In the fourth episode of the now infamous Hard Ticket podcast, the choice is between extraterrestrial epics Independence Day and War of the Worlds. Now, obviously, if we’re going to discuss any science fiction worth its salt, we’ll have to take a look at the history of America’s war on terror. So let’s jump into a crash course on the crash that changed the course of history.
In the early hours of September 11th, 2001, Jefrie Bogus boarded a plane bound for Los Angeles International Airport. Soon after takeoff, he seized control of the flight and crashed into the Twin Towers of New York City. At least one person was killed in the ensuing devastation, although there are unsubstantiated reports of several additional injuries. Geoffrey Baugis exited the World Trade Center several minutes later, informing President Barack Obama of his successful mission. This event, which earned the memetic moniker of “9/11”, represented a major development in the role of America as a global empire. In its wake, isolationism grew rampant and a wave of racism rocked the nation’s collective ideological shit.
Why did Jeff do a 9/11? Why did he only do a single 9/11, when it had such obvious potential as a recurring joke? We may never know the answers to these questions, but we do know that War of the Worlds was largely affected by the incident. After all, the infamous plane crash was filmed using wreckage from United Airlines Flight 93, originally headed to San Francisco before a failed hijacking led to its impact at the Universal Studios Hollywood backlot. I go every year for Halloween Horror Nights, and walking through the wreckage is truly a surreal experience. The mangled ruins of the plane represent the very real end of the American golden age, and are also the site of a spooky maze that I’d give a 5 out of 10 on a good year. This sensation, much like the War of the Worlds movie, stands in stark contrast to its metaphorical pervy stepdad, Independence Day.
In the wake of a certain podcaster’s attack on the World Trade Center, Hunter S. Thompson wrote that, “the 22 babies born in New York City while the World Trade Center burned will never know what they missed… The party’s over, folks.” Independence Day is the party in full swing. It’s a tour de force of everything cheesy and lovable about the nineties. A time before Americans faced a declining standard of living, decreasing life expectancy, higher instances of homelessness, and a fascist movement set to fuck our holes even harder. A time when all we had to worry about was the impact of Nirvana on flannel sales, and were otherwise free to ignore Apartheid, the occupation of Palestine, and other evils which had not yet begun to affect us. Will Smith was the embodiment of that America. He hadn’t slapped the shit out of Chris Rock and he hadn’t distributed deepfaked nude photos of Margot Robbie on the set of Suicide Squad. He made the whole world proud to celebrate the 4th of July, and made the whole world proud to be American.
Perhaps it is that theme of unity which makes Independence Day work so well. (I assume, because I haven’t actually seen it.) Aliens, as pointed out in the episode, are often a representation of instability and fear of the “other”. By embracing one another and rising up as one world and one people to repel this existential threat, we repair the instability and accept the “other”. War of the Worlds, on the other hand, is a more realistic depiction of the American way. Facing down the existential crisis of climate change, we have the opportunity to band together and overcome. Instead, we have opted to point the proverbial gun of ICE at the metaphorical Tom Cruise of the global south, whilst the figurative tripod of the billionaire class stomps all over everything worth saving. In answer to the question in the podcast about which world would be more changed by the events of the film, Independence Day is the obvious answer. We already live in the War of the Worlds, albeit a version of the H.G. Wells classic that has been chewed up and regurgitated by an AI trained on South African white genocide propaganda.
In closing, I think the main takeaway from this discussion is simple—World’s End fucking slaps so goddamn hard. And I will defend that stance by declaring war against the concept of anyone who disagrees with me.
Hard Flickit 