Consider for a moment that literal children are currently playing Helldivers 2 and then going on to imitate it and absorb it into their personalities.
90s/00s kids played with their Starship Troopers action figures and watched the Starship Troopers animated series on syndicated TV, and people wonder why Starship Troopers 1 is taken sincerely by many people. Surely being able to buy the action figures of the satirized characters does much to undermine the satire.
That's a good point. You don't satirise the Nazis, then make collectibles out of the characters. Well, you and I don't. Some people would. And libs will not object so long as the characters are a step removed.
90s/00s kids played with their Starship Troopers action figures and watched the Starship Troopers animated series on syndicated TV, and people wonder why Starship Troopers 1 is taken sincerely by many people. Surely being able to buy the action figures of the satirized characters does much to undermine the satire.
That's a good point. You don't satirise the Nazis, then make collectibles out of the characters. Well, you and I don't. Some people would. And libs will not object so long as the characters are a step removed.