America. F**K YEAH!

In honor of the coming holiday, here are Jayne’s top 10 films that define America. In no particular order…

1. American Psycho
Only in America could Patrick Bateman be transformed by a world of greed and commerce to become a guy who runs after women in the nude with a chainsaw.
Bateman’s world shows us that the “American Dream” may actually lead to the “American Nightmare”.
Goddamn you Huey Lewis….

2. Dawn of the Dead (The original)
This movie seems like it has more metaphors than it does Zombies. Surrounded by zombies, this film manages to critique our issues with Commercialism, Race, Gender, Stereotypes, the Military, you name it. It’s all up for grabs in George Romero’s masterpiece.
This is a post apocalyptic America. This is America at its most violent and cruel (and for some reason there’s a gun store in the mall…)
The thing I always find interesting (particularly in the first two “Dead” films) is that, it isn’t the outside threat that kills these characters, it’s the inability to work together that spells out their deaths.

3. Fahrenheit 9/11
All politics and feelings toward Michael Moore aside, this film is on this list for only one reason: You wouldn’t see a film like this in another country. Think about it. This is a scathing attack towards our government. I love that we live somewhere that allows me to see films like this (whether I agree with them or not). The fact that this movie a.) Exists and b.) Was seen by a lot of people is really what America is about.

4. Field of Dreams
Love it or hate it, Baseball and America go hand in hand. We may not be the best at the game anymore, but it still is, and will always be, our game. I bounced between this movie and “Bull Durham” to be on this list, but Field of Dreams takes the cake. It’s Americana through and through. You’ve got not only, Baseball, but its rich history as well. You’ve got the farmlands of Iowa, Fathers, Sons, families. You’ve got sitting in the crowded stands at Fenway. And you have idealism.
I remember reading that the end of this movie was voted the all-time biggest tear jerker for guys, and it’s easy to see why. It’s an iconic shot of a dad playing catch with his son. Norman Rockwell would have a hard time coming up with something better.

5. Fight Club
Let’s seriously switch gears.
Working in a tiny cubicle, your home life is built around the Ikea nesting instinct. Everything you own has a brand label. Starbucks, Nike, Xerox, Microsoft, etc, etc. We have turned into spineless creatures who are obsessed with materials. Money is priority number one. Morality, Virtue…these all fall way behind. Maybe Space Monkeys aren’t such a bad idea….
Where’s Tyler Durden when you need him?

6. Independence Day
This is what Hollywood is really good at: Making gigantic films about how f’n great America is. No one, and I mean no one, has the pomposity we do, when it comes to this kind of stuff. Sure, it’s totally unbelievable (the president flying into the heat of the battle? Riiiiight).
Still, this is popcorn cinema at its absolute best. And you have to love the fact that this was a monster hit overseas ($500 Million internationally).

7. Red Dawn
That’s right, don’t go invading middle America, because the high school jocks, will OWN YOU! Like ID4, you almost have to appreciate the sheer arrogance of it all. When is the Wolverine going to replace the Bald Eagle as the nations mascot?


8. Saving Private Ryan
You can’t do a list about American films without Spielberg. Chapter 1 of American filmmaking starts with Spielberg. His craftsmanship is as iconic as his films. It could really be argued that he perfected the American style of filmmaking. If you think about it, you never see foreign films that come off “Spielbergian”. Yet, American filmmakers love to mimic the guy (Hell, he was the primary influence of just about every director that came after him)And if your going to choose just one film for the list make sure it has:
1. Tom Hanks, the Jimmy Stewart of the modern era.
2. An era in which America were at their best. (greatest generation, etc, etc)

9. Serenity
….Just kidding….

9. Superman: The Motion Picture
You can’t not include Superman. The guy fights for truth, justice and the AMERICAN way for gods sake! He’s basically clothed in the American flag even. Really the entire Super Hero genre belongs to the Americans. The worlds Super hero’s inhabit are solely built around our lives and problems. Could Superman be a Russian? Could Spiderman be French? No. These characters backgrounds and stories require them to be American.
Superman is the perfect example of this. An immigrant from a far off land comes to the fields of Kansas. He is raised living the picturesque American life. Small town, apple pie, the whole bit. Ma and Pa Kent raise him to be the ultimate do-gooder. Superman represents pure, flawless good, and little kids have been raised on Superman for generations now.

10. Top Gun
This is the kind of movie you walk out of craving “Freedom Fries”.
Cheesy? Yep. Melodramatic? Check.
Cool as hell? You bet your @$$.
Top Gun is what happens when you take patriotic filmmaking to 11.
Lets be honest…I don’t even need to explain this one.