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Independence Day Term Papers

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Independence Day is a science fiction film in which aliens attack earth in hopes of exterminating humanity and exploiting our planet’s natural resources. Survivors of the alien attacks are forced to unite and defend their home on july 4th, creating their own global independence day. While developing an entertaining story about alien invasion, this movie manages to demonstrate some government topics we studied in class.
One of the main heroes in the movie, Captain Steven Hiller (played by Will Smith) is applying to fulfill his dreams of becoming a pilot at NASA. Captain Hiller is a talented pilot in the U. S. Marine Corps, and helps man the ship that travels to disable the alien ship shields. While the constitution does not state that congress can approve funding for a space exploration program, congress’ power to fund NASA lies within the implied powers of the constitution. Implied powers, or elastic powers, are not specifically granted in the constitution but are related to other constitutional power. So when Hiller is applying NASA he is requesting to work under a government agency that exists due to the implied powers of the constitution.
When the alien ships start covering cities around the world, President Thomas J. Whitmore (played by Bill Pullman) is advised by …show more content…

The launch is ultimately unsuccessful, and the shields on the alien ships prevent the missiles from causing damage. However, this scene shows one of the executive branch’s powers in government, the authority to launch nuclear weapons. The President’s power to do this derives from National Command Authority, and the only possible way to prevent a president from doing this would be mutiny. This demonstrates the power of the executive branch in government, and the importance of carefully selecting a leader responsible enough to handle this

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