Cannon Fodder
As seen in stories like Starship Troopers (the novel), grunt soldiers of the futuristic battlefield can be indicative of the society behind a given war effort. The novel paints a strong, militaristic culture that values the lives of its own people, willing to wreak cataclysmic harm on its enemies in an effort to protect it's citizens. This society's soldiers reflected this mentality with advanced composite armor, mechanically assisted strength, a veritable arsenal of personnel mounted WMDs, and extensive life preservation measures. With all of these enhancements in place to protect their soldiers the kill ratio in this story serves to show just how vicious the enemies they fought were in comparison.
In stark contrast to this, Starship Troopers, the movie, depicted their soldiers as unprotected from harm contrasting starkly with the original intent of the novel. The treatment of these soldiers, in regards to supply and weaponry, when compared to the novel, are atrocious. The mentality demonstrated in the novel was that of ‘spend bullets and bombs, not lives.’ The mentality in the movie was that of ‘spend lives not money.’ This is sad and something that fans generally do not identify with unless they are from the WWII era Soviet Union.
Another story in which we can observe this behavior, is the ever so popular Star Wars. Despite its popularity Star Wars is one of the major sources for ‘yah-right-ism’ leveled against science fiction. While it is understandable that the heartless and inhumane Empire of the Star Wars Universe would send droves of its soldiers into battle with inadequate armor, weapons that never shoot strait, and demonstrably shoddy training. Clearly both stories see the future soldier as nothing more than cannon fodder.
One might suggest that Star Wars only had the shoddy bad guys in an effort to make the good guys look better. The classic quality vs. quantity argument, but to this I would ask; how would the Empire expect to win any battles. However, this clashes with the franchise’s later installments depicting a strong powerful version of the Stormtrooper, the Clone Trooper. Additionally, the rebel forces in Star Wars, and even still the good guys in Star Ship Troopers, all have a horrible death ratio throughout their battles.
In Star Wars, there is only one group who exhibits even the most basic understanding of combat. One must wonder how much brainpower it takes to think ‘Oh my, that bloke is shooting at me. Might I take cover behind yon crate?’ Accuracy, even in its most basic form, seems to be something only a hero can possess.
The end result of all these things and much more is that people are given the impression that, despite the advanced technology and wealth of these gigantic civilizations, they see no need, use, or capability to front a well trained and lethal army. When shown in contrast to the shinning and super powerful starships of these stories, people are left to sigh and presume that ‘its just sci-fi.’ But it is not just sci-fi, its lazy writing.
Starship Troopers, the novel, had it right. Armies with advanced and powerful warships would not skimp on their troops. Imagine if the USA, with the most advanced and powerful military today, began sending its troops into combat with equipment obviously defective and inferior technology and weapons. The simple truth is that most Americans would be aghast and appalled. People can accept cannon fodder, they cannot accept that the army feared by a Jedi, because “only Imperial Storm Troopers are so precise,” can’t even hit the broad side of a barn.
The unstoppable army of Starship Troopers, the novel, however, is also slightly unreasonable. What we would expect to find, is an army somewhere in between the two. Depending on the civilization and the resources available to the combatants, we would see a variable cornucopia of powerful armor, weapons, and defenses. Unfortunately, this is one of those points where realism gets fuzzy. One is left to find balance from whether or not the balance in your given science fiction 'seems' right. Once finished, however, one must again step back and examine the believability of the army. It is quite possible that most stories begin reasonable, but loose real world functionality when they reach this final stage and adjust too far away from what is reasonable in the attempt to give the viewer/reader an impression one way or another about the people in the story. In this, most writers succeed. Unfortunately, they succeed in giving the wrong impression.
In stark contrast to this, Starship Troopers, the movie, depicted their soldiers as unprotected from harm contrasting starkly with the original intent of the novel. The treatment of these soldiers, in regards to supply and weaponry, when compared to the novel, are atrocious. The mentality demonstrated in the novel was that of ‘spend bullets and bombs, not lives.’ The mentality in the movie was that of ‘spend lives not money.’ This is sad and something that fans generally do not identify with unless they are from the WWII era Soviet Union.
Another story in which we can observe this behavior, is the ever so popular Star Wars. Despite its popularity Star Wars is one of the major sources for ‘yah-right-ism’ leveled against science fiction. While it is understandable that the heartless and inhumane Empire of the Star Wars Universe would send droves of its soldiers into battle with inadequate armor, weapons that never shoot strait, and demonstrably shoddy training. Clearly both stories see the future soldier as nothing more than cannon fodder.
One might suggest that Star Wars only had the shoddy bad guys in an effort to make the good guys look better. The classic quality vs. quantity argument, but to this I would ask; how would the Empire expect to win any battles. However, this clashes with the franchise’s later installments depicting a strong powerful version of the Stormtrooper, the Clone Trooper. Additionally, the rebel forces in Star Wars, and even still the good guys in Star Ship Troopers, all have a horrible death ratio throughout their battles.
In Star Wars, there is only one group who exhibits even the most basic understanding of combat. One must wonder how much brainpower it takes to think ‘Oh my, that bloke is shooting at me. Might I take cover behind yon crate?’ Accuracy, even in its most basic form, seems to be something only a hero can possess.
The end result of all these things and much more is that people are given the impression that, despite the advanced technology and wealth of these gigantic civilizations, they see no need, use, or capability to front a well trained and lethal army. When shown in contrast to the shinning and super powerful starships of these stories, people are left to sigh and presume that ‘its just sci-fi.’ But it is not just sci-fi, its lazy writing.
Starship Troopers, the novel, had it right. Armies with advanced and powerful warships would not skimp on their troops. Imagine if the USA, with the most advanced and powerful military today, began sending its troops into combat with equipment obviously defective and inferior technology and weapons. The simple truth is that most Americans would be aghast and appalled. People can accept cannon fodder, they cannot accept that the army feared by a Jedi, because “only Imperial Storm Troopers are so precise,” can’t even hit the broad side of a barn.
The unstoppable army of Starship Troopers, the novel, however, is also slightly unreasonable. What we would expect to find, is an army somewhere in between the two. Depending on the civilization and the resources available to the combatants, we would see a variable cornucopia of powerful armor, weapons, and defenses. Unfortunately, this is one of those points where realism gets fuzzy. One is left to find balance from whether or not the balance in your given science fiction 'seems' right. Once finished, however, one must again step back and examine the believability of the army. It is quite possible that most stories begin reasonable, but loose real world functionality when they reach this final stage and adjust too far away from what is reasonable in the attempt to give the viewer/reader an impression one way or another about the people in the story. In this, most writers succeed. Unfortunately, they succeed in giving the wrong impression.
date
newest »
newest »
I agree with you about the first part but I'm hesitant about the second. Modern US marines use three round bursts and are incredibly accurate. I think that comparing police and marines when it comes to accuracy doesn't really work. For one thing the police use hand guns for the most part and marines use rifles. But that is an interesting tie-bit about viet-nam. There is something to be said with accurate single shots.
Great read. There are some small details that warrant attention, though. For instance, in the Star Wars example, the Empire is supposed to be ruling nearly the entire galaxy. This amount of control leads to sloppy standards, since there is very little resistance, combat experience opportunities, or even motivation for properly training. Therefore, it is likely that the grunts of such a regime would be ill prepared for actual combat. Another point that remains unaddressed is the fact that in this universe space battle is the common form of combat. Ground troops are most likely rarely deployed, and even then vehicles would provide the main source of fire power.Essentially, the point I am trying to make is that ground troops are becoming more and more obsolete. Only certain special units for very specific situations would need to be well trained for combat. However, this is all directed toward the Galactic Empire in Star Wars. If in an alternate universe, shields were practically impenetrable due to shielding technology outstripping the pace of weapons development, then boarding may be the most common strategy, which would bring the grunt back into the spotlight of war.
Finally, although blasters are typically used as semi automatics by Storm Troopers, the guns themselves fire slow moving projectiles compared to current day rifles. The rate at which the beams travel is more akin to a crossbow bolt, making it far more difficult to aim, especially at fast moving targets such as the Jedi.
While you make some interesting points I think that things such as accuracy and technology should be compared against what the characters themselves tell us about their own universe; hence my 'only Imperial Stormtroopers are so precise' comment. I think that the level of suppression that the Empire uses all the time would mean that their troops would constantly be turned into veterans. Again, all this is about self consistency and common sense, but I see where you are join in your comment and yes, there are a lot of mitigating factors.
Joshua Done - Culture and Entertainment
Joshua Done is a science fiction author who lives in the Pacific Northwest. He is classically trained in political economy with experience in all manner of studies from music to ancient history and la
...more
- Joshua Done's profile
- 458 followers
Part of the problem is automatic weapons. If you give someone the capability to hose the target with shells, that is what will happen. I'm reminded of the American commander in Viet Nam who insisted that all automatic weapons fire was considered to be enemy targets and that he would only accept aimed, single fire as friendly. Made a big difference in kill rates.