Chapter 120: Disgust and Excitement

The movie was nearing its end. On the screen, the President of the Federation was giving a passionate speech at the break of dawn. The audience in the theater was so excited they couldn't contain themselves. Roger Ebert, however, shook his head in disapproval. The film was filled with crude, emotional manipulation from start to finish. Its biggest selling point was the incredibly realistic special effects, and while it touched on themes of family that could resonate with the audience, he couldn't bring himself to like it.

Blinded by the flash of explosions, ears ringing from the deafening roars, and nauseated by the vulgar plot, Roger forced himself to analyze the film for a while but ended up loathing it. The scene that made the audience cheer and the whole theater erupt in excitement only deepened his disgust.

"July 4th will no longer be just America's Independence Day... Today, we celebrate our Independence Day!"

The sound system echoed with applause and cheers, and the audience in the theater responded even louder, as if they wanted the whole world to witness their enthusiasm.

Although he considered himself a typical American, Roger Ebert prided himself on not being vulgar. This blatant pandering to American audiences, encouraging them to open their wallets, was intolerable to him. His eyebrows, hidden behind his glasses, were furrowed almost into a knot.

He slowly stood up, glanced around, and then walked toward the exit. He kept looking back because this was Chicago, the city that left the deepest impression on him.

However, 99% of the audience was too excited, enthralled by the movie to care about a film critic's reaction. Not a single person followed his lead or even glanced at his departing figure as he left the theater early.

Standing at the theater's entrance, Roger looked back one last time. Everyone was still engrossed in the movie, seemingly forgetting that they had greeted the famous film critic before the film started. No one noticed that he had already left.

Even in Chicago, a city he was so fond of, the audience cared far more about the film than the critic.

The sudden realization irritated Roger For a successful person, the most intolerable thing was being ignored!

In a New York theater, the wreckage of alien ships falling from the sky looked like a dazzling meteor shower. The whole world was celebrating this joint victory. Yet, film critic David Denby's face was full of disdain.

In his view, this was a typical super bad movie—no depth of thought, no humanistic concern, no slow, deliberate storytelling, no scenes where actors competed in performances, and nothing that could leave him with a beautiful memory. All it offered were explosions and a collection of Hollywood's worst clichés.

With his arms crossed and a cold expression, David Denby sat in his chair, seemingly trying to show off his disdain and hoping to influence the audience around him.

But contrary to his reaction, almost everyone else in the theater stood up, spontaneously applauding with all their might. Their cheers were so loud that even someone with hearing problems would have noticed.

The audience was cheering for *Independence Day*!

As a member of the Lauder Group and a future heir, controlling emotions was one of the most basic qualities. But at this moment, Irene didn't care about the strange, sulking bald man next to her. She clapped her hands with force and cheered, shouting with excitement. This was the most emotionally free she had been in more than a year, as if all her pent-up excitement and stress had been released by *Independence Day*!

Anna was slightly calmer than Irene. Although she didn't shout, her hands never stopped clapping.

"Vulgar and disgusting!"

As the applause gradually faded, Irene's ears caught the voice next to her. "Such a terrible movie, and people are cheering for it? What a lack of taste! Audiences these days have all fallen."

Terrible movie? Vulgar?

Irene blinked. The bald man next to her seemed to be insulting the movie they had just watched, and by extension, also the audience who liked it.

"Hey, what are you saying?" She turned to stare at the bald man.

"What's happening?" Anna asked, pulling her back.

"He's insulting *Independence Day*!"

This quickly drew the attention of the people around them. Irene widened her eyes and slyly said, "He also insulted the people who clapped for *Independence Day*, calling them vulgar and disgusting!"

As soon as she finished speaking, a dozen sharp gazes landed on David Denby.

David Denby wasn't fazed at all. On the contrary, he remained exceptionally calm. He was a well-known figure in New York's film criticism circles, confident that he had considerable influence.

"I'm David Denby, a film critic from *The New Yorker*," he said slowly. "I—"

"So what if you're a critic?"

Before he could finish, a young man in his twenties interrupted, "You can dislike a movie, but don't insult the people who enjoy it!"

"Exactly!" someone echoed immediately. "Critics are just people who laugh at directors and actors for being fools, without realizing they are the real fools!"

"So what if you're a critic? Does being a critic give you the right to spout nonsense?"

"Don't think your taste is so much better than ours. The movies you critics praise are garbage!"

"You dare insult *Independence Day*!?"

Among them, there even seemed to be a patriotic youth. "Do you understand that this movie is about American pride? Or do you think patriotism deserves scorn?"

Seeing the audience growing increasingly agitated, Irene discreetly flashed a victory sign to Anna before slipping out of the aisle and exiting the theater. She glanced back as they left. The overly confident film critic had clearly overestimated himself and was now being verbally attacked by dozens of fans.

Outside the theater, walking down the bustling streets of the Upper East Side, Irene clung to Anna's arm and suddenly asked, "Was the movie really that vulgar? I thought it was interesting. Even the overly sentimental presidential speech was quite stirring."

"That's precisely Duke Rosenberg's cleverness," Anna replied, pulling Irene along as they headed toward the parking lot. "That part was indeed full of American patriotism, but did you see how the audience reacted? People love that!"

"I liked it too," Irene added.

"When making a film, you have to target a specific audience. That's a director's most important skill," Anna explained. "No film can please everyone, unless it's just made for yourself. A director must follow one principle: serve a specific group of people!"

Seeing Irene nod in agreement, Anna continued, "Duke Rosenberg is a Hollywood director, so of course, he has to appeal to American audiences first. Who's the first to pay for a movie? American audiences. Not Japan or Europe. He also knows that a hit in North America often translates to box office success overseas."

"I feel like if *Independence Day* is a big hit, American patriotism will be one of the reasons."

After listening to her friend's analysis, Irene blinked playfully. "Then let's use American patriotism to completely sweep the global box office!"

"Whether the film is a hit or not has nothing to do with us," Anna shrugged.

"If a movie I like does well and more people enjoy it, I'll be really happy," Irene said matter-of-factly. "I like Duke Rosenberg's work. His movies always bring joy and offer the purest, simplest form of entertainment."

In a Los Angeles municipal theater, Sarah crossed her arms, resting one hand under her chin. As the two male protagonists planted a virus on the alien ship and bantered, her mind raced through the plot.

It was an extremely simple movie, with a straightforward storyline that left no room for the audience to think.

On the eve of July 4th, in a certain year, a surveillance station in New Mexico discovered a massive spaceship approaching Earth, stretching hundreds of miles. The ship's signal disrupted Earth's communications satellites, drawing the authorities' attention.

Soon after, the alien fleet surrounded Earth. The mothership released 36 smaller ships, each 15 miles in diameter, which hovered over major cities around the world. People were confused and scared, but some welcomed the aliens as friendly visitors.

Computer engineer David discovered that the signal the aliens were sending was actually a countdown to an attack. He managed to relay this information to his wife, Connie, a White House spokeswoman.

The government attempted to communicate with the aliens but received no response. The President grew increasingly worried, and after learning of David's warning, he ordered an evacuation. But it was too late.

On July 3rd, the alien ships launched a devastating attack on several major American cities. In an instant, humanity was dealt a massive blow.

The resourceful and brave American President then called for a global alliance to resist the alien invaders, turning July 4th into Earth's Independence Day. With the help of computer expert David and Air Force pilot Steve, humans launched a full-scale counterattack. The President himself even piloted a fighter jet and led the charge. In the end, they used a computer virus to disable the aliens' impenetrable shields and destroyed humanity's enemy in one decisive blow!

At the same time, it was also an extraordinarily complex movie. The scale of the special effects and their level of realism were jaw-dropping. Director Duke Rosenberg had delivered on his promise to leave California and blow up the entire country.

Sarah had interviewed the young director before. His specialty was large-scale action and blockbuster productions, always pushing the destruction to apocalyptic levels.

*Independence Day* took everything he was good at and pushed it to the limit.

What defines emotional manipulation? The president of the United States personally gave a speech before the Independence Day! What is heroic? The White House was blown to pieces in an instant, inspiring the resistance spirit of all mankind! What is sacrifice? For the sake of his children, the father drove a fighter plane and crashed into an alien spaceship without hesitation!

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