User Reviews

So we start with the premise of this is the National Anthem is based on a British tune and is all about war and conflict- which I suppose is true, however, thinking this audaciously as to being appointed the arbiters of culture based on your personal views, and only considering an infinitesimal amount of locations, and then only a tiny fraction of that particular locations population, and you get this mess of a movie.

These two seem talented enough on their own, and together maybe even more so, but there's not a thing about the increasingly limited scope used for their purview that remotely lends itself to something close to representative of the country we share. So many are completely removed from the equation that it leaves much to the imagination as to what they thought would be the end result.

Of course this won awards at a film festival; as of late the festivals all seem to be in competition as to who can out signal each other with their back-patting choices that are low on substance but give the award givers a big helping of 'the feels' for being edgy and virtuous. Even if this particular film weren't so full of itself trying to reinvent the wheel, and instead came from a place of creativity that sought to simply write a great song based on lives lived, it's such a small vocal presence used for the sample that this would be a song for a select few, at best.

I expected a lot more than what I saw, and felt largely underwhelmed as a result. Very meta given the current environment and not very open to the possibilities.

If this song is supposed to be an anthem they should included right leaning people. The movie clearly has a left leaning bias, and only interviews people who confirm said bias. They include one Native American tribe as if only one existed. They clearly picked it do to the Trail of Tears connection

They never touch rock, metal, hip hop, rap, pop, or any other music in America. They never mention the nuance of genres of music as you travel the country. They chose 6 cities some of which were picked for their political narrative. They had a left wing activiat but chose not to have a right wing one.

The documentary is lost to it's activism.

As a music lover, this documentary hit home. While people have explained that while they did not explore every music genre they explored the genre's of the deep roots of America's music and it's music history. And music genre's that have been underrepresented in current popular music. And they did this holistically and genuinely.

While the task seems impossible to create a new anthem that can represent this country today, I think this documentary takes a really deep look into the need for this change and recognizes the need to represent many cultures and traditions that have built this country musically.

Incredible work really looking into the different prospectives of music from the cities chosen, and to bring the artists together to create lyrics was fascinating to watch as an artist. It makes me feel inspired to see their strong and wonderful attempt for change, and to do so for music is even more fulfilling. All while truly making you think about the importance of music and it's political, cultural, and spiritual impact on this country.

Do yourself a favor and watch this, because the music history lesson you get alone is so worth the journey.