Militarism, Misanthropy and the Body Politic: - Brunel University

EnterText 6.2
the characters are viewed in transit, and frequently they attempt to escape from tunnels: a
ball of fire overtakes a military plane, incinerating everyone in its path; a larger ball of
fire races down the L.A. metro-rail; Area 51’s passageway is a longer tunnel still.
The passageway that leads to the aliens’ spaceship, which explodes, is the longest
tunnel of all. Another set of images relates to these tunnels. The film features three flights
that require a twisting manoeuvre at the end: Russell Casse’s weaving through a border of
trees, Steven Hiller’s dogfight with the alien in the Grand Canyon, and David and
Steven’s escape from the alien spaceship. The film employs motivic devices, like the
cigar, dolphin and telegraph.
Independence Day also features an elegant use of midpoint and bookends. Stuck
on a post like a weather vane, a big metal sculpture looking like something out of Anselm
Keifer—a helicopter propeller or the ID4 logo—marks the film’s midpoint. With regard
to bookends, ID4’s opening contains a reference to the man on the moon with the
American flag. One-quarter into the film, a miniature flag is planted in the centre of a
suburban lawn, and at El Toro’s military base, a magazine clipping of the original Apollo
landing is taped to the inside of the door of Steven Hiller’s locker. At the film’s close, the
image of the man on the moon is distributed across several shots. The last scene takes
place in Death Valley, which resembles the lunar surface. President Whitmore lifts his
daughter, who wears a red and white horizontally-striped dress, and behind her, white
shrapnel falls out of a blue sky. Here is a composite of American flag, man and moon.
Yet, at the same time that the film has a carefully controlled formal structure, ID4
deliberately creates obfuscation and incoherence, keeping the viewer off guard. The
opening scenes are confusing in terms of time and who is speaking to whom. Some of the
Carol Vernallis: Independence Day 93