We have changed our privacy policy. In addition, we use cookies on our website for various purposes. By continuing on our website, you consent to our use of cookies. You can learn about our practices by reading our privacy policy.

Independence Day Scenes 1-5 Summary

Scene 1

  • It's July 2. We're looking at the moon and a plaque commemorating the moon landing in 1969.
  • We see footprints on the moon that for some reason are getting disturbed as an unseen something-or-other flies over, headed directly toward earth.
  • The "something" comes into the shot, and it appears to be an alien spaceship.
  • Yikes.

Scene 2

  • Now we're at the SETI institute in New Mexico, where people seem to be pretty bored—the guy manning the controls is playing golf.
  • You'd have to be bored if you're resorting to golf, we suppose.
  • An alarm goes off, and the guy turns on a radio to listen to some kind of signal.
  • He makes a phone call to a sleeping guy and makes him listen to the sound.
  • …and then sleeping guy freaks out, bumping his head as he leaps out of bed.
  • Hmm, wonder what that's about?

Scene 3

  • The previously sleeping guy heads into the office, icepack pressed to his head. Whatever is going on must be pretty serious—he didn't even bother to change out of his PJs.
  • Previously sleeping dude learns that the thing making the sound is pretty close to earth, and on its way from the moon.
  • Double yikes.

Scene 4

  • Now we're at Space Command at the Pentagon, and military commanders are discussing what this thing could be. It's not a meteor, because it's slowing down. Capable of slowing down=not just some random option floating around.
  • They decide to get the Secretary of Defense on the phone…which seems like a pretty good idea.

Scene 5

  • A husband gets a call from his wife. He puts the wife on with his daughter and exits the bedroom. Just a typical family scene.
  • Whoa, maybe not—turns out, this dude's the president, and this bedroom is in the White House.
  • He and one of his staffers, Connie, discuss public and press perception of his work—apparently, even without the aliens, he's got some issues going on as far as running the country.
  • Suddenly, he's got the Secretary of Defense on the phone…and then back in space, we see a shot of a satellite crashing into the ship.
  • Things are starting to pretty interesting, pretty quickly.