STARSHIP TROOPERS, Part 3: KALLGREN | Brows Held High

ANOTHER BUG HUNT, BOYS! READ THE WARNINGS CAUSE THIS IS AS REAL AS IT'S EVER GONNA GET! This is the third of a three part series.
Debrief yourself on Part 1 HERE: • STARSHIP TROOPERS, Par...
And on Part 2 HERE: • STARSHIP TROOPERS, Par...
Nothing to see here: • Casablanca | Cinema An...
Nor here: • Triumph of the Will, o...
CHAPTER MARKERS
00:00 PART 3, KALLGREN
1:24:27 EPILOGUE
Follow me on Twitter IF YOU DARE: / kylekallgren
Support me on Patreon: / kkallgren
Also Ko-Fi is A Thing That Exists: ko-fi.com/kylekallgren

[@halfpintrr]

My grandmother is an ethnic Croatian. She cried when Milosevic was arrested. She is one of those people who cannot speak English except for a few words. My mother is a second generation American and can speak Croatian and English fluently, but because of her last name she was called a DP for her entire child life. (A displaced person, which is ironic as she hates immigrants now. Or maybe not ironic but just sad.) She wanted so badly for us to be American that she made sure I took my fathers last name, and never taught me Croatian. It’s surreal to see it mentioned here. I was assimilated into a culture that I never had a choice in. I am an immigrant to China right now, and I have to remember this. Thank you Kyle. 🌹

[@MegaHarko]

"I was assimilated into a culture that I never had a choice in." Who has this choice?

[@halfpintrr]

@@MegaHarko My mother made a conscious choice to not indulge our Croatian roots until it was too late. So, she made that choice for me.

[@kadmii]

To be honest, I always took that MIB scene at face value: wtf is that girl doing there with books on quantum physics? 🌹 EDIT: I'm saying I missed the context that Kyle referenced

[@gozerthegozarian9500]

Same! But I was very ignorant about the issue of police violence at the time...I appreciate this channel for broadening my horizons and offering new perspectives to me!

[@Amitlu]

@@gozerthegozarian9500 As a kid I felt he was trying to cover up for his mistake. But I now see the point was more to show to Agent K that Will Smiths character could imagine alien monsters in a sympathetic light, even though he failed the technical requirements of the test.

[@Wraithfighter]

I think Kyle oversimplified the joke a bit too much. Layer A of the joke is indeed that... but there's also a layer about that the Agents that the MIB needed would have to be able to deal with hideous-looking creatures that are innocently out there and detect the out of place, and also the factor that this is apparently what MIB was looking for. Every other potential recruit went in guns blazing, J's the only one that took a moment to look and think first. Honestly, I'm of the camp that his reaction was mostly "this shit makes no sense, it feels like I'm being led through hoops here", and did an act of rebellion against it all.

[@Spikeelsucko]

that was the exact nature of the test, just because something does or doesn't look scary doesn't define your reaction- when youre an MiB you have to judge things beyond appearances.

[@barbarrojaa.c.4761]

I have to say for me the whole point of the test and in general what made J a great candidate was to think outside of the box. Like the written trst. I have to say, as someone not from the USA, the angle of police violance didn't come at all. Because for me that his reasing was beyond the standard "monster=bad, human=good" was the point of the joke.

[@adastra553]

Quick note for around 47:00 (I’ve not had time to watch the video until today): _inyenzi_ means both “moth” and “cockroach”, and is used in Kinyarwanda to refer to destructive pests in general (remember that moths aren’t just fluffy and cute, but have a long history of being reviled by humans for destroying food and fabric). Hence why Tutsi “moths” are juxtaposed with butterflies in the _Kangura_ article. The heavy association of _inyenzi_ with “cockroaches” rather than “moths” in the aftermath of the Genocide is (alongside the fact that moths don’t carry the same connotation in the West that roaches do) likely due to the French word _cafard_ (which does mean “cockroach”, but also “bigot”, “hypocrite” and “snitch”), which was used by Hutu militants in their French-language propaganda.

[@DoeJam13]

🌹 The ending where you struggle to "kill the cop inside you" then resolve to just strive for a better world even imperfectly, resonates so much with me. I struggle with that motivation as well, and to see it so vulnerably echoed onscreen is validating and uplifting. I enjoy your work very much and wish you a well deserved break. Life to not fascism.

[@Arachnes_Corner]

Someone who's been here since your Serbian Film review: the growth in your work is staggering. Comparing this to your first years of reviews/essays is almost night and day. I say "almost" because I could tell from my first viewing that you had a certain talent for analysis, and that has appeared in every episode. I'm excited for what the future holds, whenever you're ready to come back. 🌹🌻🌼🏵️🌺🌸🥀🌷💐💮

[@gamestation2690]

What can I say to someone to prove that Donald Trump is a fascist?

[@myrmepropagandist]

I never thought about how the way Star Ship Troopers just "made sense" to me in a way that it didn't for my mostly white peers at college might have something to do with the fact that that's literally how I see my country. I remember coming out of the film and I was like "that was the BEST MOVIE EVER" and my friends were like "IDK it seemed kinda pro war..." they were really confused.

[@lizzycorvus5109]

The brief mention of Tolkien leads me to think that, while it has problematic elements, LotR (especially the books) are in a sense in opposition to Starship Troopers' glorification of eternal service, with a hero who never finds pleasure in war and is scarred by what he must do for the rest of his life. Tolkien's politics are something along the lines of 18th/19th century high toryism, with a sympathy toward monarchy and a concern over industrialization, which is a very different beast to Heinlein's Cold War liberal-conservatism.

[@angeliprimlani9389]

Tolkien was absolutely anti-Nazi. The Nazi government came to him because of his interest in Germanic and Anglo-Saxon legends, which they thought was right and Aryan and he told them to get poetically and properly stuffed, praising the Jewish people and Jewish culture while he did. His letter to the German government survives.

[@ErjonPNL]

Until you remember the fact that "the burden of what you had to do for the greater good" was exactly how the nazis who ran concentration camps justified their actions to themselves on a daily basis to be able to keep fullfilling their function as mass murderers.

[@samuellaakso7012]

Lord of the Rings: where all races come together despite their differences to fight the commong enemy.

[@UnfortunatelyTheHunger]

@@angeliprimlani9389 still, the fact that the nazis ever believed Tolkien's books aligned with their worldview, is telling in a way

[@UnfortunatelyTheHunger]

@@samuellaakso7012 funny how it is the least human-looking (at least in the Jackson movies) race who're the enemy

[@grrsa]

You've done it, Kyle. This series was incredible. Literally only you could have made it. 🌹

[@UnfortunatelyTheHunger]

🌹 This video is not a review, or even an essay. This is a whole goddamn documentary, and it's the one of the best I've ever seen

[@BlueRoseFaery]

Yes, seriously I came to the comments to say he should enter this in some festivals or something, it’s an amazing documentary series & could definitely get some recognition. 🌹

[@violatralala]

Agree!

[@MattAndImprov]

Yeah, you can make something obvious or you can start making and discover the important thing that gets made.

[@MattAndImprov]

🌹 The song at the end... nice

[@icconicc7421]

A documentary on what?

[@CapriUni]

🌹Toward the end, when you were talking about all the people whose names you don't know, whose labor went into the making of this video, I was reminded of the essay "The Hand of the World" by Helen Keller (Yes, *that* Helen Keller), which she wrote in 1912. The opening paragraphs are some of the most humans-as-caring-and-creative anthems I've ever read. Enjoy your rest.

[@casperchristiansen2458]

Helen Keller was a true comrade.

[@CapriUni]

@@casperchristiansen2458 She was. Some of the things she wrote about deafness (influenced by the highly bigoted A.G. Bell) make me deeply uncomfortable. But she was, for all her human flaws, a great thinker, and a fabulously witty writer. And because she was so articulate, they nerfed her in the history books.

[@casperchristiansen2458]

@@CapriUni She was also a socialist.

[@halfpintrr]

I hate the most recent tiktok trend of trying to discredit her accomplishments. Some people don’t believe what she did.

[@CapriUni]

@@halfpintrr Well, now I'm even more glad that I don't have a tiktok account.

[@siremilcrane]

I'm a fellow third culture kid, my parents moved us from the American middle class suburbs to rural Australia in 2001. Even though we shared a language it was still pretty major culture shock. This video really resonated with me, especially the part where you asked yourself if you would be a fascist today if you hadn't spent that time living abroad. I've had that exact same conversation with myself, its pretty terrifying. 🌹

[@cloudburst2798]

I was already hooked from the first two parts, but I simply couldn't stop watching from the moment you started describing your third-culture kid experience. At this point, I've spent two equal parts of my life in two countries: the first half in Korea, the second in the U.S. I'm connected with both, but at same time foreign to both countries. My home is both and neither. I've only recently realized during the pandemic, having had to confront myself as I quit the creative industry, that I don't really know who I am-that I feel fundamentally fragmented, and that I am completely unable to show anyone the fragments of myself I do understand. I keep going through moments of despair as I feel (as a guy) I will only be recognized and valued for the services I provide-and it feels like I have internalized the mindset of service above all else growing up. Seeing you verbalize all these experiences and emotions I recognize, and to end on a message of radical hope... I cannot articulate just how much this has helped me today. Thank you. 🌹

[@TindraSan]

🌹It's incredibly brave of you to show this much raw vulnerability, so much of you, to an ocean of strangers. I'm sorry shit got to a point where you felt that you had to do that.

[@gozerthegozarian9500]

🌹I adore your choice of Iron Man to exemplify "cool power armour" (and throw shade at Disney's domination of the market), but may I offer another one? The Daleks on "Doctor Who" - they are literally single-occupant tanks and their "cool power armour" is the only thing that keeps them alive, as they are creatures damaged down to DNA level by centuries of warfare. They were created by Terry Nation on the basis of his childhood nightmares about the Nazis, they are what his child subconscious recognized to fascists to be: Weak, fearful creatures encased in their armour that both keeps them alive AND keeps them from living - they're literally incapable of touching another living creature, they cannot think of another species as anything than an (inferior, or course!) ememy they must "EXTERMINATE!!!" In a way, Tony Stark, the alcoholic orphan whose "friends" at least in the first two movies aren't his equals, but people on his payroll, with his Iron Man suit that is powered by the makeshift reactor that keeps his wounded heart beating while slowly killing him (the metaphor isn't even subtle, is it?) seems like an earlier evolutionary stage of the Dalek, just like Heinlein's Starship Troopers in their "cool power armour", who you so correctly pointed out are excluded from actually partaking in life. My grandfather was a Nazi soldier, airman, to be precise, who died in the Battle of Britain: A Spitfire got the better of his Messerschmidt. Do fighter planes count as "cool power armour"? In a way, I suppose. The psychological fall-out from WWII is still felt in my generation... I have to stop now, lest this comment ends up as long, in-depth and close-to-the-bone as your video. Just know that your work is deeply appreciated and educational to both the heart and the mind. Life to not-fascism! 🌹

[@thatkidwiththehoodie]

I wonder if that makes it even more appropriate that Iron Man dies and saves the universe and all that, with his face fully exposed and his armour being eaten away by the literal responsibility he’s carrying.

[@gozerthegozarian9500]

@@thatkidwiththehoodie Ooooh, excellent point!

[@thatkidwiththehoodie]

@@gozerthegozarian9500 thank you! Much as I loathe Disney’s corporate stranglehold on modern entertainment, there’s still plenty of interesting shit to read into Marvel movies and all that, if you’re willing to look for it. Art isn’t wiped away so easily, I suppose ;)

[@gozerthegozarian9500]

Yes to that in it's entirety!

[@ManOutofTime913]

Funny you should bring up Terry Nation as he would later go on to create Blake's 7, a series that serves as the diametric opposite to Star Trek in which humanity has become a fascist dictatorship, under the guise of a utopian democracy, which has enslaved all non-human races in the galaxy, dominated through overwhelming military power, controls its population through drugs and manipulation of memory and public perception, and has any rebellion swiftly eliminated. The solution to eventually defeating them? A stronger coalition from the Andromeda Galaxy eventually wipes them out in a great offscreen war.

[@colliwer]

🌹This series is absolutely your magnum opus, and this video is a fitting pinnacle. "Authors die. Words live on, and the fans do the fighting."

[@emilymoran9152]

25:23 - This whole section reminded me of studying abroad in Australia in 2002. My friends would introduce me to new people as "This is Emily. She's American. But don't worry - she didn't vote for Bush!" Honestly, I was just glad I didn't have to say it, because politics WOULD come up...

[@Mathadar]

As a conservative who voted for Republicans most of my early adult life, before I got disenfranchised with politics in general, and am a curmudgeon Libertarian, I was always the "Good Republican" among my liberal friends, and that always confused me. Having met people from across the world nowadays, I still don't get it, as many of my international friends are very conservative, despite me never once revealing my voting, or even my thoughts or dreams or anything about myself to them. I just sort of, it seems, find myself running in those circles, not by choice, but happenstance. How was studying abroad? I have often thought of wishing to have done that before my 30's to give a new view to how Americans are viewed abroad. "An Idiot Abroad" was a great show for that very reason, as it often gave us an ear to how we are perceived across the known world. Otherwise, I often have to look through our history in relation to other countries, and find out how very, very much they have good reason to dislike us, even hate us, even though that is absolutely unfair to say.🌹

[@markuskoivisto]

@@Mathadarthe unconscionable thing about libertarians to continental Europeans is that libertarians are opposed to the “duty to rescue”. That libertarians believe it is better to let a drowning man die than to force someone to throw him a floatation device. This is the fundamental disconnect.

[@watchm4ker]

"What did we do to the sabertooth tiger?" Practically nothing compared to what we did to wolves, hogs, and aurochs. 🌹

[@Doomlonbbyn]

Better, perhaps, to ask what the sabertooth tiger did to us to make us subservient of these little cruel murderers and their conniving ways. 😎 But hey… I’m not complaining.

[@watchm4ker]

@@Doomlonbbyn "Hey, I eat rats and mice. You don't like them, right? Worship me, mortal!"

[@Doornenstroom]

I stayed up kinda late over here in the Netherlands to watch this video, but it was definitely worth it (though also a lot to take in at once for my sleepy brain, so I might give it another watch sometime this week) 🌹

[@martinafloresmendeville3000]

haha same xD i had super weird dreams! (but definitely worth it)

[@rayngoldberg]

Appreciate the context, in-depth analysis, and personal touches as always. Also looking forward to the next one, but of course, after a well deserved break. 🌹

[@ironiconion]

"the world is myth, most heroic thing anyone can do is imagine a better one"🌹

[@inugamidalton8270]

🌹This was beautiful, Kyle. Beautiful not only because it sees the great potential that awaits in imagination in daring to see a better world, but also beautiful because it (and you) had the courage to see and admit the ever-churning darkness in us all and not just give up to melancholy and rage. I’m really grateful for this.

[@TroubleChaser]

I've been watching you since the CA days, and this is honestly a truly incredible series. It's beautiful, hearbreaking, raw, and informative. 🌹

[@elizabethdevido2081]

This trilogy of videos has been one of the most intelligent, thoughtful, and heart-wrenching things I’ve come across online. Excellent work, Kyle, and thank you for everything you make. *rose emoji*

[@Torus2112]

"No one needs anyone, they don't even just pretend!" -David Bowie, I'm Afraid of Americans

Fun topical fact. That song's first pubic release was as a part of the soundtrack on Showgirls. The Verhoeven movie. :)

[@BobHatesYoutube]

Oh my... Way to hang a huge chunk of your being out there for the world to see. I think you have done well with these videos. Be Well Kyle and enjoy your break. 🌹

[@OreoTheWolf]

As a trans woman who used to be a very angry person before transition, I can relate to the horror of realizing how much anger you have inside of yourself. And I can also relate to the urge to hide yourself as a result of threats. But the way to fight threats of hate and violence is not to capitulate to it. You don't want them to cheer "it's afraid!" while you're in the net. You keep doing what you were doing before the threat. Living is resistance. And you can take solace in knowing that your existence enrages an awful person for no extra effort, or as the kids say, "living rent free in their head".

[@TrishCanyon8]

"No one can implicate me in their ugliness." Marcus Aurelius

[@erikbihari3625]

​@@TrishCanyon8. A:"does gender transition include the chromosome? B:"May I recommend watching Rick Woorley's video on j.k. rowling, because I say it's pretty stupid to attack her for that, given that type of surgery isn't thorough enough!

[@Owesomasaurus]

This is such a powerful series. Thank you. My main issue with the John Adams quote, is that there will be people in each generation who fancy themselves the 'war and politics' generation, and as such, we never actually get to the music and poetry generation.

[@denniseldridge9266]

My main issue is that it probably spawned the Joe Rogan(ish?) quote - “Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.”

[@Owesomasaurus]

@@denniseldridge9266 yeah, that whole kali yuga thing is some straight up fash shit.

[@Xarfax321]

@@Owesomasaurus I assume people don't think of the Kali Yuga as the "dark age" that we're gonna be in for the next hundred thousands of years or so?

[@emhornerbooks]

It's hard for me to describe how terrified I was by the anti-immigrant eliminationist rhetoric that I kept seeing over the last five years, over the election, the cancellations of visas for people from Muslim countries, over the cages at the border. Because - I'm a white Anglophone Canadian in the US, which makes me just about the most privileged kind of immigrant, and I knew it wasn't aimed at me, but also, it was aimed at me. It could be aimed at me at any convenient moment. Anyway, that's what I was thinking about as I watched this. Thank you for this video. 🌹

[@Waffilicious]

🌹my first encounter with Starship Troopers was watching the Rifftrax spoof they performed for fans last year, and my biggest thought while watching it was “so… when does he figure out he’s in a fascist society and start to fight against it?” It seemed the natural progression of the plot to me. Maybe it was just me, imagining a better word for Johnny. Thank you for your exploration, your research, sharing your family and your life. Thank you for your hope, and your imagination. Yes, I would like to know more.

[@trianor]

🌹 A truly emotional and cinematic experience. I think this video is going to be a keystone in this whole series. It took me a while to get round to watching it because I wanted to give it more attention than I do most movies. This video made me become a Patreon too, don't know why it took me so long. Enjoy your break, I look forward to enlighten me more in the future, and you don't know how much you inspired me :) 🌹

[@zacharyrussell9618]

I first read 'Starship Troopers' when I was about 15. First Heinlein book, thought it was the smartest thing I ever read. I gave it to a philosophy professor when I was in college, felt I was so clever. As the years went on, I became uncomfortably aware of the problematic elements of not only that story, but many of the other stories by Heinlein. He himself did seem to become aware of it as well in his later years. Kyle mentioned 'The Number of the Beast,' but there is a sequel to that story that deals even further with the literary multiverse Heinlein was spinning up; 'The Cat Who Walked Through Walls.' My point is that in this story a character is presented, the Sky Marshall, who clearly came from the 'Starship Troopers' universe (although it isn't said in as many words). The character is brash, boisterous, full of the glory of combat, and the need to control the 'lower classes.' He is shot by several of the other characters when he attempts to hijack the plot mission. Could this have been a symbolic disownment of the fascist ideology from 'Starship Troopers' by Heinlein? 🌹

[@wayfaringspacepoet]

This video was a piece of work and I'm glad you made it. I've watched you since your CA days and I'm really happy about how much you've been learning and coming to terms with since then. And I wouldn't worry about being grouped in with "Breadtube," the label is meaningless and only represents a consumer brand at this point and you're honestly better off doing things at your own pace than following their trends. Rest easy and godspeed 🌹

[@codyweaver9382]

The labels aren't important, what matters is what you believe and do. We have to make a better world for each other. 🌹

[@goldfro]

🌹Thank you for sharing this Kyle. Took me a minute to see where this might be going, but I love the end result. Showing how we construct a concept of “alien” through a personal experience of living as an American abroad is right on theme in this series. Even tho you walked away from the idea, I think you ended up with a really compassionate piece of “Cinema Antifa” here. Enjoy your break 🌹

[@justwannapost69]

The first night I traveled internationally, to London, I put on the news. They announced international news and proceeded to talk about things that had nothing to do with England and I had a eureka moment of understanding why Americans are so self involved. FYI if you aren't American, international news means American news abroad in the USA.

[@SuperSonichero10]

🌹 Kyle, your videos are one of a kind, and are videos that really does inspire great conversations, with information I otherwise would never have known. I want you to know that your work is amazing and very strong, and I can tell with this series in particular how compassionate you are as well as your family. Keep up the fantastic work, and keep those Brows Held High! :)

[@AMoniqueOcampo]

🌹💐 CS Lewis said that to love at all is to be vulnerable. You really opened your heart and we are all here with you. We have to hold onto that hope that things might turn out right someday.

[@ChrisLitzenberg]

🌹 As a person with German parents, living in Germany but born in the US, most jokes in Germany about the Dutch tend to be about football (the European version) or about how the Dutch language sounds, to Germans, like a slightly drunk mix of German and English. But the stereotypes about the US are definitely the same in Germany as in the Netherlands. And I have certainly done the "yes I was born in the US, but I'm not THAT kind of American".

[@ZigUncut]

Your videos are fascinating journeys and unexpected delights. Thought we were going to just talk about Starship Troopers but this was so much more.

[@jmalmsten]

I have now seen this whole series. I have listened to the audiobook a couple of times. I love the Verhoeven film. I even sought out bootleg copies of the anime adaptation from the 80s (I think). I still have a thought about a remake... What many fans want is essentially a Michael Bay adaptation. Essentially the sort of film that Verhoeven was lampooning. Only with the jingoistic bombast and gore and nationalistic symbolism turned to 11 to make sure that people understood that he was making a joke. But... Like with Team America, half the audience took it as sincere. What I am proposing comes instead from an intent to not so much make fun of the source material, we had that already. But. I would instead propose a much darker tone. I remember listening to a passage of the book where Rico busts through a wall terrifying skinner children as he and his distant squad-mates essentially flatten a city of civilians because of some even more distant military objective. Rico pays no heed to his atrocity. Moments later they nuke the remainder and take off into orbit for debriefing. Ok. I fully admit, I am planning on revisiting the book and I am fully prepared to have to accept that that section never actually existed in Heinleins text. But. Like when Alex Garland adapted Annihilation by opting not to reread the book by Vandermeer (hey dutch sounding names!) And going only on the memories of it. I think there may be a way to make a story out of Troopers and not make it... Fun... I am thinking of depicting the objective reality of that world outside Ricos brainwashed head. The Starship Troopers I am thinking if should be... simply terrifying to watch. Where someone basically has to ask themselves "Hanz, are we the baddies?" As the war machine churns through victims on all sides. Where the awe inspiring is less modern day awesome and more the dry description of "shock and awe". Like in I am Legend. The bugs and the Skinnies should be telling each other horror stories of the Troopers. So, thinking of nationalities I have kind of ruled out the patriotic American director. And we don't really need another outrageous Dutch spin. The Japanese could probably do something interesting considering how much of their Mecha sci fi owes to these stories. But the nationality I would like to see take on Troopers. Is a German. Someone like Wolfgang Petersen. I think they could probably navigate the treacherous waters of fascism and show the realities of that kind if wartime society. A film that's less "F**K-YEAH!"... And more like "oh... f**k..." But.. heck. I know. Try to sell that to Hollywood investors. And inevitably people will refuse to understand. Because all depictions of war tends to end up glorifying it. No matter the intention.

[@ConvincingPeople]

Well, that was incredible and emotionally draining! Have a rose: 🌹

[@kgirlonfire]

Thank you so much for this beautiful series. The hardest and best thing we can do is to live, and believe that the world and our lives can be better. 🌹

[@alejandrovasquez8527]

This is lowkey the best channel on KZbin. The way you blend language, literature, politics, and the personal without sacrificing any depth is extraordinary. Death to fascism, including the potential for fascism within me. Thank you for sharing this. 🥀

[@jmalmsten]

"... even old New York. Was once New Amsterdam... " Hooow hard was it to NOT continue the lyric...?

[@caseygoddard]

"The art of being disrespectful moves ever forward..." Words of wisdom right here!

[@goonsquad8258]

Literally the best series of videos to ever be put on KZbin.

[@cryptidrecording]

🌹 Thank you, Kyle. I needed something like this, especially the effect of the trilogy of these videos. You’ve always been a huge inspiration for me and to hear that you’ve also had issues with anger, with masculinity- I want you to know that’s familiar- truly bone deep- to others too. And that holding on the best we can do. Thank you, have a safe and healing break.

[@kolbykauffman4180]

Been waiting for this badboi so long, I've literally moved to another state, job, and relationship. I'm excited. How will Kyle yell at me tomorrow?

[@TheDarkSatirist]

A bit of a flex on how quickly you can find yourself in a relationship, but okay

[@kidlitfanful]

@@TheDarkSatirist not necessarily. Sometimes a person can go years between relationships, then a new one develops quickly. For example, 2.5 years went by after a breakup before I met my most recent ex, but we went from meeting to "official" over a few months.

[@mrsnufflegums]

🌹🌹🌹 Kyle, I hope you're okay man. Take all the time you need, this series of video essays were fantastic, easily some of the best of the year.

[@TheMaestroso]

These videos have been so excellent. Thank you for putting all this effort, time, and emotional labor into this. 🌹

[@joleneharper3054]

Absolutely beautiful, Kyle. Thank you for all of the work and time put into this. It's given me many hours of things to think about. 🌹

[@Amitlu]

The Anne Frank quote at the end. I havent cried this much in a long time.

[@adityabaid7280]

I never comment on KZbin videos, but HOLY SHIT! You've been my favorite KZbinr since the Omkara video, and this is my favorite video of yours. It hit me in so many ways, being the default of my society, being an outsider in another, watching my country slowly descend into fascism, the patriarchal expectations on me, pondering how I have upheld that system, and whether I would be a fascist and not just a proto-fascist if I had not moved out. I wish I had something more eloquent to say to match the video, but I'll just say enjoy the break. You deserve it after this magnum opus. 🌹

[@angelamatyi1603]

I'm not eloquent enough to give you half the praise you deserve for this incredibly moving and thought-provoking series of videos, but please know how deeply grateful I am that you made it. 🌹

[@AngelMeiChan]

🌹Thank you for your time and effort to make this series, and for being open with your struggles.

[@antikonfluenzia260]

I saw this video popping up at around half past 1 am (in germany) and just wanted to take a peek. Now its half past 3 and I am in awe at the incredibly deep and personal, frightening and warm, smart and funny and touching work you have done in these three videos. I have been watching your videos for more than ten years now and I am so thankful for the beauty and the insights they brought to me. Danke dir so sehr, lieber Kyle! 🌹

[@ashtonmackle4242]

As an anarcho-communist who has a complicated relationship with Heinlein, this whole series felt made for me. I still love a few of his books, especially Have Spacesuit Will Travel, but I can never defend Starship Troopers. 🌹

[@nathanplante4570]

@@timcombs2730 .....Way to show your bare ass dude.

[@evilcaptainred]

🌹I’m overwhelmed by this work- I spent my whole day watching all three parts. This is a masterwork, man. Well done.

[@hatnhousejacketartnstuff4854]

I love the final song so much! Filk is such a fun versatile genre and it works so well as a final note here 🌹(the performance is rlly lovely too!)

[@discrot8568]

This entire series has been amazing, Kyle. It's such a good trilogy of videos that I will watch again and again because it really spoke to me, and there are only a few other videos on this platform that I revisit. Thank you for this. I don't know if this will work because I literally had to google how to make a rose emoji and I never write those strange brackets, so I just copy and pasted it, but I hope it works. >--

[@discrot8568]

Fuck.

[@violatralala]

This may be the dumbest comment under this video, but as a mother of two boys that look nothing like me, I can't get over the fact that you and your brother look soooo much like your mom

[@gozerthegozarian9500]

I don't find this to be a dumb comment at all! The resemblance is striking indeed!

[@jdrobertson42]

Took forever for me to get to this last part of the series because it's long and I didn't have a chunk of time to devout to it. It was worth the effort. Many thanks.

[@TalysAlankil]

the sinterklaas song will haunt me all over again thanks for this 🌹

[@FaeQueenCory]

🥀 "The oldest surnames in America are of Dutch origin." 😬 Chile. It is that omnipresent callous disregard that makes me assert so commonly that "I. Do not. Exist."... And that plus the last 5 years is what leads me to refuse to be an Other American any longer. *I.* Am. American. A _REAL_ American. Reservation carded and everything. I will spend the rest of my life reclaiming my ethnicity from the maws of kenraken. Because our genocide is not some long past event. It is ongoing. ... Excuse my vitriol. Nonexistence is a state of being I am incapable of conveying, and one that I do not wish on anyone else.

[@EphemeralTao]

🌹 CS Lewis once said "What is myth in one world, may be reality in another." Maybe one day we can make the myth of a better world -- a world of true equality for everyone -- a reality this one; but I don't expect it to happen within my lifetime.

[@Strampunch]

I know I'm awfully late to this, but I just caught up on your channel after the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen video premiered and I just finished this 3 part series. I think I first saw your videos about 10 years ago, and I don't think I've ever seen anything so personal, raw and rough (maggots and all) from you before. I can't explain coherently how hard this trilogy (the 3rd one in particular) hit and how many things it's making me re-examine and think about again. We briefly crossed paths in 2014 for a work-related thing but unfortunately it never came to fruition... and now I learn about the awful things that happened, and I'm so sorry. So many things make sense now. I'm glad I have found your channel again, and that you're still creating video essays and finding new things to investigate, explain and share with your audience. Your work is an inspiration, and I'm happy to join your Patreon and support however I can, I can't wait to see what you're working on next. Death to Fascism. 🌹

[@ValboaCross]

Kyle, I have always enjoyed your videos and the words you've had to say. Thank you for always being around. Thank you for always saying what needs to be said 🌹

[@MarteaniArt]

Today I learned "third culture" and so many pieces of my experience falls into DiFfErEnT pLaCeS. It is always interesting, watching these videos, and how emotionally experiential they can be. 🌹

[@Brenderous]

can't imagine being this honest in public. really enjoyable video and series. 🌹

[@Rockario]

There was a lot of passion in clear in this whole project. You did a good job, Kyle, and massive respect for being able to put this together and growing this last decade. 🌹

[@DiggerDwarfy]

I have been waiting for this part for a long time, for it to pull the others together. I don't think it could have exceeded my expectations more. 🌹

[@Lazkaroz]

Thinking back to the kid that watched your BHH work on TGWTG and comparing him to the much much older kid I am today, watching this trilogy of yours, is strange to say the least. Watching your content change, watching you change and changing myself through it, through your words and thoughts and me, discussing with myself if I agree or disagree and why, has been a most important and enjoyable experience though~ Thank you for the music 🌹

[@rjmayo]

Nothing much to say, but this was an engaging, thought-provoking, and at points moving watch. 🌹

[@Kellen_Quigley]

Thank you for sharing so much of yourself with us, Kyle 🌹 This video is great

[@greatsouthernpansy]

Hi Kyle, just wanted to say I watched this Great Epic of Yours once again, in hope of getting more out of it. And I think I'll make a habit out of watching it from time to time. One of the most collosal essays I've ever seen with enormous scope. I really love it.

[@AnInnocuousBlueCube]

🌹 Holy shit, dude. That was... unsustainable long-term, man. I hope this gave you a great deal of satisfaction, peace and catharsis, and that the next one doesn't need you to carve off such a large piece of yourself. I am in awe.

[@samiwilliams4022]

I liked the part where you referenced They Might Be Giants.

[@maskooliojulio5159]

This video showed me just how many people (kyle included) do not understand the shooting gallery scene from Men In Black.

[@AidanSvensk]

When the epilogue hit I was not expecting another 30 minutes, damn. 🌹

[@lonerChise]

goddamn is the editing AMAZING. All the flickering bits hurt my eyes, but thats so much GoodStuff crammed in there!!

[@DannyGambit]

🌹 I've stuck around watching your stuff when you first started and I've never regretted it. Great job Kyle. I'll be here for the next one whenever that may be.

[@DaveTalksTooMuch]

This was such an informative series. The work and care you put in is staggering. I wasn’t expecting this final video to be so revealing or introspective either. Thank you for bravely sharing the way you did. Now, please enjoy a well deserved break! 🌹

[@hagbardceline7118]

Holy shit, this was amazing. Parts one and two as well. I was actually very surprised you hadn't read Marx, didn't think you were a card carrying communist by any means but you've coincidentally made Marxist points to the extent that I at least thought you'd read the guy. You have a pretty good grasp of Marxism already without having done any reading.

[@xTheUnderscorex]

If he'd read Marx, he would have let the mudpie stuff go through without tearing it apart in part 1

[@dmman33]

Man, I feel bad commenting on this cuz it’s so personal. Bearing your soul, man. Powerful. You’ve just captured so much truth, man

[@grnlfe01]

Thank you for making this video series. I have been a subscriber for a long time and this is hands down one of the best video essays I have seen. I may never know exactly what is cost you to make but I can only express my gratitude that you did. 🌹

[@LycanLeslie]

Thank you for putting out this whole essay series. I know it couldn't be easy, but it was genuinely entertaining, and I learned a lot about so many things. Take a well deserved rest. 🌹

[@TheMadwomen]

Amazing work as always, Kyle. I swear, that reading from an example of fascist ideology from Starship Troopers over a montage of clips from both real life and fiction gives me the chills. And as always, you have a lovely singing voice. 🌹

[@williambielski419]

Oh Lord, I had an out-of-body, on the edge of blackout laugh at "Which is completely not the etymology of the word". (Furthermore: 🌹)

[@carmel3532]

Kyle, it would take an autobiography for me to express my reactions to this series. In short, 1) you might've felt similarly had you been in the US the while time and 2) the mindset of fascism seems similar to the mindset of emotional abuse. 🌹🌹🌹

[@JaySkywalker94]

🌹 Wow… That was sobering. I will say this. Thank you Kyle, for sharing your perspective, experience, and life with us. I don’t agree with everything you said, but I did learn a lot. Go ahead and rest, but I do hope I get to hear more from you in the future. 🌹

[@kaceeeddinger6946]

​🌹 Just wanted to say thanks again for the awesome series in the comments. Been a long time fan of your work and this hit me hard in ways I don't think I can articulate yet. Thanks again for all your hard work.

[@classmovie89]

Your work is an inspiration. I’ve started brainstorming video essays of my own, and all of your videos (both great and mediocre) have been prime sources I’ve looked to. This trilogy is by far your best work! Thank you for all the hard work you’ve put in through the past decade! I hope you enjoy your well deserved break! 🌹

[@TheDuskheart]

Thanks for taking the time to make your videos and introducing me to new thoughts, ideas, and perspectives. 🌹

[@YoniLavi]

Thank you Kyle, this was an incredibly moving essay 🌹

[@Denkriston]

Hi Kyle! 🌹 I've never been to the Netherlands, but as an American of Dutch descent I've always wanted to go! I have to say this video isn't what I was expecting it to be, but I was quite pleasantly surprised! It felt to me like you were expressing the feeling of going through a painful period of transition, and as someone who has had some experience with a number of those I thought I might share what wisdom I've gained. I grew up as a liberal, in a liberal society (in the sense of a ruling ideology, not necessarily left-leaning), but the more I tried to live my life according to liberal values the more frustrated and alienated I felt; and the more I tried to understand the world according to liberal explanations the more complicated and confusing everything seemed. The more I sought truth the more I was confronted with falsehoods, not only in the world around me but in myself. I found myself re-exploring the notions of "boy," "man," "girl," and "woman." The society I wanted to do right by told me I was one, somehow I knew I was another. So, in a way, I've always felt like I had that outsider perspective. I knew that if something so near to my own consciousness could be questioned (and had to be, in order for me to find any peace) then I would have to find my own truth in everything. I still held many of the same values yet in trying to oppose fascism, as any good liberal should, I thought it necessary to ask why fascism exists, where it comes from, and why does it keep reappearing when we think it's gone? It's maddening to always be vigilant against such a thing, yet it obviously wasn't always with us: it emerged from a particular period in history and has continued to re-emerge ever since. Maybe the United States is proto-fascist. If that's true, then so is the Netherlands, so is all of Europe, so is the entire liberal society that defines virtually every country in the world today. If we want to imagine a world better than this one, then why not one that is not perpetually haunted by the threat of racism, fascism, and reaction? Why not a world where people can truly live, free from fighting the same struggles fought by generations of their forebears? In recent years I have found myself going through another transition, not as visible but just as painful and near to my core as any previous. Through it I have found an even deeper truth, and most exhilarating of all I have found myself-possibly for the first time in my life-able to imagine a different, better world. It's still mostly obscured but I can truly feel its closeness. My imagination was invigorated by struggles and by love, through intense study and admittedly the occasional administration of exotic substances. The grief and anxiety you expressed in the final part of this video reminded me a great deal of the early and bewildering stages of such a transition, but I hope in reading all this (if you do read this) you will find encouragement to keep going and that deeper truths than you can presently imagine await you on the other side. You said you haven't read much Marx; now might be a good time to start :) If you or anyone else read through all of this and found it helpful, feel free to seek me out on twitter @redryder1 and I would love to chat!

[@fiom4432]

This trilogy is a masterpiece. Thank you so, so, SO much for... all of it: the effort, the patience, the honesty, the cat wrangling... Hope you have a lovely, RELAXING break!!! 🌹

[@cents2mp]

This is really well done it feels like its something you where fit to make. I'm glad you did it, its good work!

[@B0McC]

Really good stuff! At the start of the first episode I was dubious that this was going to be a "Starship Troopers isn't Fascist" video. I was pleasantly surprised throughout the videos that you took an even keel. It wasn't really until episode 3 that you start to draw conclusions, and I appreciate the conclusions you draw. It was nice to learn the context of both the book/author and movie/director, as well the culture at large surrounding both. Well done!

[@fourizereviews5123]

One of the best video essay series I've ever watched! It's been wonderful watching you grow as a creator and I hope we get to see more of your family in future videos. They were delightful! "Understanding is love's other name. If you don't understand, you can't love." Thich Nhat Hanh 🌹

[@danesorensen1775]

Kyle, your Cinema Antifa videos were some of your very best and I loved them. I had to work hard to find them so I could download and preserve them, but thanks to a friend, find them I did. Now I show your Triumph of the Will essay to anyone who fails to grasp fascism when they see it, because it's the best and most usefel description I've ever come across. I was relieved to hear a linguist say the American R is a weird sound that doesn't really exist in any other language, because it always irked me (as an Australian). Regarding the European polyglot stereotype, I always think of the girl who worked at the Brussels airport car rental desk when I went on holiday there in 2014. Besides being the very image of the chic young Frenchwoman (well, Walloon...), she was clearly EXASPERATED BEYOND WORDS to be dealing with an ignorant rosbif like me. And fair enough too. But she did deal with everyone who came up to the desk in their native language - waiting in line, I heard her speak French, Dutch, German, English (to me) and either Spanish or Italian, I'm not sure which. I've since had Dutch students tell me being forced to learn so many languages does their head in, which I can only imagine it does, but your seriously come out looking superhuman to the rest of us. She was the first thing I thought of when I heard that airport had been bombed. I really hope she's okay. As for Marxism... I really used to stress about the obvious failures of Communism in the 20th Century until I read a blog by Doug Muder, the Weekly Sift, which pointed out Communism was only supposed to be a means to an end. So, a Leftist need not be a Communist (thank Christ, because the utter horrors of that system should NOT be tried again). In the 21st Century, Marx is not a source of solutions, but he did identify the problem for us: Access To The Means Of Production. So, how else can we get that? I know a growing number of people today use "socialism" as an insult - itself a Shibboleth, really - but it need not be. Socialism might be a better solution to problems that are not profitable, and need to be solved all the same. That's where I'm at right now, anyway, subject to change as I learn. As it should be, Inhume All Fascism. 🌹