Washington and New York tend to bear the brunt of cinematic destruction – and no wonder, given that the most recognizable American monuments are located there. Still, it’s pretty remarkable that the alien overlords seem to know, without even speaking a earthling language, just where to hit us.
Independence Day is guilty of attacking just about every major American landmark – and one or two foreign ones – and here it’s a toss up between that initial blast to the Empire State Building and the White House. As we’ve saved the Empire State Building for a different type of movie monster, we’re going with the White House.
As White House Down will presumably show us, the building acts as symbolic not just of the government, but of a single, important person. The fact that the White House is not inviolable is incredibly disturbing in any film – and how many movies trade on the idea of kidnapping or controlling the President as a way of controlling the nation? What’s more disturbing about the destruction of the White House in Independence Day is that we already feel all warm and fuzzy about Bill Pullman’s family man/war hero/generally good guy President. It isn’t just watching the seat of our government fall apart; it’s seeing the home of one our beloved characters destroyed.
