Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum in Independence Day. (Credit: Twentieth Century Fox Corporation)
There’s a terrific scene in the film, “Independence Day,” that has great relevance to 2012.
Computer genius David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum) and Marine Capt. Steven Hiller (Will Smith) have just convinced President Thomas Whitmore (Bill Pullman) that they can fly a captured alien spacecraft up to the mothership and implant a computer virus that will take down the aliens’ defensive network, allowing humanity to launch one last, desperate counterattack. The President and his entourage depart, leaving the two men alone to plan their mission.
“You really think you can fly that thing?” Levinson asks.
“You really think you can do all that bullshit you just said?” Hiller replies.
Levinson doesn’t answer.
It’s a nice scene. Hiller’s “right back at ya response” is exactly what you’d expect from a cocky fighter jock. The fact that neither man answers the other one’s question shows they really don’t know if they can pull it off. And yet their lives, and the fate of the human race, depend on them doing precisely that.
So, do I think the Mayan predicted apocalypse set for December will involve an alien invasion? Maybe, but probably not. The scene is, however, very relevant for NewSpace this year. The time for talk is over; time to prove they can do all that bullshit they’ve been talking for so very many years.
And you know what? They might just pull it off.