The Imagination of Survival: Alien Invasion in 'Independence Day 4'

What sort of alien invasion is imagined in Independence Day (Roland Emmerich, 1996)? The massive alien ship, hovering ominously over Washington, answers the attempt of its human foes to communicate with it by simply destroying the city with a laser blast, generating a massive fireball of energy that literally consumes the city. The United States President narrowly escapes the front edge of the fire in his military jet, and the terms for the invasion are set: Them or us.