Chapter 119: Trump Card

As the film drew to a close, the President on the silver screen stood in the light of dawn and delivered an impassioned speech. The audience in the theater was beside themselves with excitement, but Roger Ebert merely shook his head. From beginning to end, the film was brimming with crude, heavy-handed emotional manipulation. Its biggest selling point was its highly realistic special effects, and the previously established themes of family bonds clearly resonated with the viewers, but he simply could not bring himself to like it!

Dazzled by the fiery explosions, deafened by the thunderous booms, and utterly nauseated by the vulgar plot, Roger Ebert had forced himself to endure and analyze the movie for a while, but he was filled with revulsion. This particular sequence, which had the audience cheering and the entire theater practically boiling over, pushed his disgust to its absolute peak.

"July 4th will no longer be an American holiday... Today, we celebrate our Independence Day!"

Applause and cheers rang out from the theater's speakers, and the audience erupted into even louder ovations, as if they wanted the whole world to hear and see their sheer excitement.

Although he was a quintessential American citizen, Roger Ebert considered himself utterly above such vulgarity. He had reached his absolute limit with this blatant pandering to the American audience designed to empty their wallets. Behind his glasses, his eyebrows were knitted so tightly they nearly formed a knot!

He rose slowly, sweeping his gaze across the room, and headed for the exit. He kept looking back over his shoulder as he walked; after all, this was Chicago, the city where his influence ran deepest!

Yet ninety-nine percent of the audience had been whipped into a frenzy by the film. Swept up in the thrill of it all, they could not care less about a film critic's reaction. Even as Roger Ebert walked out the doors, not a single person followed in his footsteps—no one even spared a glance at his retreating back.

Pausing at the theater entrance, Roger Ebert looked back inside one last time. Every single viewer was fixated on the screen. It was as if no one remembered greeting the renowned film critic before the movie began, and no one noticed his early departure.

Even here in Chicago, the audience cared far more about the movie itself than they did about a film critic!

This sudden realization left Roger Ebert rather furious. It was the one thing successful people could tolerate the least—being ignored!

Over in a New York theater, fragments of alien spaceships rained from the sky as beautifully as falling stars. The entire world was celebrating this united victory on Independence Day, but a thick layer of disdain hung on the face of film critic David Denby!

In his eyes, this was a standard, super-tier trash film. It had no intellectual depth, no humanistic care, no leisurely narrative pacing, and no scenes of actors pushing each other to perform brilliantly. It didn't possess a single shot that would leave him with a fond memory; it was nothing more than an amalgamation of explosions and tired, vulgar Hollywood clichés!

Arms crossed over his chest, David Denby sat in his seat and glared coldly at the screen. He seemed to want to thoroughly display his contempt, hoping to influence the audience around him.

However, in stark contrast to his demeanor, almost everyone in the theater had stood up. They clapped their hands spontaneously, eager to give the film their most thunderous applause. The cheers mixed into the ovation were so loud that even someone hard of hearing would likely catch them.

The audience was cheering for Independence Day!

For a member of the Lauder Group and one of its future heirs, controlling one's emotions was a foundational requirement. Yet at this moment, Aerin Lauder completely ignored the weird, wretched-looking bald man sulking beside her. She clapped her hands vigorously and yelled out cheers. It was the most emotionally expressive she had been in over a year; it was as if all her pent-up excitement and stress had been ignited by Independence Day!

Anna was slightly calmer than Aerin. Although she wasn't shouting, her clapping hands never stopped.

"Vulgar, disgusting!"

As the applause gradually thinned, Aerin's ears caught the voice muttering beside her. "Such a trash film is worth cheering for? What a total lack of taste! Today's audiences have completely degenerated!"

Trash film? Vulgar?

Aerin blinked. The bald man next to her seemed to be insulting the movie that had just finished, and in the process, he was insulting the audience members who liked it, including them.

"Hey, what are you saying?" She turned her head, glaring fiercely at the bald man.

"What happened?" Anna grabbed her arm and asked.

"He's insulting Independence Day!"

The commotion instantly drew the attention of those around them. Aerin widened her eyes and added with extreme cunning, "He also called everyone who just clapped for Independence Day vulgar and disgusting!"

As her clear voice faded, over a dozen knife-like glares landed squarely on David Denby.

David Denby didn't panic in the slightest; instead, he remained unusually calm. He was a prominent figure in the New York film criticism circle and considered himself highly influential.

"I am David Denby, a film critic for The New Yorker," he said unhurriedly. "I..."

"So what if you're a film critic?"

Before David Denby could finish, a young man around twenty years old interrupted him. "You can dislike a movie, but don't insult the people who like it!"

"Exactly!" someone immediately chimed in. "Film critics just mock directors and actors for being idiots, without realizing they're the actual idiots themselves!"

"A film critic? So what? Does being a film critic mean you can just spout nonsense?"

"Don't think your taste is actually that much better than ours. The movies you guys hype up are all just absolute garbage!"

"Asshole, how dare you insult Independence Day!"

There even seemed to be some patriotic youths among them. "Do you realize this movie is promoting the greatness of America? Or do you think patriotism deserves to be insulted?"

Seeing the surrounding crowd whipped into a frenzy, Aerin secretly flashed Anna a victory sign. She pulled her friend through the aisle in the other direction and slipped out of the theater. Glancing back, she saw that the brimming-with-confidence film critic had clearly overestimated himself and was now being drowned in a torrent of spit and fury from dozens of ordinary moviegoers.

Leaving the cinema, they strolled down the bustling streets of the Upper East Side. Aerin linked arms with Anna and suddenly asked, "Was the movie really that vulgar? I thought it was fascinating. Even if the President's speech was a little overly sentimental, it really did a great job of rousing people's emotions."

"That is exactly where Duke Rosenberg is smart."

Anna gently pulled Aerin along as the two walked toward the parking lot. "That segment was absolutely steeped in Great Americanism, but did you see how those people in the theater reacted? Audiences love this stuff!"

"I loved it too," Aerin chimed in.

"Before producing a movie, you have to accurately target your audience demographic. This is the most essential skill a director should possess," Anna explained in detail. "No movie can ever please everyone, unless you're just shooting it for yourself. Before a director makes a film, they must adhere to one core principle—it has to serve a specific group of people!"

Seeing Aerin nod, Anna continued, "Duke Rosenberg is a Hollywood director, so of course he has to pander to the American audience first. Who is the first to open their wallets to watch a movie? The American audience. Not Japan, not Europe. He's probably very aware that a movie that becomes a blockbuster in North America will often sell phenomenally well in the overseas markets too."

"I feel like if Independence Day manages to become a massive hit, Great Americanism will be one of the reasons for its success."

After listening to her friend's analysis, Aerin blinked and said playfully, "Then let's use the emotional appeal of Great Americanism to resolutely, cleanly, and completely annihilate the global box office!"

"Whether the film sells well or not has nothing to do with us," Anna shrugged.

"If a movie I like sells well and more people enjoy it, I'll be thrilled," Aerin said matter-of-factly. "I love the works of this director, Duke Rosenberg. His movies always bring people joy and offer the purest, most simple entertainment."

Inside the Los Angeles municipal theater, Sarah sat with her arms crossed, resting her chin on one hand. While the two male leads were busy planting a virus and shooting the breeze inside the alien mothership, she quickly filtered through the plot in her mind.

This was a very straightforward movie. The plot was clear at a glance, leaving the audience no room to overthink.

On July 2nd of a certain year, just before American Independence Day, an observation post in New Mexico discovered a massive spaceship, hundreds of miles in diameter, approaching Earth. Furthermore, the signal emitted by the spaceship disrupted Earth's communications satellites, drawing immense attention from the authorities.

Subsequently, the alien fleet aggressively surrounded the planet. The mothership released 36 smaller vessels, each 15 miles in diameter, which descended to hover above major cities across the globe. People all over the world felt bewildered and terrified, though there were also those who wanted to welcome the arrival of these friendly alien envoys.

Computer engineer David discovered that the signal emitted by the aliens was actually a countdown to an attack. David managed to relay this information to his wife, Connie—the White House Spokesperson.

The government attempted to contact the aliens to no avail, leaving the President deeply worried. Upon receiving the warning brought by David, he hastily ordered an evacuation, but it was already too late.

On July 3rd, the alien spaceships launched lethal attacks on several major American cities. In a single instant, humanity was struck by a colossal and devastating disaster.

Thus, the wise and courageous American President called upon all nations of the world to unite against the extraterrestrial threat, turning July 4th into Earth's Independence Day. With the help of computer expert David, Black Air Force pilot Steve, and others, the people of Earth launched a full-scale counter-offensive against the aliens. The President even piloted a fighter jet himself, charging to the front lines. Ultimately, they used a computer virus to disable the alien mothership's impenetrable energy shield, wiping out the enemy of all mankind in one fell swoop!

At the same time, it was an exceptionally complex movie. The sheer scale and high fidelity of its special effects were absolutely staggering. Director Duke Rosenberg had fulfilled his promise to step out of California and blow up all of America.

Sarah had interviewed the young director before. He was best at grand spectacles and massive productions; every one of his films always had to reach the level of cities being destroyed and the world being torn apart...

The movie Independence Day pushed what he was best at to the absolute limit.

What was emotional manipulation? A pre-battle speech on Independence Day, with the federal President taking to the battlefield himself! What was epic heroism? The White House being blown to pieces in an instant, igniting the rebellious spirit of all humanity! What was sacrifice? For the sake of his children, a father piloting his fighter jet on a suicide run into an alien spaceship without a second thought!