It's still a bad b-movie that can only be read as satire if that's already a strong preconception you go in with. I bet most viewers took it at face value.
I missed the "fascism is bad" when I watched it as a teen but I definitely caught the "war is awful, done for awful reasons, and people die pointlessly and horribly" so I'd say at least some of the satire is evident in the film without the outside context.
EDIT: but yeah the "service guarantees citizenship" first part of the movie has a fair chance of flying over the heads of someone who goes in blind.
It's still a bad b-movie that can only be read as satire if that's already a strong preconception you go in with. I bet most viewers took it at face value.
I missed the "fascism is bad" when I watched it as a teen but I definitely caught the "war is awful, done for awful reasons, and people die pointlessly and horribly" so I'd say at least some of the satire is evident in the film without the outside context.
EDIT: but yeah the "service guarantees citizenship" first part of the movie has a fair chance of flying over the heads of someone who goes in blind.
the anti-democracy speech by the teacher is messed up too
I got that it was satire when I was like 9. It's not that deep, so obvious.
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As history shows it often is. So many good things were crushed by sheer brute force.
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