Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment Is Killing America's Heartland

Collin has three days left on probation in Oakland when he sees a police officer shoot a man running away. His best friend Miles, loud and reckless, is the last person he can talk to. Written by and starring Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal, both Oakland natives, it's a comedy, a drama and a rap film about a city that is changing around the people who live in it.

Why it’s here: It's a film about gentrification, race and a friendship that cannot hold both men's fear. What's punk is how it turns on the question of who gets to be seen as dangerous, and the rap monologue near the end. What's pedagogical is the title, which names a trick of perception and then makes you do it. Pairs with The Hate U Give, Dear White People and Between the World and Me. Note: R-rated; police shooting, guns and strong language; older teens and adults. English.

Three friends, Vinz, Hubert and Said, spend one day in a Paris housing project the morning after a riot, when a friend lies in a coma after police violence and Vinz has found a policeman's gun. Shot in black and white, it follows the three through a city that treats them as a threat. It starts with a line about a man falling from a building, and keeps asking when he will land.

Why it’s here: It's a film about what happens to three young men when the state meets them as a problem to manage. What's punk is the anger, the hip-hop soundtrack and the refusal to hand anybody a clean answer. What's pedagogical is the single day, which makes you notice how quickly a pattern becomes a fall. Pairs with Americanah, Stamped and The Hate U Give. Note: R-rated; guns, police violence and strong language; older teens and adults. French with subtitles. Kassovitz has made public conspiracy-leaning statements in interviews (including about 9/11) and other loud political remarks; the film predates them.