L.A. Times Picks 10 Films to Trace America’s Profound Shifts
Updated
Updated · Los Angeles Times · Jun 29
L.A. Times Picks 10 Films to Trace America’s Profound Shifts
3 articles · Updated · Los Angeles Times · Jun 29
Summary
The list spans 10 movies from 1940’s “The Grapes of Wrath” to 2010’s “The Social Network,” framing U.S. history through moments of national friction rather than patriotic uplift.
L.A. Times organizes the selections around major turning points including the Great Depression, postwar reintegration, Vietnam-Watergate cynicism, racial tension, media power, workplace sexism and digital alienation.
Several picks stress present-day relevance: “There Will Be Blood” is tied to widening inequality, “Do the Right Thing” to unresolved racial reckoning, and “Network” to corporate media distortion.
The feature argues film can tell a version of America’s story by matching historical pivot points with works that captured the country’s mood, while suggesting today’s divisions are still awaiting their defining screen treatment.