I work at a company that employs (like a lot of American companies these days) a very large number of south-Asian subcontractors. Most of them come from one rather large Indian vendor. And that vendor threw a little “Understanding India” session for us a few weeks back.
It was interesting, of course; other cultures fascinate me, India more than most. I grew up around a fair number of South Asians in North Dakota (it’s a long story), and had some exposure to the culture. Still the vendor session was fascinating.
And frustrating; to try to explain a culture as old, broad, multifaceted and complex as India in 90 minutes was a little like – well, trying to explain cricket to Americans.
And then I thought; how would I explain America to a foreigner new to the country?
Not all the usual “civics in ten minutes” stuff – the broad strokes of our history and culture. I got to wonder – what’d be a good, entertaining crash course in “what is America” to someone who’d never been here before?
And I thought; almost every culture in the world, from the poorest village in rural Pakistan to the eighties in Manhattan, has one form of communication in common; the movie. Even if you don’t speak a foreign language, you can often make out at least the broad outlines of what a movie is trying to say.
So my question is this; if you had to pick five movies to explain America to someone from another country who had only the usual civics-class understanding of our nation and culture, what would they be?
Leave comments.
1. High Noon
2. The Wizard of Oz
3. Casablanca
4. The Godfather
5. To Kill A Mokingbird
1) Glory
2) Forest Gump
3) White Christmas
4) Die Hard
5) Apollo 13
A little bit of what we are and what we wish we still were.
On a side note, in Iraq many of the base workers are Indian. I have to agree that you can learn a lot about a culture by watching their movies. Sitting in the barbershop, the TV would be playing Bollywood hits via satellite, and the Indian workers couldn’t get enough of it. Very interesting.
1. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
2. Glory
3. Grapes of Wrath
4. Seabiscuit
5. The Patriot
1. On the Waterfront
2. Rebel Without a Cause
3. To Kill A Mockingbird
4. The Grapes of Wrath
5. Casablanca
Added Difficulty – Only selecting movies released since 1990
Unforgiven
Glengarry Glen Ross
Cars (yes, the Pixar one)
Saving Private Ryan
Juno
To Kill a Mockingbird and Grapes of Wrath are great choices. My list, in no particular order:
– Bowling for Columbine
– Fahrenheit …
Kidding!
– 12 Angry Men
– Citizen Kane
– All the President’s Men
– In the Heat of the Night
– Bonnie and Clyde
– The Karate Kid
– The Right Stuff
– Never Cry Wolf
– The Shawshank Redemption
– The Kentucky Fried Movie
The list should really include The Immigrants, starring Max von Sydow. Also The Player, with Tim Robbins, to illustrate the shallow, corrosive nature of Hollywood.
But really, movies are one of the primary sources of foriegn perception of America, and I think they have done us all a disservice in the final analysis.
1. Network
2. Patton
3. The Right Stuff
4. Godfather
5. Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Casablanca?
1. Hoosiers
2. Goodfellas
3. Freeway
4. Fargo
5. Traffic
We Were Soldiers
A Christmas Story
The Incredibles
North by Northwest
Animal House (so many cultural references)
D’oh! Can’t believe I missed this obvious one:
Miracle
Blazing Saddles
To Kill A Mockingbird, Seabiscuit and Grapes of Wrath: agreed, for sure.
But also:
The Deer Hunter
American Graffiti
American Beauty
And yes, I know you’ll hate it Mitch – but in Junior High I walked a couple miles in very cold winter weather, through huge after-blizzard heaps of snow, with a group of other American History students from our high school, to the Marlow theater in our little town, to see Gone With the Wind.
I feel compelled to clarify: it was NOT the year Gone With The Wind was released, but simply the annual showing of the movie at that theater…
I’m wholeheartedly with Yoss on:
The Karate Kid
Shawshank Redemption
And with Chad:
Miracle
I add to that:
Tucker – A Man and His Dream
Rio Bravo (a great counterbalance to High Noon)
I also mention for honorable distinction:
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
A Bronx Tale
And from Doug:
Cars
And from Chad’s other selection (one of my favorites):
The Incredibles
Pick almost any (5) John Ford movies.
How the West Was Won
American Graffiti
The Best Years of our Lives
The Straight Story
Gran Torino
A little bit of broad sweep, combined with some very American character sketches.
Manchurian Candidate
Fahrenheit 911
“W”
Inconvenient Truth
One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest
Seriously now, most of what’s listed here is very good, so I’m going to borrow a couple:
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
To Kill a Mockingbird
Born on the 4th of July
12 Angry Men
Apollo 13
Flush, please tell us you didn’t fall for the MMGW hoax.
.
I am surprised no one has mentioned: The Breakfast Club
12 Angry Men
The Right Stuff
Gran Torino
Goodfellas
Citizen Kane
On the Waterfront
Dances with Wolves
To Kill a Mockingbird
Rocky (yes, only the first one!)
Inerit the Wind (the Spencer Tracey version)
To Kill a Mockingbird
Twelve Angry Men
The Right Stuff
Gran Torino
Mitch, I think it was too hard for most of the responders to closely follow your instructions and I think they engaged in naming their favorite movies more than naming movies that represent real America, plus they didn’t explain themselves very well. I’m not trying to insult them, just making an observation. My first movie pick is:
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.
This movie is a snap shot of America past and present. Life in America was not guaranteed and still isn’t today. There is a wide range of characters in this movie too that reflect American culture both in the past and now. So it’s kind of a twofer.
Next, I thought about “Mr Smith Goes to Washington” but I think,
Twelve Angry Men
is a much more realistic portrayal of how you self governance impacts it’s citizens, plus it shows American passion. Next, a movie that deals with race in American which is still an issue we as a people struggle with. So I chose
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
because in many ways we as a nation still haven’t moved past the attitudes people have in this movie(both races).
Americans are generally a driven people so I thought about “Its a Mad Mad Mad Mad World” and also “The Persuit of Happyness”. Both are good movies that show American stick to itness but I went with
Patton
because it shows American drive and also shows that Americans aren’t afraid of a fight. Lastly, I went with a movie that generally shows the modern American culture and our sence of humor.
American Graffiti
These movies, BTW, don’t make my top ten favorite movies list, two make my top twenty list. But I think that these movies would help a foreigner to better understand the real America, if it had to be limited to just five movies.
Explanation? “Blazing Saddles” needs no stinking explanation!
I like what Plymouth Mike did.
Inherit the Wind – an excellent study of the “Scopes Monkey Trial”, and how the US has related to topics of religion, education, and science.
To Kill a Mockingbird – race relations and our justice system, parents and families, small town life
Twelve Angry Men – Mike’s got that one covered already
The Right Stuff – our space race wa a defining moment in the history of this country, focusing on what we can accomplish when we unite to do so, and the moon landings are still a remarkable achievement in the history of the world.
Gran Torino – we’re a melting pot, and that pot is still hot
Two that I considered but didn’t pick, the musical 1776, because it’s not a bad profile of how we got started and should appeal to those who like Indian musicals; Star Wars Episode IV, as a sort of sci fi movie parable about who we are.
So, Mitch – are you going to tabulate this, and give us the official Shot in the Dark top five, listing the five movies that showed up the most frequently? (And of course your analysis of what they mean)
This could be an annual item! See if and how it changes from year to year.
Explanation? “Blazing Saddles” needs no stinking explanation!
Sheriff Bart (Clevon Little) is a towering comedic performance that should be required viewing for every citizen whether of foreign or domestic vintage. And it perfectly explains OJ Simpson’s episode with the white Bronco.
Plymouth, thanks so much for that clear explanation of ‘the rules’.
There’s one in every group…
Without looking at anyone else’s votes, I’ll nominate the following, in no particular order:
– Casablanca: Explains a key part of the face America at its best portrays to the world, and to itself.
– To Kill A Mockingbird – Obvious, isn’t it?
– Crash – I think it explains how the “Melting Pot” works in this day and age pretty wrenchingly well.
– Rio Bravo
– Godfather – Great commentary on the American immigrant experience, in and among the organized crime stuff.
Unexpected honorable mention: “Moscow on the Hudson”, with Robin Williams and Maria Conchita Alonzo.
DG – yes, I’ll tabulate the results.
After tabulating the results, here are the top five (with their votes):
1. To Kill A mockingbird – 9
2. Twelve Angry Men – 5
3. (Four way tie): The Right Stuff – 4
Casablanca – 4
Gran Torino – 4
Grapes of Wrath – 4
The other vote getters, with their votes (if any beyond one):
Godfather – 3
American Graffiti – 3
Rio Bravo – 2
Man Who Shot Liberty Valance – 2
Miracle – 2
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington – 2
On the Waterfront – 2
Patton – 2
Seabiscuit – 2
Shawshank Redemption – 2
Glory – 2
Goodfellas – 2
Incredibles – 2
Inherit the Wind – 2
Karate Kid – 2
Cars – 2
Citizen Kane – 2
Apollo 13 – 2
All the President’s Men
American Beauty
Animal House
Best Years of our Lives
Blazing Saddles
Bonnie and Clyde
Born on the 4th of July
Breakfast Club
Bronx Tale
Christmas Story
Crash
Dances with Wolves
Deer Hunter
Die Hard
Fargo
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Forest Gump
Freeway
Glengarry Glen Ross
Gone With the Wind.
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
High Noon
Hoosiers
How the West Was Won
Immigrants,
In the Heat of the Night
Inherit the Wind
Juno
Kentucky Fried Movie
Network
Never Cry Wolf
North by Northwest
Rebel Without Cause
Rocky
Saving Private Ryan
Straight Story
Patriot
Right Stuff
Wizard of Oz
Traffic
Tucker – A Man and His Dream
Unforgiven
We Were Soldiers
White Christmas
So many great options here. Thanks, all.
There is one movie that, by itself, will instruct the foreigner about the character of America: It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World”.
I’m very late with this, but I’d suggest the following:
Miracle
Citizen Kane
The Incredibles
The Right Stuff
Sullivan’s Travels — the great Preston Sturges movie from the 1940s and the antidote to The Grapes of Wrath
Honorable Mention:
The Last Picture Show
Yankee Doodle Dandy
American Graffiti
Holy smokes I think I’ve seen all those movies (and some several times). I really need to pick up a book more often!
I’m very late to the party and the balloting, but can’t argue much with the top five or many of the others getting multiple votes. So many of these movies made it into the “Fundamentals In Film” class I taught for three years to a group of teenage boys.
There is one film from that syllabus that wasn’t mentioned here that I think also presents an important aspect of U.S. history and culture: Sergeant York.
While this is an old and little remembered film it has important themes about duty, self-reliance and courage. Most importantly, however, is it’s even-handed portrayal of the role of faith in one’s life. It may have been from a simpler time, but it could handle this plainly without smirking or being ironic, and also without being “religious” and beating you on the head with the Bible and doctrine. It’s a matter-of-fact approach from a time when such a theme (and point of drama) could be considered natural. It recently became available on DVD (and via Netflix) and despite it’s black & white film and “old” look, it was voted one of the favorite movies by two different classes of teenage boys.
It’s a story of courage, but also a story of humility, restoration and redemption and portrays an American – and an America – going reluctantly but purposefully to war. More here: http://thenightwriterblog.com/2005/12/09/friday-fundamentals-in-film-sergeant-york/
Plymouth Mike, I thought mine were per Mitch’s intent. They’re certainly not my favorite movies (though two are in the running) but if we’re going to explain the rationale…
Unforgiven: Shows America’s grappling with emotions ranging from pride to shame around the actual brutality that comprised that “cowboy” ethos so many foreigners see in Americans.
Glengarry Glen Ross: Shows that, far from being cheerleaders for unrestricted capitalism, we are very aware of the extreme pressure and the negative effects often present in its rawest form.
Cars (yes, the Pixar one): America is a car culture, and this movie wraps up everything from the nostalgic 50’s to the go go world of Nascar – a sport most foreigners cannot understand.
Saving Private Ryan: You cannot understand American’s sense of their foreign policy by reading Washington’s warning about foreign entanglements. Since WWII our perspective far more resembles that of Tom Hanks “Capt. John Miller.” There are a lot of men and women like that in Iraq and Afghanistan right now.
Juno: You want to explain America’s cultural pro-life stance, which is quite different from most of the rest of the West, but you don’t want to preach in religious terms? You want to show how aware we are of the imperfections of being pro-life yet embrace it anyway? Here’s your movie.
Great suggestions so far. I’d second votes on The Right Stuff and Tucker.
Additions:
— Avalon
— Hoop Dreams
— StartUp.com
— Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control
Hoop Dreams is another wonderful movie. Great choice, SaintPaul.
I think we be a pretty learned group with that list.
NightWriter, another option to watch it, Turner Classic Movies has shown Seargeant York a number of times (I agree that it is a wonderful movie). I considered suggesting something from the very early silent movie era – not everybody’s cup o’ tea, but if you have the patience for it, some of them are excellent (again – TCM shows them regularly).
This has been a fantastic topic Mitch; I hope you do it again sometime. To allow for new movies to be included. Perhaps make it something you offer around Oscars time?
DG,
It’s been a fun topic. I might do it again, someday, although I don’t like repeating things too much. It’s hard to come up with topics that resonate wtih lots and lots of people, although it’s fun when it happens!
A topic that might be fun someday could be cars/trucks. The one(s) you liked, and/or the one(s) you didn’t like. Not vehicles you wish you could own, but those you’ve actually owned (or owned you!).
Instead of Right Stuff, I’d rather go with Apollo 13. Where else but in America can you pull off landing a spacecraft held together by spit and duct tape? Sliderules rule!
DG – re something from the silent film era – NOT “Birth of a Nation”, I hope!
1) The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
2) Yankee Doodle Dandy.
3) True Grit.
4) The Best Years of Our Lives.
5) West Side Story.
We’re picking movies that teach foreigners about Americans:
Saving Private Ryan illustrates American willingness to sacrifice its young men to save others from evil balanced against its sensitivity to the tremendous loss suffered by every family. We’ve done it for centuries and we’re still doing it today. That’s a big part of the true American spirit.
Twelve Angry Men illustrates the core working of the American justice system – ordinary people sitting in judgment of their peers – which is very different from many other countries. Close second: My Cousin Vinnie, clips of which are actually shown to students as a How Not To example.
Race relations have defined this country since before the Constitution’s 3/5 compromise was accepted. But unlike other countries, where racial discrimination and oppression is the accepted natural order, the lingering effects of slavery, abolition, integration and affirmative action haunt Americans. Pick any Sidney Poitier movie: I love the by-play with Rod Steiger’s redneck police chief in The Heat Of The Night.
Taming the wild frontier is a fundamental part of American culture. And everybody knows Americans are gun-crazy. So we need to show a cowboy movie. The quintessential cowboy is still John Wayne. Pick any of The Duke’s movies. I nominate Rio Bravo. Second choice: Silverado.
Finally, the best thing about Americans is our irreverence; when asses bumble and everything they touch goes to shit we cannot help but laugh at ’em. Americans invented comedy films. Sadly, some people still like the Three Stooges whereas true artists appreciate The Marx Brothers. Show ’em Duck Soup.
Correction: show ’em Animal Crackers. Hooray for Captain Spaulding!
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