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> The Twitter account for the US Army e-sports team links to a sparsely populated page with register to win! at the top, no details on what one could even win,

> The Twitter account for the US Army e-sports team links to a sparsely populated page with register to win! at the top, no details on what one could even win, and a sign-up form that, according to a tiny disclosure at the bottom of the page, welcomes an eventual harangue by an Army recruiter. It allows people as young as 12 to submit the form, but adds a notice on the post-submission page that recruiters are not permitted to contact a child under the age of 16. Wow, baiting 13 year olds into signing up for the military via a fake contest is something straight out of Starship Troopers

LanceH 6y ago
Hmm, under 16 not contacted by recruiter. Starship Troopers specifically discouraged people from joining the military.
- GaryNumanVevo 6y ago
  That's a new take on Starship Troopers I've never heard before. The entire movie is supposed to be a pro-military propaganda film for that specific universe. One cannot be a citizen without military service. They even used child soldiers [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_7FaWnlhS4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_7FaWnlhS4
  - RobRivera 6y ago
    Depends on whether anyone caught the satire. The director grew up under nazi occupation and modeled the film as such, nazi propaganda.
  - erulabs 6y ago
    Supposed to be _mocking_ pro-military propaganda. It's a movie about teenagers being convinced to enthusiastically join a fascist government and to commit zenocide thru advertising and sex appeal.
  - lithos 6y ago
    The book and movie are fundamentally different beasts. Though are both in true Science Fiction form of giving characters a shiny thing, running with it on social/political/economic implications, and viewing it through the lens of modern politics. The movie was written post "failed military policy" from the perspective of dozens of minor conflicts, middle east interventions, and a few major ones like Vietnam. It explicitly satirizes "political exceptionalism", when they are anything but (utterly incapable intelligence leading to massive fleet loses to artillery, woefully under equipped soldiers, and even psychic abilities used to comical effect of "they're afraid"). While having a "social media reality" that lets the myth of exceptionalism flourish. The books are essentially written as a love affair to cold war policy, and the concept of the "forever war" against an enemy (the bugs which are essentially the perfect red communists, led by a cabal of male psychic bugs). The soldiers are woefully over equipped to the point that they make master chief from Halo look wimpy, and put through training that makes them actually exceptional. And it is explicitly written through the lens of "this forever war is a just and good thing". __ They can also be read through the lens of "this is a drunken romp". The book an action combat read, and the movie a comedy. Assuming you don't have the patience to dig into the lessons they offer. I actually enjoy both. And find the fact that they are nearly perfect foils of each other, even more enjoyable. And the books did purposefully set recruitment up so that people entering the office would be forced to see grim realities of what they were signing up for, and that people joining would have multiple outs to get out.
sdinsn 6y ago
> Wow, baiting 13 year olds into signing up for the military Submitting this form is not "signing up for the military".
throwaway00710 6y ago
You've clearly never read Starship Troopers.
- GaryNumanVevo 6y ago
  I'm fairly certain the recruited child soldiers in the book too.
  - lithos 6y ago
    Children would have been undereducated for joining the military in the books.

LanceH 6y ago

Hmm, under 16 not contacted by recruiter. Starship Troopers specifically discouraged people from joining the military.

GaryNumanVevo 6y ago
That's a new take on Starship Troopers I've never heard before. The entire movie is supposed to be a pro-military propaganda film for that specific universe. One cannot be a citizen without military service. They even used child soldiers [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_7FaWnlhS4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_7FaWnlhS4
- RobRivera 6y ago
  Depends on whether anyone caught the satire. The director grew up under nazi occupation and modeled the film as such, nazi propaganda.
- erulabs 6y ago
  Supposed to be _mocking_ pro-military propaganda. It's a movie about teenagers being convinced to enthusiastically join a fascist government and to commit zenocide thru advertising and sex appeal.
- lithos 6y ago
  The book and movie are fundamentally different beasts. Though are both in true Science Fiction form of giving characters a shiny thing, running with it on social/political/economic implications, and viewing it through the lens of modern politics. The movie was written post "failed military policy" from the perspective of dozens of minor conflicts, middle east interventions, and a few major ones like Vietnam. It explicitly satirizes "political exceptionalism", when they are anything but (utterly incapable intelligence leading to massive fleet loses to artillery, woefully under equipped soldiers, and even psychic abilities used to comical effect of "they're afraid"). While having a "social media reality" that lets the myth of exceptionalism flourish. The books are essentially written as a love affair to cold war policy, and the concept of the "forever war" against an enemy (the bugs which are essentially the perfect red communists, led by a cabal of male psychic bugs). The soldiers are woefully over equipped to the point that they make master chief from Halo look wimpy, and put through training that makes them actually exceptional. And it is explicitly written through the lens of "this forever war is a just and good thing". __ They can also be read through the lens of "this is a drunken romp". The book an action combat read, and the movie a comedy. Assuming you don't have the patience to dig into the lessons they offer. I actually enjoy both. And find the fact that they are nearly perfect foils of each other, even more enjoyable. And the books did purposefully set recruitment up so that people entering the office would be forced to see grim realities of what they were signing up for, and that people joining would have multiple outs to get out.

sdinsn 6y ago

> Wow, baiting 13 year olds into signing up for the military Submitting this form is not "signing up for the military".

throwaway00710 6y ago

You've clearly never read Starship Troopers.

GaryNumanVevo 6y ago
I'm fairly certain the recruited child soldiers in the book too.
- lithos 6y ago
  Children would have been undereducated for joining the military in the books.