Independence Day/Headscratchers: Difference between revisions

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*** It's simple supreme over-confidence. The aliens did not bother to attack military targets first because they thought that the military was NOT a threat, at all. If you want to exterminate an anthill, you usually don't bother with surgical strikes to remove the soldiers first.

*** It wasn't over-confidence, it was exactly the right amount of confidence. The military was absolutely no threat whatsoever. Every single time they tried to fight the aliens, they failed horribly, usually sustaining massive casualties. In the end, humanity was only saved by the fact that the producers didn't want a downer ending.

*** But attacking the civilian targets isn't a bad idea. Think of the disruption caused; how many congressmen, senators, civil servants were killed in DC? How many ~~[[M Ps]]~~ in London? I don't even want to think about what happened to the world's economy. The damage to the communication networks would be far more severe than the film showed. And not to mention that they would have wiped out a considerable number of potential enemies; from their supremely hi-tech perspective, a militia rabble drawn up from the ruins of NYC is probably no different from the SAS in any meaningful way. Strikes on hugely populated civilian targets would be an excellent way of dealing with their enemies with this viewpoint.

*** But attacking the civilian targets isn't a bad idea. Think of the disruption caused; how many congressmen, senators, civil servants were killed in DC? How many MPs in London? I don't even want to think about what happened to the world's economy. The damage to the communication networks would be far more severe than the film showed. And not to mention that they would have wiped out a considerable number of potential enemies; from their supremely hi-tech perspective, a militia rabble drawn up from the ruins of NYC is probably no different from the SAS in any meaningful way. Strikes on hugely populated civilian targets would be an excellent way of dealing with their enemies with this viewpoint.

*** The aliens obviously considered the militaries some kind of threat, or at least a nuisance to be swatted away. Otherwise, why attack on July 4th weekend? Why not August 18th? The film even stated the aliens knew when to strike and how and where. The above posts go into enough detail why they hit the cities. To expand on it, the end of the film showed shock troops in formation aboard the mothership. For whatever purpose they were to be used for, destroying cities greatly simplified the battlefield they would've fought in. Roland Emmerich doesn't leave a lot to the imagination with his movies.

**** The general said "WHERE and how to hit us".