Vaporizing all of the competition, the summer of 1996 truly was the summer of Independence Day, though Tom Cruise’s first Mission: Impossible did give it a run for its money. Between the two films, they served to reestablish the summer action blockbuster’s place in culture and on the calendar after a couple of years where indie films a la Pulp Fiction reigned supreme.
And that’s not all Independence Day contributed to the zeitgeist.
The Legacy of Independence Day
Independence Day and its overwhelming popularity also served to spawn something of a subgenre of sorts, the “multiple unconnected characters and storylines all hurdle toward some impending disaster” film.
While Deep Impact perhaps perfected this narrative structure in 1998, Armageddon (also 1998), The Day After Tomorrow, and films like Contagion could be said to have roots in Independence Day. Even a film as recent as Don’t Look Up is definitely sporting some Independence Day inspo.
Cast of Characters
For those unfamiliar with the film, the story follows several separate plot lines and characters on the lead up to Fourth of July weekend in America as several alien spacecraft have made their homes above the world’s largest cities.
The cast of characters includes Bill Pullman as the Commander-In-Chief President Whitmore and Will Smith is Captain Steven Hiller, a Navy pilot with big aspirations while Vivica A. Fox is Hiller’s spunky fiancé Jasmine.
And portraying one of the best versions of himself, Jeff Goldblum helps save the day as David Levinson, a NYC TV station engineer who has a keen eye for decoding alien communication. And Randy Quaid also shows up as the best version of himself as family man in a RV (much like his Christmas Vacation character Cousin Eddie only smarter) Russell Case.
Margaret Colin is David’s ex who also happens to be on President Pullman’s staff while Judd Hirsch portrays David’s ever worrisome father. Mary McDonnell is the traveling First Lady, and a teeny little Mae Whitman is the First Daughter.
While the film starts with the various storylines being unconnected, by the end of the narrative, the main characters have converged upon a secret army base, one of the last few safe spaces for earthly forces to gather to plan an attack against the alien invaders.
Bill Pullman Takes a Commanding Lead
It’s here that President Bill Pullman makes the impassioned speech that the film is perhaps best known for (besides the moment where Smith punches an alien in the face and announces, “Welcome to earf!”).
It’s a heartfelt speech, meant to bring comfort but also inspire action. The speech is filled with rhetoric implying that such an overwhelming foreign force, something threatening all life on planet earth regardless of national or religious affiliation, would be a unifying force.
According to President Whitmore, the invasion would serve to help all of earth’s citizens to put aside their differences to work together to defeat the entity attempting to wipe our entire species from the universe.
Hearing President Whitmore’s words in 1996 made sense logically; it seemed a no-brainer that such an existential threat to all life itself would be a point for all humans to rally around and work together to defeat. Of course, hearing the same speech post-2020, Pullman’s words aren’t quite so inspirational, don’t carry as much weight.
Classics Defy Time and Space
While it’s humbling to realize that some ideas work much better in theory than in practice, the realization doesn’t detract from continuing to enjoy Independence Day, in 2022, in infinity, and beyond.
Classics are classics for a reason, and this one stands the test of time not for its accurate predictions about future technologies or politics but because the America of Independence Day is precisely the America we all wished we lived in. And this is achieved via writing and acting that crafts relatable, likable, authentic characters that every audience can’t help but root for.
From kooky, nervous David to takes-no-shit Jasmine, from the humble and idealistic President to the bombastic and daring Captain Hiller, the whole crew are people that anybody staring down the barrel of the apocalypse would want on their side.
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