[dragonwriter]

> Ironically, many people hated the movie because they didn't recognize that it was satirizing the (apparently) pro-military book.

It was actually intended as (per Verhoeven) a satire of right-wing, fascists elements perceived in modern American culture that directly associated them with Nazi propaganda; the movie was largely written independently of the book, with rights to the book secured later after superficial similarity between some elements of the movie and the book were pointed out, at which point names, etc., from the book were added. Verhoeven says he only read two chapters of the book.

The film was a satire, but not of the book.