So no, Starship Troopers didn’t accurately predict that we’d be at war with giant space bugs that want to suck our brains out and tear us into bite-sized chunks. However it was fairly predictive when it came to such things as FaceTime video calls, online computer ads, and modern wars in desert regions. Thankfully we don’t have to contend with bugs the size of school buses or semi-trucks, especially ones that can shoot surface to air fireballs out of their butts. But in terms of the technology that was offered some of it was actually kind of spot on. No, we don’t have ships that can ferry us from planet to planet yet, and there’s no tattoo shop that can etch a design onto your arm with a laser. We also don’t have tanks in which injured soldiers are patched up by swiftly-moving robots that can fix the kind of damage that would at this point probably lead to an amputation, and as of yet we haven’t seen anything like the quasi-football game they feature in the movie.
What we have seen is that FaceTime has become a very real thing in which people can talk in real time over a link that’s enabled by a computer program and can connect them as easily as a phone line. This allows you to see who you’re talking to and interact with them as though they’re just on the other side of the screen. Back in 1997 if you’d have said you want FaceTime with someone they might have looked at you funny and wondered if you needed some one on one time just to talk. Of course at that point the technology hadn’t caught up and the internet was still something that had yet to catch on everywhere. I think at that point my high school still had dial up. Remember those days? You couldn’t be on the phone and the computer at the same time if you had that service and it was a nightmare for some folks.
Computer ads online weren’t quite as bad at that point but they got a whole lot worse very quickly. The popups and the continual ads that would take up nearly an entire page are unfortunately necessary since the companies paying for the time and space online are those that are helping to keep those services running. If not for ads then a lot of internet providers would have never gotten off the ground. I know they’re extremely annoying simply because they’re everywhere and don’t ever seem to stop as they pop up on just about every screen, but there is a way to get rid of pop ups at least, so that’s something.
Modern warfare in the desert by the time 1997 rolled around wasn’t anything new, but it has escalated back and forth ever since. In 1998 Operation Desert Fox was rolled out and proceeded to bomb Iraq with the intent of taking out areas that were known to house weapons of mass destruction. It was considered a success by many but was yet one more act of aggression that the world took note of.
Starship Troopers did predict a few things, but thankfully no big bugs from outer space.
Follow Us
