Independence Day

The actions narrated in the movie take place during three days. On July 2, alien spaceships suddenly appears in the skies, announced by a mysterious signal, and stationed above Earth's major cities. Upon their arrival, people react in contrasting ways: on one side there are those who welcome the aliens; on the other, there are those who fear that something terrible was going to happen. After attempts to communicate with the aliens goes nowhere, David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum), an ex-scientist turned cable TV technician, realizes that the mysterious signal is a secret code that the aliens are using to coordinate a massive attack against major targets around the globe. As David predicted, on the evening of the first day the aliens began their destruction and entire cities around the globe are transformed into debris. The President of the Unites States, Thomas J. Whitmore (Bill Pullman), alerted by David, escapes just in time before the demolition of the White House. On July 3, the American Army wages a brave counter-attack by air, but eventually only a Captain Steven Hiller (Will Smith), a marine officer, is the only one who survives. In the meantime, the President takes refuge with other survivors at the infamous hangar in Area 51, New Mexico. There, David devises a strategy to overcome the aliens’ defenses, which are resistant even to nuclear weapons. Captain Hiller, with the help of other refugees, joins the President in Area 51. On July 4th, David and Captain Hiller penetrate with a small space ship--secretly preserved in Area 51 since the 40s--into the alien mothership to insert a computer virus that neutralize the aliens’ defenses. President Whitmore leads a world-wide attack against the aliens, which results in a complete victory of the earthlings over the invaders.

Fight Club

The movie, narrated in a first-person, stream-of-consciousness style, narrates the story of the thirty-year old narrator, called Jack (Edward Norton), employed as a recall coordinator for a major U.S. auto firm. Jack is seen in a phase of growing restlessness toward his consumeristic lifestyle. For instance, he begins to realize that his world is more and more similar to a furniture catalog. In parallel with his existential crisis—or probably caused by it—Jack suffers a period of insomnia, which he temporarily overcomes by attending support groups for terminally ill people. When Marla Singer (Helena Bonham Carter) begins attending the same supports groups, she breaks the new equilibrium Jack has reached and he falls again into insomnia. During a business trip, he meets the eccentric and charismatic Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt). Returned at home, Jack finds that his apartment has been destroyed in an explosion, so he asks Tyler for hospitality. The two form a tight friendship and organize an esoteric “fight club,” in which a growing number of other young men release their frustrations through bare-hands fights. Marla, saved by Tyler during a suicidal attempt, eventually becomes his lover, causing Jack’s jealousy. One day, Tyler selects a group of members from the fight club to run “Project Mayhem.” The new group, with strong anarchic tendencies, is dedicated to symbolic attacks against multinational corporations, and Jack suspects that Tyler is planning something on a bigger scale. For this reason, he decides to investigate Tyler’s moves, discovering that more fight clubs have been formed around the country. In a bizarre plot twist, Jack also realizes that Tyler is in reality a second personality he has developed. Eventually, Jack symbolically “kills” Tyler but he is unable to prevent the achievement of the ultimate goal of “Project Mayhem:” the destruction of the headquarters of the major credit card companies, housed in a series of towers. The movie ends with Jack and Marla holding hands and observing the falling towers.

End Notes:

[1] “Lo hanno scritto tutti. Il copione dell'attacco all'America ha superato -quanto a tragica spettacolarità - quello di colossal catastrofici come Independence Day, Air Force One, e, a scendere, Die Hard e Attacco al potere.” “A forza di sentirselo ripetere nelle dirette tv, a forza di leggerlo sul giornale, puo' darsi che sia nato il desiderio di verificare quanto la realtà, purtroppo, stavolta abbia superato la finzione,” tentava di spiegare il commesso di un Blockbuster del centro” (E. Min.. “In coda per Independence Day. Esauriti nei negozi di videonoleggio i film sugli attacchi agli Usa” p. 45.).

[2] “The first rule about fight club is you don’t talk about fight club;” “The second rule about fight club is you don’t talk about fight club;” “When someone says stop, or goes limp, even if he’s just faking it, the fight is over;” “Only two guys to a fight;” “One fight at a time;” “No shirts, no shoes;” “The fight go on as long they have to;” “If this is your first night at fight club, you have to fight.”

[3] “Thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of terror;” “Today, our nation saw evil, the very worst of human nature,” and “The search is underway for those who are behind these evil acts” (emphases mine).

[4] "Ca m'a rappele le film Independence Day, lorsque l'OVNI detruit un immeuble" (Michel Leclercq, “Et soudain, une enorme boule de feu...,” 11 September 2001).