History TearJerker / IndependenceDay

** The novelization goes deeper into Russell's backstory, particularly the aftermath of his abduction. Needless to say, the aliens ruined his life. After being found wandering the desert, he realized he had been implanted with false memories and tried to uncover the real ones, going to everyone from UFO abduction support groups to psychics. He became so obsessed that he didn't realize his wife was sick, and after she died, he became an alcoholic wreck. This makes his payback all the more satisfying.

** The destruction of El Toro is actually sadder when you think about it. Hiller being a dedicated Marine most likely saw the base as his home away from home, and his Black Knight Squadron squad mates were his best friends, so when General Gray told him that El Toro was destroyed, not only was his mourning the possibility that Jazzmine and Dylan were killed, but his friends that he had come to know from flight school, and even as far back as boot camp, were all gone.

* Not to mention seeing the original WTC being destroyed, knowing that a few short years later it happens in real life.

** Let's put this scene into perspective: millions of Americans in three major cities have just died on Whitmore's watch. Despite being released five years before, this is 9/11 on several orders of magnitude. Bill Pullman is able to capture the gravitas that a president would be feeling in such a situation.

* Not to mention seeing the original WTC being destroyed, knowing that a few short years later it happens in real life.
* The scene in which Steve and Jasmine both believe the other is dead after finding out that El Toro was destroyed.

** Let's put this scene into perspective: millions of Americans have just died on Whitmore's watch in three major cities. Despite being released five years before, this is 9/11 on several orders of magnitude. Bill Pullman is able to capture the gravitas that a president would be feeling in such a situation.

-->"We could have evacuated the cities ''hours ago''. That's the advantage of being a fighter pilot. In the Gulf War, we knew what we had to do. It's just...not simple anymore. [[TheChainsOfCommanding A lot of people died today... how many didn't have to?]]"

*** Not to mention seeing the original WTC being destroyed, knowing that a few short years later it happens in real life.

-->"We're being exterminated..."

*** It wasn't just the American counterattack ''every'' counterattack all over the world started and ended like this. The Luftwaffe engaging the destroyer over Berlin, the RAF assaulting the London destroyer, the People's Liberation Army Air Force engaging the Beijing destroyer, the RSAF engaging the Singapore destroyer, the RCAF engaging the Toronto destroyer, the list goes on. ''Not one was victorious''.

*** It wasn't just the American counterattack ''every'' counterattack all over the world started and ended like this. The Luftwaffe engaging the destroyer over Berlin, the RAF assaulting the London destroyer, the People's Liberation Army Air Force engaging the Beijing destroyer, the RSAF engaging the Singapore destroyer, the list goes on. ''Not one was victorious''.

* Whitmore coming face-to-face with the alien. All-in-all, it's been a horrible 24 hours: the invaders have destroyed 72 cities, killed countless millions, and routed humanity's armed forces. Earth is completely at the mercy of the aliens, and he tries to find a peaceful solution, in the hopes that the creatures understand what "peace" and "coexist" are. Turns out, they don't. The aliens can't coexist with humans any more than humans can live in a house filled with cockroaches. To them, we're simply the vermin that must be exterminated.

** The novelization goes deeper into Russell's backstory, particularly the aftermath of his abduction. Needless to say, the aliens ruined his life. After being found wandering the desert, he realized he had been implanted with false memories and tried to uncover the real ones, going to everyone from UFO abdication groups to psychics. He became so obsessed that he didn't realize his wife was sick, and after she died, he became an alcoholic wreck. This makes his payback all the more satisfying.

** The novelization goes deeper into Russell's backstory, particularly the aftermath of his abduction. Needless to say, the aliens ruined his life. After being found wandering the desert, he realized he had been implanted with false memories and tried to uncover the real ones, going to everyone from UFO abdication groups to psychics. He became so obsessed that he didn't realize his wife was sick, and after she died, he became an alcoholic wreck.

*** It wasn't just the American counterattack ''every'' counterattack all over the world started and ended like this. The Luftwaffe engaging the destroyer over Berlin, the RAF assaulting the London destroyer, the People's Liberation Army Air Force engaging the Beijing destroyer, the list goes on. ''Not one was victorious''.

* The viral marketing website for Independence Day: Resurgence, [[http://www.warof1996.com Warof1996.com]] has a map of all the cities that were destroyed. Looking through it reveals how widespread and total the devastation was. Cities like Tokyo, Paris, London, Berlin, and New York were destroyed in equal measure alongside places like ''Pyongyang'', ''Baghdad'', ''Vientiane'', ''Nairobi'' and ''Guadalajara''. All in all, 108 cities were wiped off the map in just 48 hours, with a total of 3 billion deaths.

* The viral marketing website for Independence Day: Resurgence, [[http://www.warof1996.com Warof1996.com]] has a map of all the cities that were destroyed. Looking through it reveals how widespread and total the devastation was. Cities like Tokyo, Paris, London, Berlin, and New York were destroyed in equal measure alongside places like ''Pyongyang'', ''Riyadh'', ''Vientiane'', ''Nairobi'' and ''Guadalajara''. All in all, 108 cities were wiped off the map in just 48 hours, with a total of 3 billion deaths.

* The viral marketing website for Independence Day: Resurgence, [[http://www.warof1996.com Warof1996.com]] has a map of all the cities that were destroyed. Looking through it reveals how widespread and total the devastation was. Cities like Tokyo, Paris, London, Berlin, and New York were destroyed in equal measure alongside places like ''Pyongyang'', ''Riyadh'', and ''Guadalajara''. All in all, 108 cities were wiped off the map in just 48 hours, with a total of 3 billion deaths.

* The realization that not even nuclear weapons can get pass the Alien shields. Everyone is cheering thinking the Alien ship is destroyed, then the smoke clears and they see the City Destroyer is still hovering above the now destroyed Houston its work has been done by the humans and is ready to move on to its next target. Humanity's last line of defense its most destructive weapon...is utterly useless against the seemingly invincible invaders. In that hour Humanity died.
* The final human death toll, as revealed by Resurgence's marketing? ''3 billion''. The human population in 1996 was around 5.8 billion, so over half the world's population was lost in the destruction of 108 cities.

-->"We could have evacuated the cities ''hours ago''. That's the advantage of being a fighter pilot. In the Gulf War, we knew what we had to do. It's just...not simple anymore. [[TheChainsOfCommanding A lot of people died today... That many didn't have to.]]"

* The viral marketing website for Independence Day: Resurgence, [[http://www.warof1996.com Warof1996.com]] has a map of all the cities that were destroyed. Looking through it reveals how widespread and total the devastation was. Cities like Tokyo, Paris, London, Berlin, and New York were destroyed in equal measure alongside places like ''Pyongyang'', ''Riyadh'', and ''Guadalajara''. All in all, 108 cities were wiped off the map in just 48 hours, with hundreds of millions, likely billions of deaths.
** Plus, once you consider all that mankind lost on top of the human dead. Mankind has also lost its countless treasures, artworks, monuments, and antiquities. The British Museum, the Smithsonian, and the Louvre were destroyed in the first wave, taking with them the works of humanity's greatest and often most obscure artisans as well as our historical and cultural heritage. Institutions that lasted for decades, even centuries, like Harvard, MIT, Oxford, etc are all gone.

*** It wasn't just the American counterattack ''every'' counterattack all over the world started and ended like this.

** It wasn't just the American counterattack ''every'' counterattack all over the world started and ended like this.

It wasn't just the American counterattack ''every'' counterattack all over the world started and ended like this.

* The final human death toll, as revealed by Resurgence's marketing? ''3 billion''. The population in 1996 was around 5.8 billion, so over half the world's population was lost.

* The realization that not even nuclear weapons can get pass the Alien shields. Everyone is cheering thinking the Alien ship is destroyed, then the smoke clears and they see the City Destroyer is still hovering above the now destroyed Houston its work has been done by the humans and is ready to move on to its next target. Humanity's last line of defense its most destructive weapon...is utterly useless against the seemingly invincible invaders. In that hour Humanity died.

-->"We could have evacuated the cities ''hours ago''. That's the advantage of being a fighter pilot. In the Gulf War, we knew what we had to do. It's just...not simple anymore. [[TheChainsOfCommanding A lot of people died today. How many didn't have to?]]"