Movie: Independence Day - why does the earth shake in one place and not the other?
Early in the movie, Randy Quaid is having breakfast at the diner and the other farmers are making fun of him and his UFO experience. That conversation is cut short when the table begins to shake and they all run outside and see the UFO in the sky.
Two questions:
1) if the UFO is in the sky, why is the earth shaking (as if it were an earthquake)? The UFO is several thousand feet above the earth’s surface.
2) in other locations where the UFOs are moving in, the earth isn’t doing a similar shake. Washington, NY, etc., are being approached by UFOs, but no shaking there. So which is it?
Yes, I realize that this is fiction and a movie,but should there be consistency and verisimilitude?
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13 Answers
Randy Quaid was in the western US, we shake a lot out here, it’s earthquake country. Back East there aren’t as many earthquakes and people are more serious, so the ground didn’t shake, they just panicked more.
Because, Roland Emmerich. Hack-fraud-conman extraordinaire.
You’re wrong, in the scene where Will Smith is in bed with his girlfriend, they’re woken by what they think is an earthquake. Turns out to be one of the big arse spaceships, not the only scene then.
As to why the ground shakes, same with low flying passenger jets.
Best to reply on suspension of disbelief when watching a Hollywood sci-fi blockbster else you’ll make yourself nuts. “Consistency and verisimilitude” really aren’t their strong suits.
The shaking in one place but not another was your biggest problem with that stinker. LOL!
@Pachyderm_In_The_Room – oh, there were all sorts of other issues, but I will guiltily admit that I enjoy watching the film, errors and all.
@ucme Will Smith was in Southern California, definitely earthquake zone, so consistent with what I said about Randy Quaid.
@zenvelo I was referring to the op’s claim of it happening in just that one scene.
It could have been anchoring stabilizers from the space ships, or people leaving the theater.
Sounds like a good one not to see. Maybe we should set up a weekly review of new movies out.
As my husband says when I start pointing out things like this: “Just watch the movie, honey.”
I liked Independence Day. Dumb stuff doesn’t bother me in that sort of movie because they’re not meant to be taken seriously. In fact, the dumb stuff is part of what makes them fun.
Atmospheric pressure is created by the weight of all molecules above us. Normally there’s just air. If not, this will make a difference.
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