Space Force Uniform Is Inspired by Quasi-Satirical Film 'Starship Troopers'
Trump revealed the service dress uniform designs for his Space Force over the weekend on Truth Social, sharing photos and an overview without additional comment. The uniform's color palette includes "space gray" and "midnight black," along with knee-high leather boots and epaulettes. The overview said the ensemble was "inspired by the discipline and functionality of the Starship Trooper uniform."
The admission was a bit of a shocker, not just because Trump loves winners and the critically panned 1997 Paul Verhoeven film was a flop, but also because it was a satire of fascism. In his review at the time, Roger Ebert noted the picture's "quasi-fascist militarism," while admitting those aspects were leavened a bit by "an element of sly satire." But for Ebert that was not enough: "We smile at the satirical asides, but where's the warmth of human nature? The spark of genius or rebellion? If Star Wars is humanist, Starship Troopers is totalitarian." Ebert was only slightly less critical of the costumes, calling them "a cross between Buck Rogers and the Archie comic books."
Trump has seemingly drawn inspiration from movies and television before for his newest branch of the United States Armed Forces, which he created in 2019. When the president unveiled the logo, science fiction fans almost immediately called out the similarity to that worn by Captain Kirk and other Starfleet officers in Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek franchise, and Star Trek legend George Takei weighed in, telling Trump to give the source material its due. In 2020, then-Vice President Mike Pence celebrated the one-year anniversary of the branch by announcing that, as those serving in the Navy are known as sailors and those in the Army as soldiers, "henceforth, the members of the United States Space Force will be known as 'guardians.'" That announcement drew a quick reaction from Guardians of the Galaxy fans, who thought there might be an unacknowledged connection between the film series and the new name.