July Film Club Pick
July 4th is a day that is celebrated every year in the United States, since 1776 when the founding fathers signed “The Declaration of Independence” and proclaimed the 13 colonies, or states, to be independent from Great Britain. While many do not feel particularly patriotic this year, between the seemingly never ending social, cultural, and political upheaval, a global pandemic, and scaled-back celebrations, finding ‘reasons,’ or ways, to celebrate can be quite difficult. This is why we, the Team at The Film Rewind, have decided to dedicate the month of July to another major summer blockbuster film, a movie that we hope will take your mind off your troubles, if just for a couple of hours. The July Film Club pick is (drumroll please…): Independence Day (1996)!
I know, announcing that the Film Club Pick is Independence Day on “Independence Day” is a bit much, but we just could not help ourselves. For those of you who may not have seen this film before, Independence Day is an epic science-fiction, action, and disaster film directed by Roland Emmerich, whose filmography includes movies such as Stargate (1994), The Patriot (2000), The Day After Tomorrow (2004), 2012 (2009), White House Down (2013), and Midway (2019). Basically, the premise of Independence Day is that a group of survivors (featuring a stellar ensemble cast) come together, in the Nevada desert, in order to fight an unknown extraterrestrial threat that has conducted simultaneous attacks all over the Earth. The survivors big, last-ditch counterattack happens on– you probably already guessed it–July 4th or ‘Independence Day!’
After its release, Independence Day became the highest-grossing film of 1996, and was even nominated for two Academy Awards, winning the Oscar for Best Visual Effects. We think that it will be interesting to watch the film and think about it within the context of current events… At least 2020 does not have aliens… (so far…) We hope that you will join us in re-examining this film, or perhaps even watch Independence Day for the very first time. Be sure to check back at the end of the month for our discussion of all things Independence Day. What do you think of our July Film Club Pick? How many times have you seen this film? Are you as excited to watch this film as we are? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and be sure to track down a copy of Independence Day (but don’t feel obligated to watch the 2016 sequel, Independence Day: Resurgence… we’re probably going to pretend that this particular sequel doesn’t even exist…). Happy Viewing!
Copyright © 2020 Sarah Crane
