Tools of Characterization

Characterization in Independence Day

Actions

We can tell a lot about Independence Day's characters from how they act. (Hey, they don't call it an act-ion moviefor no reason.)

Let's take David Levinson as a prime example. Instead of heading to a remote area when he realizes the aliens are going to attack major American cities, David heads right into the danger zone to warn his estranged wife and her work colleagues at the White House.

David thinks a lot about others and how to help them—in contrast to, say, Mr. Nimziki, the Secretary of Defense, who favors rash actions such as a nuclear attack on the aliens. David shows himself to be brave and quite the smarty-pants, so we know he's a good guy to have around in a crisis.

Character actions also help counteract any assumptions or stereotypes we might be inclined to hold about particular characters. Sure, Russell seems a bit irresponsible when we first meet him (that is, when he's drunkenly crop dusting the wrong fields), but when he decides to sacrifice his life in the fight against the aliens, we become pretty sure that he's a brave and selfless guy.

Similarly, even though Jimmy suggests that people might be inclined to look down on Jasmine because of her profession (as an exotic dancer), we know she's a good person from the way she treats the people around her. She's a caring mother and girlfriend, and she looks after the First Lady when she finds her injured.

Sex and Love

Characters like David and Steve reveal a lot about themselves in how they treat their lady friends. As we've already discussed in "Actions," David risks a lot in traveling to Washington to warn Connie about the aliens' likely intentions. Sure, he probably does that at least a little bit for the good of the whole planet, since Connie has access to and influence over the President…but really, his primary motive is to get her out of town.

As David's father, Julius, tells Connie,

JULIUS: All he could think of was getting to you.

Steve, too, shows us he's a good guy via his relationship. Even though his romance with Jasmine (who works as an exotic dancer) is apparently putting his future career plans at risk, Steve remains committed to her and ultimately ends up marrying her at the end of the film.

From that, we can see Steve values the people in his life over his own professional advancement, which suggests he's on the selfless side.

Speech and Dialogue

Often, the characters do a pretty good job summing up each other's characteristics. For example, though it's pretty clear from early on in the film that the Secretary of Defense isn't the greatest guy, the President really drives that fact home when he refers to him as a "sniveling little weasel."

Pretty direct…and accurate.

Family Life

We couldn't have a movie about celebrating America without some good old-fashioned family values in there, now could we?

The President's relationships with his wife and daughter showcase his softer side and let us know that, in addition to being brave and tough as the President, he's generally a good guy at his core. He avoids making his wife unhappy, telling her white lies from time to time to avoid conflict or unpleasantness—like, for example, when he avoids revealing that she's going to die from her injuries. He's also affectionate and involved with his young daughter, which definitely amps up his endearing factor.

Similarly, we learn a lot about the characters of Steve and Jasmine from their home life. They're both utterly devoted parental units for Dylan. And they're sweet with each other, which tells us a lot about the kind of folks they are.

And then, of course, we have Connie and David, whose "family life" is a disaster when we first meet them. However, their love for each other definitely shines through during the whole alien situation—and brings out their self-sacrificing sides.

David risks his life to get to her in time to warn her about the aliens, and Connie seems ready to abandon all her principles about having a mission in life when she realizes David's newfound ambition may cost him his life. That's some serious devotion right there, and it shows us how Connie's thoughts about love have shifted in the course of all the action.

Basically, we have three very different types of family at the heart of the film, but the dynamics in all three show us just how great all the characters involved are.