{"id":1811967,"date":"2026-07-03T19:14:38","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T19:14:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/pt\/?p=1811967"},"modified":"2026-07-03T19:14:38","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T19:14:38","slug":"this-july-4-take-a-closer-look-at-america-with-9-movies-and-tv-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/pt\/this-july-4-take-a-closer-look-at-america-with-9-movies-and-tv-series\/","title":{"rendered":"This July 4, take a closer look at America with 9 movies and TV series"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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We did it! America made it to 250 years of existence!<\/p>\n

OK, not everyone may be feeling especially celebratory as we hit the semiquincentennial, as culture critic Mary McNamara wrote in her essay this week<\/a>, but we can still find some <\/i>solace in wanting to do better and be better. I\u2019ve always believed the arts are a reflection of the heart and soul of a people. And in a country as multicultural and diverse as ours, that can look very many different ways. While it\u2019s true that social media and the internet at large has siloed us, nothing stays the same and, like it or not, change and progress are very much at the root of America\u2019s existence, as is acceptance of different ways of living. What makes this country great are those varied experiences and how art can be an entryway to them.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s among the ideas that my colleagues dug into this week as they examined culture through the lens of America\u2019s 250th anniversary, detailing 10 films that capture America in times of profound change<\/a>, the quintessential American song<\/a>, artworks that redefine what it is to be American<\/a>, what literature belongs in the American canon<\/a>, how playwrights have embraced the country\u2019s diversity<\/a> and why orchestras have been sitting out this Fourth of July<\/a>. Television critic Robert Lloyd also wrote about a number of recent series, both historical and satirical,<\/a> that take a closer look at America\u2019s history (you will learn, laugh, cry or all three). <\/p>\n

If that gives you enough inspiration, there are several Fourth of July events to watch over the weekend, including traditions like the \u201cMacy\u2019s 4th of July Fireworks Show<\/a>,\u201d now in its 50th edition, on NBC, Telemundo and Peacock, and Nathan\u2019s Hot Dog Eating Contest<\/a> on ESPN and ABC as part of their \u201cDisney Celebrates America\u201d programming. If you\u2019re looking for something fresh, the America250 initiative will be streaming a ball drop<\/a> from Times Square in New York beginning Friday night, which celebrity.land is also covering via \u201cIndependence Eve Live With Anderson & Andy: Celebrating 250<\/a>,\u201d a New Year\u2019s Eve-style production with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen. Similarly, PBS will be broadcasting \u201cA Capitol Fourth: 250th Weekend Celebration<\/a>\u201d from the U.S. Capitol and from George Washington\u2019s home in Mount Vernon. It will feature performances from the National Symphony Orchestra, Trace Adkins, Patti LaBelle, Kool & The Gang and more.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, America250 will stream \u201cAmerica\u2019s Block Party\u201d from the L.A. Memorial Coliseum, which features performances by Chris Stapleton, the Smashing Pumpkins, Chaka Khan and Anthony Ramos. CBS will also air some of those acts on \u201cThe Great American Block Party 250,\u201d along with performances from the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., by the Zac Brown Band, Jon Batiste, Goo Goo Dolls and the War and Treaty (it will also stream on Paramount+). <\/p>\n

In keeping with this week\u2019s theme, we\u2019ve also rounded up several series and films that we recommend watching over the long holiday weekend that tell a story about America or Americans in all their glory \u2014 imperfect, diverse and unique. Now that\u2019s something to celebrate. \u2014 Maira Garcia<\/i><\/p>\n

Turn on<\/h2>\n

Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Americans\u201d<\/b> (Hulu) <\/p>\n

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Matthew Rhys as Philip and Keri Russell as Elizabeth in \u201cThe Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n

(FX )<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

This series may seem like an odd choice to recommend during the July 4 holiday, particularly when the main characters are driven by values that are pointedly un-American. The FX series, which concluded its six-season run in 2013, stars real-life couple Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys as Russian spies posing as a suburban couple living in Washington in 1981. Critics celebrated the drama as the couple took on their assignments to undermine the U.S. government while also concealing their true identities from their friendly neighbor \u2014 an FBI counterintelligence agent \u2014 and their two American-born children. Their journey is further complicated as they grow more attached to American lifestyles and values. Rhys, who is currently stirring up awards season buzz with his lead roles in Apple TV\u2018s \u201cWidow\u2019s Bay\u201d and Netflix\u2019s \u201cThe Beast in Me,\u201d won an Emmy for lead actor in a drama during the show\u2019s final season. Fans of \u201cThe Americans\u201d are still shaken by the memory of the devastating series finale. \u2014 Greg Braxton<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cSpirit of <\/b>\u201976\u201d<\/b> (VOD)<\/p>\n

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\"Three <\/p>\n
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Jeff McDonald, left, David Cassidy and Steven McDonald in \u201cThe Spirit of \u201976.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Philosophical Research Society)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

In this energetic, colorful, low-budget 1990 ode to the bicentennial year, travelers from a colorless 2176 attempt to travel to 1776 to reclaim foundational knowledge lost when \u201cthe magnetic storm degaussed all recorded history.\u201d They arrive instead on July 4, 1976, where a different sort of freedom holds sway \u2014 freedom to get down, freedom to boogie. It\u2019s a friends-and-family affair, written and directed by Lucas Reiner, with appearances by his brother Rob and father Carl; a story co-authored by Roman Coppola; and costumes by his sister Sofia. David Cassidy and Olivia d\u2018Abo star as among the visitors from the future; Leif Garrett (like Cassidy, a 1970s TV and pop idol) is a disco-mad lothario. Also on board are Tommy Chong, Barbara Bain, Don Novello, Moon Zappa and performance artists the Kipper Kids as men in black. Julie Brown is a sex worker who has something to say about the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution that will sound distressingly timely. Brothers Jeff and Steve McDonald \u2014 from the band Redd Kross, and not playing brothers \u2014 are the bike-riding, long-haired, slang-slinging teens who join in to help the time travelers accomplish their mission. One word: tetrahydrozoline. \u2014 Robert Lloyd<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Simpsons\u201d<\/b> (Disney+, Hulu)<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe Simpsons\u201d has long been an American staple on television.<\/p>\n

(The Simpsons \u00a9 2025 by 20th Television)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

With more than 800 episodes across 37 seasons, \u201cThe Simpsons\u201d is basically on track to reaching its own<\/i> semiquincentennial milestone. Its relevance in today\u2019s landscape may be debated, but the animated series has audaciously and consistently captured the American experience with its piercing satire about societal and cultural events and shifts, as well as its reflections on the frustrations and absurdities of daily life for a middle-class family living in a quintessential American suburb \u2014 an ideal that has long stood as a standard of success for generations of Americans and now feels like a fantasy for many who still strive for it. (Insert GIF of Homer disappearing into a shrub here.) It\u2019s one of the most entertaining time capsules of a good chunk of America\u2019s run so far. And hey, there are plenty of July 4 episodes to pre-game, pair with, or distract from your social obligations. \u2014 Yvonne Villarreal<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cAmerican Movie\u201d <\/b>(VOD)<\/p>\n

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\"An <\/p>\n
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Bill Borchardt, left, and Mark Borchardt in the documentary \u201cAmerican Movie.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Sony Pictures Classics)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

One of the breakout documentaries of the \u201990s, Chris Smith\u2019s portrait of aspiring Wisconsin filmmaker Mark Borchardt suggests that if you want to understand America, you could do worse than spend some time in his company. Borchardt has no Hollywood connections, no money and seemingly no realistic path to finishing his low-budget horror movie \u201cCoven\u201d (which he stubbornly insists on pronouncing \u201cCOE-ven\u201d). Working the graveyard shift at a cemetery and battling his own drinking, he somehow keeps persuading friends and relatives to help him inch the film toward completion. The movie is often hilarious but it never makes Borchardt the punchline, leaving open the question of whether he\u2019s a genuine outsider artist or simply incapable of recognizing impossible odds. When he starts feeling sorry for himself, he has a way of snapping out of it: \u201cNo one has ever, ever paid admission to see an excuse.\u201d As America marks its 250th birthday, with so many of the country\u2019s problems seeming unsolvable, Borchardt reminds us that impossible sometimes just means unfinished. \u2014 Josh Rottenberg<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cReservation Dogs\u201d<\/b> (Hulu, Disney+)<\/p>\n

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\"Four <\/p>\n
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Willie Jack (Paulina Alexis), Elora Danan Postoak (Devery Jacobs), Bear (D\u2019Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai) and Cheese (Lane Factor) in \u201cReservation Dogs.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Shane Brown \/ FX)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

This is perhaps too on the nose, but what is the story of America without Native Americans and Indigenous storytellers? Don\u2019t worry, \u201cReservation Dogs<\/a>\u201d is not meant to be a history lesson. A coming-of-age dramedy, the series follows a group of teenagers living in a small town in the Muscogee Nation in rural Oklahoma. Culturally specific and infinitely relatable, the teens are grieving one of their own as they navigate familiar perils of adolescence: future aspirations (or lack thereof), relationships and rivalries, family and more as they grow into who they are meant to be. Created by Sterlin Harjo<\/a> and Taika Waititi, the show was celebrated for its representational milestones both in front and behind the camera for the entirety of its three season run. But what keeps this show on my perpetual rewatch list is its humor, heart and endless humanity. And Cheese! \u2014 Tracy Brown<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cStar Trek: Strange New Worlds\u201d <\/b>(Paramount+)<\/p>\n

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\"A <\/p>\n
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Una (Rebecca Romijn), Capt. Pike (Anson Mount) and Spock (Ethan Peck) in \u201cStar Trek: Strange New Worlds.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Marni Grossman \/ Paramount+)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Despite being set on a starship traveling through the far reaches of space, \u201cStar Trek\u201d is a quintessentially American show that celebrates very American ideals and aspirations. The franchise depicts a future where good people want to do good, are endlessly curious, believe in justice and diplomacy and strive to maintain peace. They\u2019re also willing to fight for what they believe in. \u201cStrange New Worlds,\u201d though created in our modern streaming times, captures a lot of the spirit and swagger of the original series \u2014 and not just because it features some characters that originated there. The show follows Capt. Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise as they explore strange new worlds and boldly go where no one has gone before. Pike wields a kind of empathetic, nice dad next door charm and all the capabilities of a decorated starship officer, which makes him a perfect ambassador for his exploratory mission. He\u2019d probably also make a good host of a big Fourth of July backyard bash. \u2014 T.B.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cMo\u201d <\/b>(Netflix)<\/p>\n

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\"A <\/p>\n
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Mo Amer in Season 2 of his eponymous Netflix series.<\/p>\n

(Eddy Chen \/ Netflix)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

The immigrant experience has been portrayed in a number of films and series over the years \u2014 though I\u2019d argue there still aren\u2019t enough. This series created by and starring comedian Mo Amer<\/a> captures not only the realities of navigating the American immigration system, with its draconian requirements and regulations, but also the experience of multicultural life in the melting pot that is Houston, Texas. Here, Amer plays a fictional version of himself, a Palestinian refugee who is trying to get legal status while encountering personal and professional roadblocks at every turn. It\u2019s funny and melodramatic, occasionally veering into silliness, but it brilliantly highlights the very real struggle of finding your place in the world when you don\u2019t know where you can call home or where you belong (the Spanish saying, ni de aqui, ni de alla<\/i>, neither from here nor there, applies). And it\u2019s one of the very few humanizing onscreen depictions of the Palestinian American experience. \u2014 Maira Garcia<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cPose\u201d<\/b> (Hulu) and \u201cFellow Travelers\u201d<\/b> (Paramount+)<\/p>\n

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\"A <\/p>\n

Mj Rodriguez as Blanca and Billy Porter as Pray Tell in \u201cPose.\u201d (FX) <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"Two <\/p>\n

Tim (Jonathan Bailey) and Hawk (Matt Bomer) in \u201cFellow Travelers.\u201d (Ben Mark Holzberg \/ Showtime) <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The struggle for gay rights has been a long chapter in American history and in the case of these two series, one depicts it through New York\u2019s ballroom scene and the other through the halls of Washington. \u201cFellow Travelers,<\/a>\u201d created by Ron Nyswaner and based on Thomas Mallon\u2019s novel of the same name, depicts the romance between Hawkins \u201cHawk\u201d Fuller (Matt Bomer) and Timothy \u201cTim\u201d Laughlin (Jonathan Bailey) beginning in the 1950s during the height of McCarthyism and the Lavender Scare and goes through the decades, culminating with the AIDS crisis of the \u201880s. If you want a good cry this weekend, start here. \u201cPose,\u201d meanwhile, is at turns celebratory and heartbreaking as it depicts the experience of a group of Black and Latino members of the ball scene in the \u201880s and \u201890s. The series highlights the opulent costumes and performers in drag who would leave it all on the floor for a chance at glory among their peers, but also the interpersonal relationships and challenges faced by trans characters like Blanca (Mj Rodriguez, who scored an Emmy nomination<\/a> for her performance in 2021), Elektra (Dominique Jackson) and Angel (Indya Moore), as well as gay characters like Pray Tell (the inimitable Billy Porter). Both shows are reminders that LGBTQ+ rights were hard won and that the struggle continues. \u2014 M.G.<\/i><\/p>\n

ICYMI<\/h2>\n

Must-read stories you might have missed<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.latimes.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 O artigo anterior foi obtido e traduzido do site internacional da celebrity.land \u2019 Source Link <\/em><\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We did it! America made it to 250 years of existence! OK, not everyone may be feeling especially celebratory as we hit the semiquincentennial, as culture critic Mary McNamara wrote in her essay this week, but we can still find some solace in wanting to do better and be better. I\u2019ve always believed the arts […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1811968,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1811967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entretenimento"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1811967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1811967"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1811967\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1811969,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1811967\/revisions\/1811969"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1811968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1811967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1811967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1811967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}