Independence Day Feminist Analysis

A popcorn flick like Independence Day (1996) is never examined deeply, it’s a silly sci-fi blockbuster, what else could the film have going on? But there is actually many different ways to examine the film, including a feminist reading. Examining a film like this from a feminist perspective is fascinating stuff, but before we dive headlong in, what is feminist film theory all about anyway? Feminist film theory is a way to examine how a film portrays women, are they tough/independent or are they a simple background character? Are women portrayed in a positive or negative light and how do they play into the overall movie itself? Perhaps the goal is to have stronger, much more active female characters that lead films, like Ripley from Aliens or Furiosa from Mad Max Theory Road. Which is why we will examine how a film like Independence Day tries to have strong female
There isn’t an important female character that is independent of the male heroes in the movie, in fact the end of the film shows Hiller and Jasmine getting married, while David and Constance are going to get back together. By the end of the film these women are either dead (like Marilyn) or have to literally sit back and watch as the men go off to “Kick E.T.’s ass”. When the climax of the movie comes along the movie becomes rather digressive as the men have to “go off to work” while the women have to “Stay home”. I think the film is trying to be progressive for women, by giving them jobs and allowing them to do a few honorable or heroic things (who can forget Vivica A. Fox keeping the door open to save good old Boomer from the fireball), but even with a few steps forward they all take a big step back by the end of the