7 movies about America to watch this Fourth of July

polygon.com:

What does it mean for a movie to be about America? It’s not an easy question to answer.

This July Fourth weekend, we’ve pulled together a group of movies we love that fits that bill (while trying to avoid the easy path of “patriotic” movies). Instead, this is a group of movies that thematically get at the question.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, and we welcome any nominations (especially outside-the-box ones) in the comments! While you’re here, you should also check out our list of the best labor movies you can watch at home — many of those would also be excellent fits here.

The French master Agnès Varda made this 28-minute documentary relatively early in her career, following protests by the Black Panther Party in Oakland after the arrest of Huey P. Newton. Matching Varda’s indelible style as a documentarian with a historical document of a moment and a place that is often excluded from American textbooks, Black Panthers is a unforgettable portrait of a remarkable group of people trying to make a broken country a better place. —Pete Volk

Black Panthers is available to watch on HBO Max, the Criterion Channel, or for digital rental on Amazon.

Spike Lee directed this performance of David Byrne’s electric Broadway musical, filled with jubilant dance numbers and deep reflection on the state of our country and world. It was one of Polygon’s favorite movies of 2020. —PV

From our review:

Even for those unfamiliar with Byrne’s work, the film feels urgent and joyous, as the performers, following Annie-B Parson’s choreography, caper and cavort across the stage. The songs aren’t narrative, at least not in the explicit way they would be in a traditional musical, but their themes form a shape in Byrne’s hands, coalescing