Hollywood Movies Have Always Been About America. On the 250th July 4, Are They Still?

On the two hundred-fiftieth July Fourth, Variety is asking: do Hollywood's movies still define America—or just the global box office? The piece responds to a New York Times column asking 'What is the definitive movie about America?' The Times included some solid picks, like 'Dazed and Confused,' alongside some head-scratchers: 'The Florida Project,' 'Disclosure Day.' But the real question is larger. American cinema was once the nation's most powerful export of itself—how we saw ourselves, how the world saw us. Has that changed? Are Hollywood's blockbusters still rooted in American identity, or have they become entertainment for everyone everywhere? It's a timely ask on a milestone birthday.

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