-
Click here to listen to this article - Share via
See more from the L.A. Times in Google Search. Set us as preferred
A crazed newscaster prompts his viewers to do a wild thing: open their windows and shout, “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore.” And they do it, from Atlanta to Baton Rouge, so much yelling. It’s a prescient scene in “Network” from 1976, the year of America’s bicentennial. Fast forward to the semiquincentennial and Americans holler versions of that slogan through windows in real life, just on phones and computers.
When the national mood wobbles, we turn to the arts, which have the power to free buried desires, soothe souls and cross divides. So as America turns 250, the Entertainment team considered how this country’s ups and downs have shaped what we watch, listen to and read.
“Network” makes our list of movies that illustrate frictional historical moments. (“Team America: World Police” does too so expect range!) Meanwhile, we spotlight playwrights reimagining Americanness, pinpoint art on display in L.A. with a similar theme and reveal the quintessential American song. (I bet you can’t guess what it is.)
We also analyze why the spirit of ‘76 thrived in pop culture despite political turmoil while ‘26 feels, well, womp-womp. According to recent polling, only 5% of us believe the American dream is easier to attain now than before. As we visit high school English classrooms to discuss book lists, we learn L.A. teachers still emphasize classics about the fragility of the American dream. These same teachers are struggling with underfunding, overcrowding, AI and short attention spans. When asked which book adults should revisit, teacher Adam Tan suggested “The Catcher in the Rye”: “The novel reminds us that while literature may not have answers to the world’s problems, it can help us examine our wounds and find solace in art.” Exactly. — Brittany Levine Beckman, Entertainment and Features editor
F. Scott Fitzgerald, Octavia E. Butler, Homer: Los Angeles teachers share what they are teaching in today’s high school classrooms, book recommendations and how they’re fighting AI and tech fatigue.
From classic dramas like ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ and ‘Nashville’ to a John Carpenter sci-fi nightmare, these movies articulate a shifting national mood.
As we reflect on America’s 250th year, we highlight artworks on display at museums across Los Angeles that contextualize and challenge what it means to be American.
