I watched the Independence Day sequel on Independence Day. Here's what I learned.

On the 240th anniversary of our nation's birth, I lunched at McDonald's, drove to the biggest mall I could find, and watched Independence Day: Resurgence

Independence Day: Resurgence
(Image credit: Courtesy Twentieth Century Fox. TM & © 2016 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Not for sale or duplication.)

It's instructive to watch movies on the dates that matter to them. I watched the Back to the Future trilogy on Oct. 21, 2015, and goggled at how long Donald Trump has haunted our dreams for America's future. Now that America is teetering on that darkest of dark timelines, I decided to shove aside my reservations and celebrate Independence Day by testing my American mettle. On the 240th anniversary of our nation's birth, I lunched at McDonald's, drove to the biggest mall I could find, and watched Independence Day: Resurgence.

The sequel to 1996's jingoistic powerhouse Independence Day, Resurgence seemed as good a way as any to gauge the evolution of our patriotic fantasies over the last 20 years. It has Jeff Goldblum! Bill Pullman! Data! Space! All that was bright and good about the '90s (except Will Smith, who got too expensive). Plus Charlotte Gainsbourg, which makes absolutely no sense and is therefore perfect. What does a triumphalist story about mankind coming together to overcome insurmountable odds look like in 2016?

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Lili Loofbourow

Lili Loofbourow is the culture critic at TheWeek.com. She's also a special correspondent for the Los Angeles Review of Books and an editor for Beyond Criticism, a Bloomsbury Academic series dedicated to formally experimental criticism. Her writing has appeared in a variety of venues including The Guardian, Salon, The New York Times Magazine, The New Republic, and Slate.