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November 1997, Week 2

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Subject:
From:
Christian Doellner <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Film and TV Studies Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Thu, 13 Nov 1997 20:44:55 -0600
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I  dont think there is any real question of  STARSHIP TROOPER
being set up an ironic indictment of war and fascism.   Verhoeven's
sophomoric use of irony is so convoluted and overwhelming
that once again,  Verhoeven's  lack of subtility and sadistic tendencies
will  no doubt be applauded as parody, since it boggles the mind
to think that  Verhoeven could be as bad as his films indicate.
 
But bad he is. And cunning.  Verhoeven's choice of  material
 (50s sci-f, bad-girl melodrama -Showgirls) allows him and
mush-headed critics the ability to justify his shoddy execution
as a form of  ironic commentary.  One has to wonder why
Verhoeven would choice to adapt  a book which he obviously disdains
ideologically.
 
My impression is that  STARSHIP TROOPERS is a FORMAL reaction
against the plastic-MEATless  S.G.I. film and  Verhoeven's
 main simple minded thesis is: WARS ARE REALLY BLOODY
MORE SO THAN EVER DEPICTED IN FILM PRIOR.
Much has been made of  Verhoeven's  war  experience and his
exposure to carnage. Thus, he is positioned as an AUTHENTIC
auteur of gore. None the less, this  should'nt but the sole defining
aesthetic of a filmmaker,  but in Verhoeven's case it is.
 
Verhoeven's cynicism as a filmmaker is unrivaled even by the
standards of Kubrick and the Cohen brothers.  With the later,
one feels at least, as if their vision/misanthropist impulse
is informed by a keen intelligence/wit that appreciates
subtlety and restraint.
 
What I find most distressing is that  worthwhile films like
BLUE VELVET and HENRY PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL killer are
 vilified, while STARSHIP TROOPER will more than
likely fly under the seriouse discourse  radar. And if nothing
else be applauded as satire,or even worse be  rewarded with
 bonzo box-office returns.
 
It's time that critics and scholars alike realize that the shoddy use
of established paradigms --be it the dime-store Freudianism that
informs most noir or the over-blown, ironic posturing of Veerhoven's
work -- should'nt be used  as a intellectual justification for shallow
film-making.
 
Christian Doellner  [log in to unmask]
------------------------------------------
... dirty poets scratching and clawing,
confused and strong and protective of their
soft insides.  JOHNETTE NAPOLITANO on X
-------------------------------------------
 
----
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