What was the film studio or production company behind Independence Day?
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation and Centropolis Entertainment
Who was the distributor for the theatrical release of the film in the UK?
20th Century Fox
Genre and Media language analysis:
What is the sub-genre of Science Fiction does Independence Day fit into? What issues and fears in society might be addressed in the film?
The sub-genres could be Alien invasion and Space. There is a possibility aliens could be real and one day they will take over the world and the fact that the important rich people were able to escape shows that they are at an advantage when it comes to unpredictable situations.
How can you tell it fits into the sub-genre? Be specific with reference to clips or scenes from the film.
We can tell it fits in to the sub-genre of Space because there are quite a few scenes that are in Space, for example, when Captain Steven Hiller goes into space to destroy the ship. We also know that it fits into the genre of Alien invasion because there were scenes where we could actually see the alien and many smaller ships attacking countries with some sort of lasers that destroy buildings and create havoc across the world.
How does the narrative of the film fit the Science Fiction genre?
Who are the main characters in Independence Day and why they might appeal to an audience?
Will Smith is one of the main characters in Independence Day and he would appeal to an audience because of his diverse roles he had played in other movies and TV shows of different genres. Jeff Goldblum would appeal to an audience because of his role in Jurassic Park which is also a Sci-Fi movie.
How does the mise-en-scene in Independence Day fit the Science Fiction genre?
The mise-en-scene fits the Sci-Fi genre because in the scene of Area 51, we see a sort of futuristic laboratory where many scientists were conducting experiments. We also see spaceships in space with advanced technology (laser/weapon) used to attack humans.
Release date and Marketing campaign:
What was the UK release date for your chosen film?
9th August 1996
Find the trailer for Independence Day, embed it in your blog and explain why it might appeal to an audience.
This trailer would appeal to an audience because there is a mix of Action and Comedy along with Science Fiction in the movie. There is also a glimpse of some romance that is in the movie. It would appeal to an audience because it intrigues them and gets them thinking if aliens were real and to attack Earth, is this how they would do it?
What other examples of marketing can you find on Google for Independence Day? (film poster,teaser trailers, main trailers, newspaper reviews or TV interviews etc.)
Here is the film poster for Independence Day:
Critical reception:
What is the IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes rating for Independence Day?
IMDB has given a rating of 6.9 out of 10 for Independence Day. Rotten Tomatoes has given a rating of 60%/100% and an audience rating of 75%.
What is the word-of-mouth like for Independence Day?
The word-of-mouth is quite positive for Independence Day.
Find three quotes from users reviews of Independence Day and post them onto your blog.
Film4-" Insanely pompous and brilliantly exhilarating in equal measure."
CNN.com-" Splendidly cheesy entertainment."
Cinema Crazed- " One quater of a very decent albeit cliche alien invasion film, and three quarters an unwatchable adventure film."
Box office success:
What was the original budget for Independence Day?
$75,000,000
How much money did Independence Day make in the opening weekend?
$50,200,000
How much money has Independence Day made in total?
$817,400,000
For a film to be considered a box office success, it needs to make two and a half times more than the budget in the box office takings. Using this method, was Independence Day a success at the box office?
Independence Day was a box office success.
Stars and Directors:
What other films has the director made? Are they the same or similar genres?
Roland Emmerich has made The Day After Tomorrow, Godzilla and 2012.
Who is the main star for Independence Day?
Will Smith plays Captain Steven Hiller.
What other films has the main star appeared in? Are any of those films similar to Independence Day? Are the stars or the director or writer mentioned in the trailer?
Will Smith has not featured in any of those movies and they come under the same genre of Science Fiction but they have different sub-genres. The director is mentioned in the trailer but quite a few of the stars have been mentioned at the end of the trailer along with the production company.
Audience pleasures:
What specific aspects of Independence Day would an audience enjoy?
The audience would enjoy the humor during an intense scene. For example, when Captain Steven Hiller and David Levinson are trying to escape the mother ship the tension is high but there is a bit of humor here and there to make the atmosphere lighter.
Identify three key moments in the film that audiences would particularly enjoy and explain the audience appeal for these key scenes. Use media language in your analysis.
- The scene where the Captain is being chased by an alien would appeal to an audience who is intrigued by action. They would enjoy the laser weapons and the explosions as it is very exhilarating and thrilling.
- The audience would possibly enjoy the scene at the end because the movie ends with a happy ending and everything goes back to normal and everyone is reunited with their loved ones.
- When the aliens attack there is massive explosions that would engage the audience. The audience would feel visceral and viscarious pleasures.
Which characters in Independence Day would particularly appeal to different audience types?
Will Smith is always adding an element of comedy to his movies and he would appeal to different audiences because of his previous roles in other movies.
Write a detailed demographic breakdown of the possible target audience for Independence Day. Include age, gender, social class, education, job/earnings, where they live, what they enjoy in their spare time and brands they are attracted to.
Independence Day has a target audience between the age range of 12-60. The audience would be 70%/30% male/female. Independence Day has a target audience that is predominantly male possibly due to the fact that most of the main characters are male. Also, some women are not interested in Sci-Fi/Action movies. People within the social class of DE-B1 with unskilled manual jobs to managerial jobs would watch Independence Day. People who love to discover new things and are intrigued by Scientific things would watch this film.
