIM a spore to hit some huge rock floating out in space that it would hit a planet on the other side of the galaxy.

Granted, a lot of people think that's what the movie is TRYING to say happened, and therefore think the movie dumb because of that (among other things), but it never does.

The one major BUT! that comes up at this point in the discussion is that "BUT--the arachnids had a 'brain bug.'" Again, the movie never gives you any real evidence that the brain bug is anything more than the hive mind. I mean when DoogieBarney starts to read its mind, what do we get?? "It's afraid!!"--not exactly indicative of an intelligence capable of highly-intensive math equations required to map the trajectory of an asteroid.

Starship Troopers is a movie about propaganda and our affinity for war and violence. The same voice telling us about how awesome and IMPORTANT it is to be a soldier is the same voice that's telling us we need to go to war. It's utterly fascinating to me that the typical audience member buys into that.

You'd feel cocky too if you were full of myself.

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[–] wielderofspoons 11 years ago

It's an asteroid. No one sends asteroids anywhere. The only thing explicitly stated about the asteroid is that it "originated from the Klendathu region." They do also say that the spore of the arachnids can impact asteroids in space and send them shooting in different directions, but there is never ANY evidence (nor any logic behind the idea) that the arachnids could somehow AIM a spore to hit some huge rock floating out in space that it would hit a planet on the other side of the galaxy.

I'm no physics expert; I don't know if it's possible for someone to permanently divert an asteroid/comet from its original direction. Particularly when the party in question are a bunch of fictional creatures.

One problem with the theory of the bugs being responsible is the scene in which Zander and Carmen's ship is scraped by the asteroid on its way. Surely the asteroid would've been reported and humanity would've had some advance warning of what was about to happen. Yet when the impact occurs, it is apparently a complete surprise.

In real life, most disasters and atrocities are followed by public inquiries and complex reports and books, and there'd be far more detailed information to analyse. But this is a movie and we learn just a few basic facts.

I mean when DoogieBarney starts to read its mind, what do we get?? "It's afraid!!"--not exactly indicative of an intelligence capable of highly-intensive math equations required to map the trajectory of an asteroid.

Being afraid is an emotional state. Fear can be felt by beings of all different intelligence levels. That the 'brain bug' is afraid tells us nothing about its intellectual capacity.

Starship Troopers is a movie about propaganda and our affinity for war and violence. The same voice telling us about how awesome and IMPORTANT it is to be a soldier is the same voice that's telling us we need to go to war. It's utterly fascinating to me that the typical audience member buys into that.

I don't necessarily buy into it. I have always been open to either side being responsible.

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[–] moodie-1 11 years ago

@wielderofspoons

I don't necessarily buy into it. I have always been open to either side being responsible.

Oooh!!! I love this movie (on all its levels) but I never thought of the possibility that the asteroid was a self-inflicted propaganda ploy by Earth's government before. But then again, I'm not much of a conspiracy nut. Interesting idea.

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[–] tawdry_hepburn 8 years ago

Google Reichstag; the movie is about Germany. The asteroid was provoked/a false flag.

,Said the Shotgun to the Head--
Saul Williams

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[–] tveron1 10 years ago

One problem with the theory of the bugs being responsible is the scene in which Zander and Carmen's ship is scraped by the asteroid on its way. Surely the asteroid would've been reported and humanity would've had some advance warning of what was about to happen. Yet when the impact occurs, it is apparently a complete surprise

After the ship strikes the asteroid they say their communications are knocked out. They couldn't warn Earth, regardless of whether or not it was bug-sent...

In my view the bugs DID send it, because there's another asteroid about to hit Earth later in the movie that is destroyed by their orbiting space station thing. The chances of two giant asteroids within months of each other? Don't think so...

Apathy on the rise, no one cares

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[–] Lord-Bigglesworth 10 years ago

In my view the bugs DID send it, because there's another asteroid about to hit Earth later in the movie that is destroyed by their orbiting space station thing. The chances of two giant asteroids within months of each other? Don't think so...

So you think it's more likely that dumb bugs with zero technology were able to blindly shoot spores out of their butts into the sky and hit an asteroid, that they couldn't even see, in the exact direction of a planet, that they couldn't even know about, on the other side of the galaxy... twice in a row??

You'd feel cocky too if you were full of myself.

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[–] tveron1 10 years ago

Hey, I'm not talking about 'probabilities' of the 'dumb bugs'... I didn't write the movie, I'm just going by what I see in-text.

Early on they say that Klendathu is surrounded by an asteroid belt, giving an "endless supply of bug meteorites". Why would they be 'bug' meteorites with an 'endless supply' if it weren't possible for the bugs to take advantage of that 'endless supply'? The implication is that the bugs are USING them.

Later, they say the asteroid came 'out of bug space', again suggesting that's the nature of it.

We see Carmen and the Roger Young JUST miss the asteroid itself as it heads towards Earth. They mention their communications were knocked out so they can't warn anyone. Why would that scene be included - particularly the part about the comms - if it weren't meant to imply that the asteroid was sent with a malevolent purpose?

And finally - more than one giant asteroid goes to hit Earth. The second is only destroyed by upgraded defense systems.

All these pieces add up to a suggestion, an inference, that the bugs are using their plasma to knock asteroids into a collision course with Earth.

Funnily enough, you're acting just like the humans in the movie - acting as if because they are bugs they can't have intelligence or military strategy.

The only other alternative I could see was that the Federation used the asteroids as a false flag attack to rally support to attack the bugs. Given the Federation's cultural attitude, I wouldn't say that's out of the question, but there would need to be more evidence from the movie for us to reach that conclusion. It could well be part of the satirical edge of the movie, but I think Verhoeven would be more adept at lamp-shading that. Otherwise, all signs point towards 'the bugs did it'.

Apathy on the rise, no one cares

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[–] Lord-Bigglesworth 10 years ago

Funnily enough, you're acting just like the humans in the movie - acting as if because they are bugs they can't have intelligence or military strategy.

....

Oh, I'm not saying they can't--I'm saying the movie never, ever, ever gave any, ANY AT ALL, evidence that the bugs are smart/have intelligence/possess military strategy.

The implication is that the bugs are USING them.

Yes, I'm completely aware of what the implication the film gives is--which is that, exactly... I'm telling you to look at the facts the film gives.

The narrator in the film is the media. The film is a satire on (in one respect) military nations brain-washed by their government (ergo: media). You believing what the movie says about bugs is (and I apologize in advance) more-or-less what happened in Nazi-era Germany. The populace was spoon-fed certain "truths" about themselves and the "lesser peoples" and, for the most part, the populace ate it up without questioning it.

A lot of people have a problem with this because they've been looking at it a different way for such a long time or they've read the book, which is from, I've heard and researched, is a totally different aspect. Venerhoven, in his film, took out every thing that provided actual evidence that the bugs are an intelligent, militarized species and made them instead, straight-forward, dumb bugs. Every implication that they are anything other than that is completely unsupported by any "facts" the films actually gives you--the idea that they are actively seeking and carrying-out warfare is supported merely by some person saying that they are.

Seriously, just for fun, watch the film again and try to keep an open mind about this and see if you reach the conclusion that they bugs are somehow attacking earth or if it's all just mindless war-mongering. Or just listen to the commentary

You'd feel cocky too if you were full of myself.

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[–] Lord-Bigglesworth 10 years ago

Just to be clear, I'm not saying that the actions of the bugs didn't lead to the asteroids heading towards earth. It very well could be, and is very likely, that the bugs are accidentally sending the asteroids there when they shoot their spores. Which, I guess would make the whole scenario even funnier. Instead of a grand conspiracy orchestrated by the government, even the government thinks the bugs are trying to kill us.

You'd feel cocky too if you were full of myself.

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[–] tveron1 10 years ago

I've watched the film at least twice with the intent to figure out what the bugs are up to, trust me I've open minded my way into exploding heads.

Oh, I'm not saying they can't--I'm saying the movie never, ever, ever gave any, ANY AT ALL, evidence that the bugs are smart/have intelligence/possess military strategy.

Except it DOES. That's not even 'maybe' subtext... It's as text as can be. The teacher at the start explains how humans think they're special, but the arachnids have their own form of intelligence and ability. Later on we see that the brain bug is sucking out brains and using them. And then we see them SET A TRAP. That's military intelligence. That's regular intelligence. The bugs clearly think, perhaps in a hive mind capacity. I don't understand how you could think they're not meant to be thinking.

It shows the military arrogance of the humans, fitting in perfectly with Verhoeven's themes.

The bugs aren't "somehow attacking Earth", as you said, they're retaliating. The bugs were never invaders, but then the humans invaded their world and that's that. They're fighting back against human marauders.

That's where I see the satire coming from. You and I are both looking at it just slightly differently. You're seeing the sneaky government hatching the plan to cook up the asteroid horror, whereas I see them as cooking up the entire 'evil bug' thing to begin with.

As for evidence for them being the ones attacking, I just can't get around the fairly big clues they're doing it.

It's said Klendathu has meteorites. We see a giant asteroid coming out of the Klendathu restricted zone (the one that strikes the Roger Young). Verhoeven CHOOSES to say that the Roger Young's communications are down - why else would he have done that if not to suggest that the Roger Young needs to warn people about the asteroid?
The bugs on Big K are seen to be able to affect things in space - we already know they can fire their spore elsewhere with intent to spread their species.

And, critically, there is ANOTHER asteroid. You see it at the start before it flashes back to one year before. Their space defenses blow it away. You could assume that both asteroids were sent their by the Federation if you go on the 'false flag' side of things, but I see no reason to believe that without saying "well they're sneaky propaganda people so let's assume". And you certainly can't expect it to be 'natural', because when have two giant sized asteroids ever hit in such rapid succession, after all?

There's my reasoning for why I see the bugs as the perpetrators of the asteroid attacks

Apathy on the rise, no one cares

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[–] Lord-Bigglesworth 10 years ago

Later on we see that the brain bug is sucking out brains and using them.

How is it "using" them?

And then we see them SET A TRAP.

Plenty of predators set traps for their prey in the wild. That does not enable them to perform cross-galactic geometry.

It's said Klendathu has meteorites. We see a giant asteroid coming out of the Klendathu restricted zone (the one that strikes the Roger Young). Verhoeven CHOOSES to say that the Roger Young's communications are down - why else would he have done that if not to suggest that the Roger Young needs to warn people about the asteroid?

Again, I'm not arguing that the meteorite didn't come from that region--I'm saying the bugs didn't send it, at least not intentionally.

The bugs on Big K are seen to be able to affect things in space - we already know they can fire their spore elsewhere with intent to spread their species.

Yup. Again, that is another fact that the film chooses to show us. Still not proof of being able to aim their spores to hit an asteroid exactly as it needs to be, in order to hit a planet across the galaxy.

And you certainly can't expect it to be 'natural', because when have two giant sized asteroids ever hit in such rapid succession, after all?

If a large object hits an asteroid belt, sending debris flying in all directions, it is actually VERY LIKELY that at least two items of that debris could hit the same place.

You'd feel cocky too if you were full of myself.

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[–] 10 years ago

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[–] cosmicfish 10 years ago

The chances of the bugs using their spores to knock an asteroid out of orbit and then send it on the correct trajectory to hit Earth (which is basically a microscopic speck of dust) are astronomical.

By definition, yes, it most literally is. That having been said, very little information is actually given about the attack, so it is hard to know what might have been done to accomplish the task. If you have the ability to course correct (by, uh, shooting more bug plasma into the hyperspace tunnel, or something*) it may not be that hard.

As a kid I bought into the idea that the bugs really did send the asteroid but as an adult I am more prone to think that the asteroid had nothing to do with the bugs (it was either an accident or it never even came from Klendathu) and the Totalitarian Federation Government just wanted a reason to invade Klendathu.

I am 99.99% sure that this what Verhoeven was trying to show. The humans are NOT the good guys in this movie.

*: Yes, this is ludicrous, but so is the rest of the movie.

http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-common-movie-arguments-that-are-always-wrong/

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[–] Lord-Bigglesworth 10 years ago

I am 99.99% sure that this what Verhoeven was trying to show.

One of these days I'm going to sit down and listen to the commentary and see if he covers that.

You'd feel cocky too if you were full of myself.

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[–] cosmicfish 10 years ago

One of these days I'm going to sit down and listen to the commentary and see if he covers that.

I'm so sorry. I would hate to think that I in any way inspired someone to rewatch any part of this film not directly involving Dina Meyer's exposed breasts.

http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-common-movie-arguments-that-are-always-wrong/

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[–] Tsavo 9 years ago

You know, the saddest/funniest part of this argument is that fact that Verhoeven explicitly states in the audio commentary that the bugs DID send the meteor, it was very much intentional! HOWEVER, it was also retaliatory, in response to the incursion of the "Mormon Extremists" as stated in the film.

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[–] danyu100 8 years ago

And then we see them SET A TRAP.Plenty of predators set traps for their prey in the wild. That does not enable them to perform cross-galactic geometry.

that's a question of scale, i think. i believe they could make instinctual calculation. i don't think we can really comprehend what it'd be like to be like a super lobster spider wasp roach thing with networked communal intelligence though.

even with people imagine dancing or playing pool, you are doing very complex math, physics, geometry that you couldn't think about in real time and perform the actions even if you were a trained mathematician. knowledge alone doesn't help integration per say.

i kinda like the take on the movie that the bugs are just acting instinctually... and we(the humans) could be better than that, but we aren't. :) like, when we reduce our thinking about actions that others do into things like good,bad or aggressive,passive strong, weak without contemplation of motivation, context or quality it makes us bugs. heinlein said something about specialization is for insects, yeah? i kinda feel like the movie sells that idea better because it does it with a smile...

or it's kinda like going to war with the weather or dna because we don't like rainy days or how tall we are or going all terrorist nutbag because other people's farts stink. :) if i was going to make a sequel i think it'd be fun to go to have people go to war with the ocean because. have you seen what's down there?! haha and tidal waves have to be evil ;)...also corporations can get some good drilling in. :)

i think a lot of the humor in the movie works so well because it seems like the actors are completely unaware of the subtext (imo it's pretty damn close to the surface...) of the movie. just like the bugs have no clue...'just doing my job'

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[–] 8 years ago

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[–] LongCarbine 10 years ago

It would take billions of years for the asteroid to arrive from the other side of the galaxy. Even if Klandathu is Alpha Century, it would take hundreds of thousands, if not millions of years.

I imagine that in the background of the events, they would have conveniently assumed that bugs have faster than light travel, which from what we see, is absurd. Besides, it doesn't fit the premise of the movie that bugs sent it. The movie is about fascists either using a false flag operation, or just letting an asteroid hit and using that as an excuse. If it's a false flag, my guess is that the female sky marshal had something to do with it.

The movie is brilliant in that it is so obvious it wasn't the bugs, but the "citizens", who are hell bent on war and extermination, hardly care. In some way, citizens are worse than the authorities manipulating them.

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[–] cosmicfish 10 years ago

I imagine that in the background of the events, they would have conveniently assumed that bugs have faster than light travel, which from what we see, is absurd.

Everything about the Arachnids in the movie is absurd. They have giant bugs that shoot blue pulses of energy out of their backside and into orbit, with enough power to destroy ships. You can accept that, but have trouble with the idea that the same species, already shown to have SOME kind of interstellar capacity (in that they appear on multiple planets) could not possible have FTL capability?

I think the asteroid was probably supposed to be human-initiated in Verhoeven's mind, but I do not think a bug-launched FTL asteroid is really that unbelievable in the context of this already thoroughly unbelievable movie.

http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-common-movie-arguments-that-are-always-wrong/

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[–] Lord-Bigglesworth 9 years ago

They have giant bugs that shoot blue pulses of energy out of their backside and into orbit, with enough power to destroy ships. You can accept that, but have trouble with the idea that the same species, already shown to have SOME kind of interstellar capacity (in that they appear on multiple planets) could not possible have FTL capability?

The science teacher CLEARLY states that they "shoot their spore into space". THAT'S how they show up on different planets.

You'd feel cocky too if you were full of myself.

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[–] cosmicfish 9 years ago

The science teacher CLEARLY states that they "shoot their spore into space". THAT'S how they show up on different planets.

So... we're now assuming that the teacher is telling the truth and not just spewing government propaganda? Are we just picking what we want to be true?

Again, I agree that Verhoeven was trying to show a scenario where the bugs were not the aggressors. But he was also portraying a ridiculous alien race with the ability to breathe fire-acid and shoot ships out of orbit using the power of their butts. If you want to say that "they didn't do it", that's fine. But whatever method they have for colonizing other planets should work just as well for an asteroid - faster than light, slower than light, whatever - and that means they could have done it. Because it means that they have a method of targeting and a method of propulsion.

http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-common-movie-arguments-that-are-always-wrong/

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[–] Lord-Bigglesworth 9 years ago

Uh, the teacher tells us they shoot their spore into space, and then we SEE them shoot their spore into space. What on earth do you think the blue stuff coming out of their butts was?

We're told it's "X", we actually SEE that it's "X", yet you're just going to go "NOPE... they probably have some interstellar space ship travel thingy and are smart 'n stuff", even though the movie never once gives us any indication of that sort of thing?

Futhermore, that whole butt spore sequence is just another piece of the satire of the film. From the information we've been given, we know that the bugs are just procreating, but the military is acting like they're under attack.

You'd feel cocky too if you were full of myself.

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[–] cosmicfish 9 years ago

Uh, the teacher tells us they shoot their spore into space, and then we SEE them shoot their spore into space. What on earth do you think the blue stuff coming out of their butts was?

Something destructive enough to destroy spaceships in orbit. Why would I think that was their "spore"? Just because they pointed it towards space and it reached orbit? There was a flamethrower Bug, am I to assume that the fire-acid was their everyday spit (you know, the kind it has in it's mouth every minute of every day) just because it came from the mouth? How does it make sense that said spore just happens to be perfect for destroying orbiting starships?

We're told it's "X", we actually SEE that it's "X", yet you're just going to go "NOPE... they probably have some interstellar space ship travel thingy and are smart 'n stuff", even though the movie never once gives us any indication of that sort of thing?

Well, the entire movie is ridiculous, but if I was going along with Verhoeven's "it's all humanity's fault!" premise then the most logical reason for the Bugs to be on multiple planets would be because they had been seeded there by a space-going species... like humanity! That makes a heck of a lot more sense than the idea that a non-technological, planet-bound species was propagating throughout the universe by shooting spores into space at planets they could not possibly detect and have astronomically low chances of hitting, spreading the species so slowly that mutation would result in each planet's version would be substantially different than the rest. Heck, I would think the idea that the Bug had been <i>planted</I> by the Powers That Be would fit right in with the whole "government is bad" theme of the movie (and Verhoeven).

Futhermore, that whole butt spore sequence is just another piece of the satire of the film.

What the heck does this sequence satirize? It is stupid, it is a pretty effect, but I don't see any satire in the bugs shooting the ships out of the sky. If anything, it undermines Verhoeven's whole casting of the Bugs as the victims - victims don't generally have anti-orbital artillery!!

From the information we've been given, we know that the Bugs are just procreating, but the military is acting like they're under attack.

So... you think that this was just chance? The Bugs just HAPPEN to have spores that can destroy spacecraft, and just HAPPENED to be procreating in the exact time and location where the incoming ships were located?

That is one heck of a coincidence you got there.

http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-common-movie-arguments-that-are-always-wrong/

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[–] Lord-Bigglesworth 9 years ago

Something destructive enough to destroy spaceships in orbit. Why would I think that was their "spore"?

You think it's more likely that these alien creatures evolved in a way that turned their butts into weapons? Again, the science teacher told us that they fire their spore into space. I really can't see why you think it's more likely that these butt firings are purely weapons. Futhermore, yes, if they populate other planets by firing their spore into space, yes, I do think that would require said spore firings to be powerful enough to destroy space ships. Escaping a planet's orbit does require a significant amount of force.

So... you think that this was just chance? The bugs just HAPPEN to have spores that can destroy spacecraft, and just HAPPENED to be procreating in the exact time and location where the incoming ships were located?

That is one heck of a coincidence you got there.

Why?

You'd feel cocky too if you were full of myself.

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[–] cosmicfish 9 years ago

You think it's more likely that these alien creatures evolved in a way that turned their butts into weapons?

Whether through evolution or engineering, their butts ARE weapons! That scene demonstrates this quite clearly! To be fair, the Brain Bug is the only that does not have some truly remarkable capacity for violence!

I really can't see why you think it's more likely that these butt firings are purely weapons.

I really can't see why you would think it's more likely that a non-sentient, non-technological species would have an interstellar, ship-destroying method of spreading between solar systems that they just happen to utilize when they are attacked from orbit!

Futhermore, yes, if they populate other planets by firing their spore into space, yes, I do think that would require said spore firings to be powerful enough to destroy space ships. Escaping a planet's orbit does require a significant amount of force.

Escaping a planet's orbit requires velocity, not force, certainly not explosive force. The velocities of those - What shall I call them, "butt blasts"? Sure, why not - the velocities of those butt blasts are slow enough that reaching the nearest star system would take centuries even with perfect targeting, and I cannot for life of me think of a reason why spore would collide with enough energy to blow them out of the sky. The velocity does not appear to be even as fast as a bullet at the time of collision, mass should be comparatively low, but those ships go up like they're made of TNT!

http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-common-movie-arguments-that-are-always-wrong/

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[–] Lord-Bigglesworth 9 years ago

I really can't see why you would think it's more likely that a non-sentient, non-technological species would have an interstellar, ship-destroying method of spreading between solar systems that they just happen to utilize when they are attacked from orbit!

Well, because I'm using the evidence presented to us in the film. You, on the other hand, are relying purely on faith for your beliefs. And that's cool.

You'd feel cocky too if you were full of myself.

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[–] stazza 9 years ago

the bugs sent it. there is nothing to make us think anybody else did. the bugs "suddenly" were much better shots (probably already covered in this thread?) when shooting at the ships. Were we on the ground helping them accomplish that too?
Movies are the only place where they give you all the info you need to know in their universe, and nothing pointed to US doing it to ourselves. Nothing. Paranoid conjecture does not count as being INSIDE the movie's presented universe.

One can make up a billion tangents for any movie in existance, but why? If it is not in the movie, it does not matter or affect anything.

I could make up something like: the asteroids REALLY came from a larger bug solar system further out of the galaxy. But with zero ideas presented in the movie to support that, it is just made up.

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[–] cosmicfish 9 years ago

Well, because I'm using the evidence presented to us in the film.

You're very selectively interpreting the evidence presented to us in the film.

Verhoeven was deliberately constructing a corrupt government that lied wholesale to it's people, and yet you take the words of the (government employed and informed) school teacher as scientific fact - it is questionable whether any character simultaneously knows the full truth AND is willing to tell it at any given time.

You see the anti-space-artillery bugs in action and assume that said process (which is never actually discussed) is the aforementioned process of reproduction (which is ALSO never really discussed beyond a brief mention), rather than simply another of the many variety of bugs which seem to exist for no other reason than to kill and destroy.

You, on the other hand, are relying purely on faith for your beliefs.

No, I'm just ignoring intentional propaganda and eliminating the obviously stupid hypotheses.

http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-common-movie-arguments-that-are-always-wrong/

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[–] woodmage 9 years ago

Verhoeven was deliberately constructing a corrupt government that lied wholesale to it's people

How did he do this?

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[–] woodmage 9 years ago

You think it's more likely that these alien creatures evolved in a way that turned their butts into weapons?

Why not?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombardier_beetle

most notable for the defense mechanism that gives them their name: when disturbed, they eject a hot noxious chemical spray from the tip of their abdomen, with a popping sound.

I still prefer Heinlein's Arachnids, though.

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[–] Lord-Bigglesworth 9 years ago

Valid point...

You'd feel cocky too if you were full of myself.

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[–] CrispSandwich 9 years ago

Rewatching the film just now I'd definitely say that Verhoeven made the bugs seem sympathetic at times. Like when they show the eye of that one bug that has been shot or the trapped "brain bug" being in distress. I honestly felt bad for them because when you look at it the humans are interfering with their hive.

Another thing that could play into the astorid concept is that the spores aren't shot with any real accuracy they shoot at random with the idea to hit new worlds by chance and at times just happen to hit astroid that have ended up heading towards Earth.

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[–] 10 years ago

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[–] jim_high_budget 10 years ago

Correct. I never realised this when I was younger but after watching Starship Troopers as an adult I picked it up straight away. This may not be true but I like to think that the governments prime objective in ST is to colonise Klendathu, and the only way they could convince the civilians to go to war with the bugs was if they tricked them by creating some false flag attacks and putting the blame on the bugs

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[–] 10 years ago

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[–] WallyWaffles 9 years ago

It's an asteroid. No one sends asteroids anywhere. The only thing explicitly stated about the asteroid is that it "originated from the Klendathu region." They do also say that the spore of the arachnids can impact asteroids in space and send them shooting in different directions, but there is never ANY evidence (nor any logic behind the idea) that the arachnids could somehow AIM a spore to hit some huge rock floating out in space that it would hit a planet on the other side of the galaxy.

This is the main thing the bugged me about the movie's plot when I saw this film back in the 90s: It just didn't didn't make any sense that a bunch of non-space-faring insects could aim their poopers at an asteroid to push it on a perfect trajectory across the galaxy towards the Earth.

The train of thought presented by Lord-Bigglesworth makes perfect sense: An Earth-devastating asteroid may have come from the direction of Klendathu, so the government uses that as an excuse to wage war on the Klendathu inhabitants, possibly for some ulterior motive such as mining a rich supply of unobtanium. (The shots of the orbital defense shooting up later asteroids could either be a fabrication or an exaggeration of the many smaller chunks of space debris which fall into Earth's atmosphere all the time.)

We see this kind of thing in the real world all the time: Some horrible tragedy strikes, and one political group or another immediately jumps on it and says, "How can we use this to our advantage to push our propaganda?"

~ Region Locking is evil!  Hack your DVD player today!  ~

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[–] woodmage 9 years ago

a bunch of non-space-faring insects

But they WERE space-faring.

This is the main thing the bugged me about the movie's plot

Wait... there's a plot? I just watch it as a monster movie.

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[–] cosmicfish 9 years ago

This is the main thing the bugged me about the movie's plot when I saw this film back in the 90s: It just didn't didn't make any sense that a bunch of non-space-faring insects could aim their poopers at an asteroid to push it on a perfect trajectory across the galaxy towards the Earth.

Why not? It just comes down to propulsive force and the ability to target.

Single "space artillery bugs" have enough energy in a single spurt to blow a hole in an orbiting ship - considering how specialized they are, is it so absurd to think that there could be some group of dedicated bugs capable of putting serious directional energy on a target?

And remember that they apparently spread to other planets this way - if they can detect distant planets and hit them with spore, then the additional challenge of launching an asteroid instead of their "spore" is pretty small. And if they can't detect and target planets, then propagating their species to other planets would involve so much luck that it would be significantly slower than the course of evolution. Bugs on one planet would be genetically different than bugs on any other planet because randomly shooting "spores" across interstellar distances is only going to result in a "hit" every few million years!!

http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-common-movie-arguments-that-are-always-wrong/

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[–] graham-167 11 years ago

And this is stated where in the movie, exactly?

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[–] granitodiaz 11 years ago

nowhere, this movie is an entirely different universe than the book

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[–] Lord-Bigglesworth 10 years ago

Well, that's kind of my point. The movie, aside from the characters, never says the bugs sent the asteroid. All the news channel says is "an asteroid that originated from the Klendathu region". From there it's just everybody jumping on the war band-wagon, which one of the satirical points of the movie. The film never gives ANY evidence that the bugs did or even could do such a thing. Yet everyone on-screen and off still believes it. Brilliant.

You'd feel cocky too if you were full of myself.

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[–] guardian_owl 10 years ago

Kind of like how one of the justifications for the Iraq War was "Saddamm Hussein" yada yada yada "9/11."

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[–] granitodiaz 11 years ago

this movie is an entirely different universe than the book

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[–] Full_Blooded_Italian 11 years ago

As I said in another thread, the third movie makes it sound like it was indeed the bugs who sent it.

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[–] 11 years ago

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[–] Lord-Bigglesworth 10 years ago

I just love your response.

You'd feel cocky too if you were full of myself.

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[–] Lord-Bigglesworth 10 years ago

You must be a lot of fun at parties "ZOMG, Obama is like soooo dumb, right? lololol!!"

You'd feel cocky too if you were full of myself.

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