In fact, Ryan Coogler, an executive producer on this film, was reminded of the sheer glut of pop anthems that speak to the American experience while premiering this 97-minute thought exercise at the Tribeca film festival. Nicks, the pensive director behind a trilogy of docs exploring institutions in his Oakland home town, enlists the help of two expert ears: the jazz pianist Kris Bowers, who composed the scores for Bridgerton, Green Book and other screen gems and DJ Dahi, the hip-hop producer behind Kendrick Lamar, Big Sean and more chart toppers. It got Peter Nicks thinking: “If you could imagine an anthem for today, what would that be and how would you do it?” That’s the hand-on-heart question at the center of Anthem, a Hulu documentary from Nicks on the journey to make a fight song that reflects the country’s tortured soul.

Without school drills or Whitney Houston or the constant drumbeat of patriotism, likely, the Banner reverts to scribbles on a page decades ago. It took a century and an act of Congress for the Star-Spangled Banner to become the American standard, which would seem proof of how catchy it isn’t.

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