Trump: uniforms for a war that does not yet exist

Right now we are living in a surreal dystopia stretched between two apparently opposite extremes. On one hand, we are frightened by the possibility that a potentially superintelligent AI might end up annihilating humanity; on the other, we suffer from the human stupidity of a good portion of our political leaders. A paradox between artificial intelligence and natural foolishness that, if it weren't for everything we have at stake, could seem comical to us. Leaders who, all too often, whether out of overconfidence or because they feel in danger, seem to start rambling in their public statements, taking their shortcomings out for a walk. And it is precisely in this context that Donald Trump has decided to imagine a uniform for the Space Force that does not exist... nor does it seem likely to exist.On September 6th, the President of the United States surprised the world with a post on Truth Social. This consisted of the image of a supposed new uniform for the Space Force, the latest branch of the American Armed Forces, created by Trump in 2019, intended to protect and operate the country's military space infrastructure. We are not dealing with astronauts, but with what he has dubbed "guardians": military personnel who, beyond exploration tasks, must dominate, protect, and defend this new military domain. With the Space Force, Trump contributes to transforming the space scenario that, until now, we had associated primarily with science and fiction into a new space for military combat.

Nothing foreshadowed, when last August the Space Force made public its new ceremonial uniforms, that on September 6th Trump would publish an image, probably generated by AI, of some hypothetical new uniforms for this military unit. An image accompanied by the phrase: "Inspired by the discipline and functionality of the Starship Troopers uniform. Modernized for the guardians of the space domain". A significant and disturbing reference in equal parts."Fascists who don't know they are"

Starship Troopers (1997) is a science fiction film directed by Paul Verhoeven that, at first glance, presents a topical argument of the genre: an elite army that must combat the invasion of alien monsters. But, if one sharpens their gaze, the director's true intentions emerge: to satirize the excess of militarism, patriotism, and propaganda of fascist regimes, as well as the lack of critical awareness of the citizenry. Verhoeven took as a visual reference Triumph des Willens (1935), by Leni Riefenstahl, one of the great works of Nazi propaganda, from the forcefulness of the parades to the military uniforms. For the costumes, instead of betting on a futuristic aesthetic, the film opts for a rehash of historical military imagery, with a particularly significant presence of Nazism and fascism. While the soldiers wear oversized clothing, which contributes to showing how the structure stifles the individual, the uniforms of the high-ranking officials refer directly to the aesthetic imagery of the SS and the Gestapo. Trump, with his fictional uniform, recovers elements of Starship Troopers which, in turn, draw from Nazi military aesthetics: a dark color palette dominated by black, the high and rigid collar of Prussian tradition, the jacket cinched to the body with a belt, the military peaked cap with a visor, and black boots reaching up to the knees. It does not matter if these uniforms are never implemented because, in the middle of the era of the simulacrum, images function with as much or more force without the need for a real referent. As Verhoeven himself explained, Starship Troopers takes the pro-militarist resource to the point of exaggeration to turn it into criticism and build a story about "fascists who do not know they are fascists". An intention that fits all too well into the current political context. Thirty years later, it seems that not everyone has understood the irony and that exaggeration has become the norm.