Helldivers 2: The Problem with Satire
If you’re like me, you’ve probably spent an inordinate amount of time playing Game of the Year (calling it now) contender, Helldivers 2. If you haven’t, I highly recommend it, because it’s amazing. The pure frenetic pacing of any given mission makes sure that you’re never bored, which is impressive because it’s a really basic gameplay loop. If you have played it: it’s amazing, right? Now, with all that praise up front, I feel the need to address the giant fascist elephant in the room: the Helldivers are the bad guys.
If that statement came as a surprise to you, you should keep reading this article. (If it didn’t come as a surprise…I’d appreciate it if you kept reading the article anyway. I’d consider it a real personal favor.) The game draws some very, very clear inspiration from Starship Troopers, especially when fighting against the Terminids. Of course, the two pieces of media also share a deeper connection: they’re both satirical commentaries on the dangers of fascism. Neither attempt to hide this fact from their audiences, either. They display the fascist governments of their subsequent stories in broad daylight, for all to see. Of course, that’s still not enough to actually dissuade people from saying that the Helldivers or the Mobile Infantry Division are actually the good guys.
You might be wondering: “Well if it’s so clear, how can people get confused on the messaging of the story?” Well, that’s kind of the point of satire. It’s simultaneous incredibly subtle and incredibly not. When Troopers was first released, people were actually saying that Paul Verhoeven had made a movie in praise of the Nazis. Nowadays, however, people have watched the movie and actually praise the Mobile Infantry Division (who are Nazis). Not all too surprising, considering the West’s pretty steady slide toward the Right over the past few years. But does Starship Troopers actually praise the Nazis? Or fascism in general?
No, not at all. The entire point of the movie is that Johnny Rico’s a bumbling oaf who fails upwards and receives promotions solely based upon the merit that the guy above him is currently being digested. He sacrifices his individuality — and a pretty considerable number of the men under his command — all in the name of a vendetta against a seemingly unintelligent species of extra-terrestrial insects. Near the end of the movie, he’s just repeating the lines that his predecessor once spouted at him, really just driving home the fact that Rico is no longer himself, and is instead just a tool for the United Citizen’s Federation to use and abuse.
Now, you didn’t click on this article to hear about a movie that came out nearly 30 years ago. No, you want to know about Helldivers 2. Well, don’t worry, I’ve got some things to say about that too. Unlike Troopers, where you’re a passive viewer, the video game requires you to actually interact, to pull the trigger, to call in the bombs, to kill mindlessly and without thinking about it. You’re an active participant in the destruction of the enemies of “democracy.” You’re an active participant in a fascist regime. At least, in the video game world. I don’t think you’re actually a fascist (and if you are, I hope you grow up soon, you little edgelord).
Both of these pieces of media present to you a very one-sided story, we’re never informed how the Arachnids/Terminids/Automatons feel. They’re the enemy, it doesn’t matter. If you don’t look into the subtext, you could miss the entire point of these stories. This is really where the problem with satire lies: if you leave it up to interpretation, people are going to misinterpret it.
In a way, both Helldivers 2 and Starship Troopers are very much propaganda, which is basically what satire is, just without the irony. But, irony isn’t picked up on by everyone, and thus, it really is just propaganda. In another way, these pieces of media actually serve a more important purpose: to show how susceptible to propaganda we all are.
They aren’t subtle, or at least as subtle as they could be about their criticisms of fascism and jingoism. The Helldivers have skulls on their uniforms. Neil Patrick Harris walks into a scene in an actual SS outfit. Verhoeven and Arrowhead Studios both give us all the information we need to recognize that we’re rooting for the bad guys. It’s up to us to actually recognize it. And some people just don’t. Does that make them fascists? Well, some I would definitely agree are actual fascists, which is just a reality that we in the West have to face. We’ve been backsliding into fascism, or at least a version of fascism, for decades now. I mean, have you heard some of the stuff coming out of our politicians’ mouths recently? (Looking at you, Marjorie Taylor Greene.)
Of course, I don’t think everyone who views the Helldivers as “the good guys” is a fascist pig. Americans are deeply fond of our freedom and liberty, I mean, we have an entire day dedicated to celebrating it in the most American way possible: cookin’ out and blowin’ stuff up. That’s right, the 4th of July is a propaganda holiday! To that point, most of our holidays are propaganda holidays. From the time we’re kids, we get days off school to celebrate presidents, veterans, and the Italian guy who “found” the place that would become our country. Those were like the best days of the school year because we didn’t have to go! The US government knows how to propagandize to children: give them a break from school.
And let’s not forget about the constant deluge of advertisements we’re subjected to seemingly at every turn. Billboards and bus signs, commercials and content, influencers, and…Some other ‘I’ word related to advertising. You get my point. We’re exposed to so much propaganda, so often, that most of us don’t even recognize it as propaganda anymore. Even I, who despises advertising (despite my degree being in it), have found myself engaging with Duolingo on TikTok! Imagine my horror as I realized I am not immune to propaganda!
Now, I know you want me, a 23-year-old, to have all the answers to life and all of its problems. But, I hate to break it to you, that’s just not the case. I don’t actually know how we, as a collective, can learn to detect propaganda or satire. But the best advice I can give to us is to just consume media with purpose, to think critically about what we interact with, and maybe, just maybe, we’ll stop thinking fascism is cool.
Oh, God, I should’ve said infomercials! Influencers and infomercials…
