Independence Day

independence_day_movieposter

Basic Film Information

    • Release date: July 3, 1996
    • Director: Roland Emmerich
    • Writers: Dean Devlin, Roland Emmerich
    • Actors: Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum

Synopsis

The aliens are coming and their goal is to invade and destroy Earth. An unlikely group of people must come together to fight against these aliens.  Using his knowledge of technology, an ex-scientist is able to figure out that the only way to stop the invasion is by planting a virus on the aliens. This group gains access to Area 51, a military base that has been rumored to house an alien spacecraft where they devise a plan to stop the invasion.

Contemporary Reviews

    • Rotten Tomatoes Consensus- The plot is thin and so is character development, but as a thrilling, spectacle-filled summer movie, Independence Day delivers.
    • Empire Consensus- Taking Hollywood ridiculousness to unscaled heights, this may well be the biggest guilty pleasure of all time, but what a guilty pleasure it is.

Background and Interesting Facts

    • The aliens’ foul slime was really K-Y Jelly
    • A lot of Goldblum’s dialogue was improvised
    • Smith’s quote where he states “And what the hell is that smell?” comes from the small crustacians that grow on the salt flats of the Great Salt Lake in which he was walking.
    • The US military had initially supported the making of this film, but after they found out about the use of Area 51, they withdrew their support.

Analysis

Known for solidifying Will Smith’s place among action/sci-fi heroes and for the infamous fictional destruction of the White House, Independence Day is about the world’s fight for survival after an alien invasion with America at the forefront of the fight. Leading the fight against the alien invasion is President Whitmore, a president who rises to the occasion for the nation and the rest of the world. Throughout Independence Day, the president, played by Bill Pullman, must prove himself to be worthy of the office and push past a low approval rating through a riveting Fourth of July speech in order to unite the country and the world against an alien invasion.

In the beginning of the film, it is obvious how unpopular President Whitmore is.  He seems like a great guy, devoted husband, and loving father yet overall opinion of him declines as the alien invasion nears.  He is ridiculed for his young age because society believes that a president must be more mature and have more experience in order to succeed.  One TV personality calls the president a “wimp” (Independence Day, 1996).  Society believes they elected a strong man fit for the job, but instead what they got was someone entirely different.  Of course, the worst possible thing to happen happened during this poor man’s presidency.  The news of an alien invasion is made public and society is scared to death.  The president fails to realize how much destruction these aliens are capable of making so again, the president is under a lot of scrutiny.  Whitmore has a lot to prove to the public because with him as president, they do not believe he is capable of saving the country.  Whitmore must work against the public’s opinion in order to devise a plan and figure out what he needs to do.

Towards the end of the film, President Whitmore gives a speech that solidifies how much he cares about the American people.  This speech acts as a way to let society know that he is there for them.  He begins his speech by simply stating “good morning.”  In doing so, he is connecting with the common man.  He is not trying to seem bigger than he is, he is simply showing that he is one of them.  As the president continues, he discusses the importance of coming together and fighting against the aliens as one unit.  He makes a point to say that we as a people, must put aside any differences we have if we want a chance at surviving.  In discussing this, he is pointing to the fact that he is aware of society’s views of him.  Whether the people like him or not, we must come together as one community to fight for survival.  The end of the speech is extremely powerful because he alludes to America’s past fight for Independence in the Revolutionary War.  He states, “We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We’re going to live on, we’re going to survive. Today we celebrate our Independence Day” (Independence Day, 1996). He is able to grasp society’s attention with such powerful words.  America was able to fight for it’s freedom once and America is able to do that same thing again.  Whitmore is appealing to the public by use of pathos.  He creates such an emotional speech that society begins to place trust in this once seemingly helpless president.  This speech is able to turn society’s view of him completely around.  When he states that the American people should be celebrating Independence Day, this evokes a feeling of national pride that allows the people to stand fully behind him.  This speech brings the president and society together and allows them to work as one in their fight against the aliens.

Independence Day may not be an Oscar-winning sensation, but it is still a significant body of work within American pop culture. Though politics played a very minor role in a movie filled with alien-fighting, sci-fi madness, the role of the president and how he rose to the occasion to save the United States and the world from alien invasion is important when it comes to how the film comments on the role that politics plays in the overall plot of Independence Day. President Whitmore among other fictional presidents in American cinematic history symbolizes an unconventional representation of American political leadership. Going from a fairly unpopular president to a leader at the forefront of the Independence Day battle is the zero to hero underdog story that Americans have come to love and familiarize themselves with.

Bibliography

Burns, Janet. “16 Earth-Shattering Facts About ‘Independence Day'” Mental Floss. Mental Floss, Inc., n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2016.

Devlin Dean, and Roland Emmerich. “Independence Day.” Independence Day (1996) – Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango, 29 Nov. 2016. Web. 30 Nov. 2016.

Independence Day. Dir. Roland Emmerich. Perf. Will Smith, Bill Pullman, and Jeff Goldblum. 20th Century Fox, 1996. DVD.

“Independence Day Synopsis.” IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2016.

“Independence Day (1996 Film).” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2016.

Newman, Kim. “Independence Day.” Empire. Empire, 14 Oct. 2015. Web. 03 Dec. 2016.

Shmoop Editorial Team. (2008). President Whitmore (Bill Pullman) in Independence Day. Retrieved November 30, 2016, from http://www.shmoop.com/independence-day-movie/president.html

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Independence Day Poster. Advertisement. Twentieth Century Fox. 1996. Web.