'Merica - A rolling 50 movies that define USA

[Ezee E]

You get the deal.

Post a pic of the movie, and a one sentence reason of why it defines America.

We get to 50.

1. In America
2. Born on the Fourth of July
3. Network
4. Jaws
5. Rio Bravo
6. Do the Right Thing
7. Dogville
8. Killer of Sheep
9. Night of the Hunter
10. Birth of a Nation

11. Forrest Gump
12. Florida Project
13. Dazed and Confused
14. Wag the Dag
15. American Pie
16. Crash
17. Written on the Wind
18. Idiocracy
19. The Grapes of Wrath

20. To Kill a Mockingbird
21. Bob Roberts
22. The Godfather Part II
23. Scarface
24. Dog Day Afternoon
25. Independence Day
26. Easy Rider
27. Team America: World Police
28. Baseball
29. Starship Troopers

30. Badlands
31. Transformers
32. Zootopia
33. Dawn of the Dead
34. Logan Lucky
35. Fargo
36. Natural Born Killers
37. The Patriot
38. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
39. Argo

40. National Lampoon's Vacation
41. Rocky
42. Raging Bull

[Ezee E]

In America directed by Jim Sheridan in 2002

https://www.thefilmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/in-america.jpg

In America contains the struggle of immigrants to a new land, the wariness of race, the love of pop culture (Spielberg), and a motif of hope and strength of family.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Born on the Fourth of July directed by Oliver Stone in 1989

http://scrapsfromtheloft.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Tom-Cruise-Ron-Kovic-in-Born-on-the-Fourth-of-July-1989-800x528.jpg

A searing look at the failure and folly of American adventurism and also the country's potential to learn and renew and improve, presented through an unforgettable central performance.

[Skitch]

(3) Network directed by Sidney Lumet, 1976

https://i.imgur.com/6rssooD.jpg

A great commentary on the importance of how media conducts itself and the audience in that we feed the beast that is eating us.

[Skitch]

Wow am I thinking of some other great films that fit this thread.

[Dukefrukem]

We haven't done this in a while!!!!

4. Jaws - It feels like summer every time I watch this. And of course, takes place on the 4th.

http://static.news-gazette.com/sites/all/files/imagecache/lightbox_800_600_scale/images/2017/08/13/418230_0813_feat_jaws.jpg

[Grouchy]

​5. Rio Bravo directed by Howard Hawks, 1959

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zp1P_EorQ_A/VEHSdicK-DI/AAAAAAAAMfQ/h5aQiVrs4VE/s1600/Rio%2BBravo%2B3.jpg

Deliberately made as a response to the cynical High Noon, building the myth of the good, honest Western hero and the spirit of friendship.

[Ezee E]

6. Do The Right Thing Spike Lee, 1989

https://daily.jstor.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/DoRtThing.jpg

A country of immigrants. A neighborhood of cultures. Misunderstanding, closted racism, hot summers, pizza, sports, and music. Every step forward, there's another step backward.

[Spinal]

7. Dogville (Lars von Trier, 2003)

http://i1152.photobucket.com/albums/p485/joelharmonpdx/dogville_zpspr2yxmgp.jpg

You might say that America in 2018 is 'third-act Dogville' in which the folksy, cheery facade of a proud community crumbles and the nasty, violent, corrupt core is laid bare, expressing hostility to outsiders.

[Ezee E]

Nice one.

[baby doll]

8. Killer of Sheep (Charles Burnett, 1977)

http://images.amcnetworks.com/ifccenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/killer-of-sheep_1280x720.jpg

During the Second Great Migration in the 1940s, tens of thousands of black people moved from the South to California in search of better opportunities, and it was during this time that Watts became a predominantly black neighbourhood. In the early 1960s, the disappearance of manufacturing jobs devastated the community. Through a series of vignettes of daily life, Burnett's film depicts the forgotten underclass of black Americans who are seldom represented in the mass media.

[Mysterious Dude]

9. The Night of the Hunter (1955, Charles Laughton)

https://i.imgur.com/1DBi2hm.jpg

Religion and guns.

[Grouchy]

10. Birth of a Nation (D.W. Griffith, 1915)

https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/mbdbiof_ec063.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1267

MAKE 'MERICA GREAH AGAN

[Ezee E]

Forrest Gump (Robert Zemeckis, 1994)

https://akns-images.eonline.com/eol_images/Entire_Site/201061/293.ab.Forrest.Gump.070110.jpg

The modern American Tall Tale.

[Spinal]

12. The Florida Project (Sean Baker, 2017)

http://i1152.photobucket.com/albums/p485/joelharmonpdx/florida_zpsaxagk0mq.jpg

In the shadow of the American corporate fantasy of a 'Magic Kingdom', a loving parent goes to extraordinary lengths to preserve her daughter's childhood and mask the harsh reality of unshakable poverty.

[transmogrifier]

This town is rotten from the inside out and I wouldn't miss it, if it fell into the gorge tomorrow. I see no charm here, but you seem to. Admit it you've fallen for Dogville. The trees, the mountains, the simple folk. And if all that ain't got you fooled yet, I bet the cinnamon has. That damned cinnamon in those gooseberry pies. Dogville has everything that you ever dreamed of in the big city.

[Skitch]

Umm...

[transmogrifier]

Umm...

What? Nothing to see here. Move along. MOVE ALONG I SAY!

[transmogrifier]

13. Dazed and Confused (Richard Linklater, 1993)

https://images.ctfassets.net/22n7d68fswlw/4OLY3nrWWIIuS0Wo2sKkse/a0a2a10279e065d60ca54a65928b1a d9/dazed_and_confused.jpg?w=1200&h=600&fit=thumb

From an outsider looking in, this movie has always defined my perception of the American high school lifestyle. So it is either remarkably true to life or a remarkable piece of cultural propaganda - how would I know which? Either way, it is one of the best movies ever made.

[Watashi]

14. Wag the Dog (Barry Levinson, 1997)

http://civiceducator.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/wag-the-dog-1084x610.jpg

America is very dumb and will believe in anything its President will tell them.

[Ezee E]

American Pie Chris Weitz, 1999

https://images.tbs.com/tbs/w_1800/https%3A%2F%2Fi.cdn.tbs.com%2F assets%2Fimages%2F2018%2F03%2F AmericanPie-1600x900.jpg

Teens perspective of a world where the worst problem is being caught ejaculating into a pie.

[transmogrifier]

16. Crash (Paul Haggis, 2004)

https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/sm/upload/h6/ng/gp/7g/crash-2004-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg?k=c7b191989e

Race + guns + Oscar bait + left-leaning self-congratulation = WTF, America? Highlights how tone-deaf political discussion can be.

[baby doll]

17. Written on the Wind (Douglas Sirk, 1956)

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/e9/70/cd/e970cdfa1705cbb9629ad7fcbb972f a8.jpg

"[A] screaming Brechtian essay on the shared impotence of American family and business life."—Dave Kehr

[Spinal]

18. Idiocracy (Mike Judge, 2006)

http://i1152.photobucket.com/albums/p485/joelharmonpdx/idiocracy-camacho-splash-720x340_zps6p1qn482.jpg

Roughly one third of Americans polled are wrong about virtually any topic you care to name, whether it's about civil liberties, the Constitution, the importance of science, the pros and cons of drinking paint thinner, or whether 'facts' are actually a thing.

[megladon8]

How do I get in on this?

[Spinal]

You just post something. It's not planned in advance.

[Ezee E]

Pick and go!

[Spinal]

19. The Grapes of Wrath (John Ford, 1940)

http://i1152.photobucket.com/albums/p485/joelharmonpdx/wrath_zpsjdd5hdjd.jpg

A handful of wealthy men control the land and ruthlessly exploit the labor of the working class despite the miserable living conditions that result for the majority of the population - sound familiar?

[Ezee E]

20. To Kill a Mockingbird Robert Mulligan, 1962

https://cdn1.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/landscape_928x523/2016/02/to_kill_mockingbird_1962_11_-_h_2016.jpg

In what some would consider a more simple time, an American reality is exposed to children.

[Skitch]

18. Idiocracy (Mike Judge, 2006)



You beautiful bastard. Can't believe I didn't think of that first.

[Spinal]

21. Bob Roberts (Tim Robbins, 1992)

http://i1152.photobucket.com/albums/p485/joelharmonpdx/Bob-Roberts_zpsw40p2fiy.jpg

To win a high-profile election in America, you don't need to have the best ideas - you just need to be the best at manipulating the media.

[Skitch]

22. The Godfather Part II, dir. Francis Ford Coppola, 1974

https://i.imgur.com/QhnWbPP.jpg

They system that allows a poor immigrant to build an empire, may also require you to kill your brother to keep it going.

[Grouchy]

On that vein...

23. Scarface (Brian De Palma, 1983)

https://info7rm.blob.core.windows.net. optimalcdn.com/images/2018/04/19/scar2.jpg

The logical consequences of living the American dream.

[Ezee E]

24. Dog Day Afternoon Sidney Lumet, 1975

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VwWFsr5e4es/VTxJOVBE9yI/AAAAAAAAXnk/27f_XO-ysfg/s1600/Al%2BPacino%2BDog%2BDay%2BAfte rnoon.PNG

When the American Dream starts to be only that, an unattainable dream.

[TGM]

25. Independence Day (Roland Emmerich, 1996)

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/sciencenotfiction/files/2010/11/Id4whitehouse.jpg

In a word, https://media.giphy.com/media/B2pYWvuAH2cnu/giphy.gif.

[Skitch]

jason lee (@speaks2ya) Tweeted:
Jaws is the most American 4th of July movie because it's the one in which an elected official acting on behalf of business interests allows several of his constituents to be literally eaten alive by a problem he was warned about https://twitter.com/speaks2ya/status/1014607507191451650?s=17

[kuehnepips]

Easy Rider (1969) -D. Hopper

[Dukefrukem]

jason lee (@speaks2ya) Tweeted:
Jaws is the most American 4th of July movie because it's the one in which an elected official acting on behalf of business interests allows several of his constituents to be literally eaten alive by a problem he was warned about https://twitter.com/speaks2ya/status/1014607507191451650?s=17

So i win?

[Gizmo]

27(?) Team America, World Police

https://www.bleedingcool.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/team-america-jpg.jpg

'Merica! Fuck Yeah!

[Spinal]

28. Baseball (Ken Burns, 1994)

http://i1152.photobucket.com/albums/p485/joelharmonpdx/Baseball3_zpsiqm2ukrv.jpg

More than just a history of the sport, Ken Burns' 18-hour documentary also functions as a portrait of the nation, covering the impact of politics, war, labor disputes, racial segregation, drugs and other scandals, while also cherishing the huge personalities and legendary talents that give it longevity.

[Dead & Messed Up]

In a word, https://media.giphy.com/media/B2pYWvuAH2cnu/giphy.gif.

This was on Wednesday, obviously, and Jesus, this boy could chop a potato in half with that salute.

[Ezee E]

29. Starship Troopers Paul Verhoeven, 1997

https://cdn1.thr.com/sites/default/files/2016/11/starship_troopers_-_h_-_2016.jpg

Dependency on military, moral decline, and fanatical warmongering. And this was twenty years ago.

[Mysterious Dude]

30. Badlands (1973, Terrence Malick)

https://i.imgur.com/WWgkYFU.jpg

This list needs some Terrence Malick. A lot of his films would go well here. My personal favorite is the one with the homicidal maniac.

[Dukefrukem]

31. Transformers (2007, Michael Bay)

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/transformers/images/f/f9/Movie_Scorponok_leapsout.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20070709183708

If we are putting Terrence Malick in here we're putting Michael Bay in here because Explosions.

[TGM]

32. Zootopia

http://image.phimmoi.net/film/3259/preview.medium.jpg

A perfect allegory on modern racial tensions and politics in America.

[Dead & Messed Up]

33. Dawn of the Dead Directed by George A. Romero in 1978

https://www.slantmagazine.com/images/made/assets/film/dawnofthedead1978_1130_430_90_ s_c1.jpg

This is America. A dazed populace driven to consume, losing their souls in the pursuit of the material; four heroes take the mall, barricade the doors, and look over their new kingdom as they wear regal fur coats pulled straight off the rack. "We whipped 'em and we got it all!" "We took it. It's ours." The sentiment stinks of the encroaching American '80s. It reeks of Gordon Gekko and Donald Trump.

[Peng]

I can take "allegory", which in a kid's film is admittedly remarkable, but "perfect allegory" makes my eyes twitch, since I agree with both Alison Willmore (http://matchcut.artboiled.com/showthread.php?6267-Zootopia-(Byron-Howard-Rich-Moore)&p=552441&viewfull=1#post552441) and DaMU (http://matchcut.artboiled.com/showthread.php?6267-Zootopia-(Byron-Howard-Rich-Moore)&p=562392&viewfull=1#post562392).

[Peng]

34. Logan Lucky (Steven Soderbergh, 2017)

https://media.newyorker.com/photos/599dd9a809a1af61bf4ef1c7/master/w_727,c_limit/Brody_Lucky-Logan-new.jpg

Show in one film, what a million misguided NYT op-ed articles can't, the effects of American class divide and corporatization inherent in these characters' lives, along with gently comedic but by no means simple or condescending empathy in their depictions.

[TGM]

31. Transformers (2007, Michael Bay)

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/transformers/images/f/f9/Movie_Scorponok_leapsout.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20070709183708

If we are putting Terrence Malick in here we're putting Michael Bay in here because Explosions.

I personally would've gone with either Armageddon or Pain & Gain for an Americana Bay flick, but Transformers gets the point across well enough too, I suppose. :p

[Mysterious Dude]

35. Fargo (1996, Joel & Ethan Coen)

https://i.imgur.com/ZNJLFUw.png

Because there's more to life than money, dontcha know?

[Grouchy]

36. Natural Born Killers (Oliver Stone, 1994)

http://images.mentalfloss.com/sites/default/files/styles/mf_image_16x9/public/nbk.jpg?itok=rAkaBg_M&resize=1100x619

The serial killer as media star.

[TGM]

Come on guys, we can make it to 50!

http://www.wingclips.com/system/movie-clips/the-patriot/no-retreat/images/the-patriot-movie-clip-screenshot-no-retreat_large.jpg

37. The Patriot (Roland Emmerich, 2000)

[Mysterious Dude]

38. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991, Kevin Reynolds)

https://i.imgur.com/avv2v0o.jpg

No, no. I don't belong on this list. I'm an Englishman. Really.

[Dukefrukem]

39. Argo (2012, Ben Affleck)

http://www.nydailynews.com/resizer/Qv1LqkRqlZA9mCnrhcXvr0PQ61w=/1400x0/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-tronc.s3.amazonaws.com/public/ZH2WULY5UDTXOZ6FCLKF5UVYEM.jpg

So we can pretend Canada had nothing to do with the rescue.

[Spinal]

40. National Lampoon's Vacation (Harold Ramis, 1983)

http://i1152.photobucket.com/albums/p485/joelharmonpdx/e9d5f1c3-8ab0-4412-8481-233c94cc7a71_zpsy2xe4ksr.png

I could continue to fill this thread with films about racial injustice and political corruption. But hey, how about a nice goofy comedy about the quintessential American road trip?

[TGM]

41. Rocky (John G. Avildsen, 1976)

https://www.ultracurioso.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/9-600x270.png

The ultimate American underdog story.

[Ezee E]

42. Raging Bull Martin Scorsese, 1980

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNzdiYzY1MDctMjA3Zi00M2E3LW FkZjItMWMyZWJhMTk3YTgzXkEyXkFq cGdeQXVyNjUwNzk3NDc@._V1_.jpg

And then the riches to rags.