In celebration of the Fourth of July, I’m finally ready to share my glowing review of the two rare films directed and produced by Jared Leto—who is more commonly known as an actor and musician than as a filmmaker. Both projects were closely tied to the promotion of albums from his band, Thirty Seconds to Mars.
A Day in the Life of America, directed and produced under the name Jared Leto, was released in anticipation of the album AMERICA. Artifact, directed under the pseudonym Bartholomew Cubbins, documented the creation of the album THIS IS WAR, including the high-profile lawsuit between the band and their label during that time.
A Day in the Life of America (ADITLOA) was filmed across every USA state—all captured on a single day: July 4th. And on this day, I want to especially focus on that film.
🇺🇸 My Impressions of A Day in the Life of America
My overwhelming impression of ADITLOA was that I was so proud of Jared for this creation. This is a star who has long been a huge part of my life, deeply thematically intertwined with the artists I explore in my NIRVANA #KurtCobainIsAlive documentary. Since Jared was already a huge part of my universe, my heart felt like it was exploding with pride as I witnessed this incredible film.
Its message resonated profoundly with so many of the socio-political themes at the heart of my own work. As always with Jared’s acting and now filmmaking, it felt like a mind-blowingly conscious statement of this type of uinque resonance. I especially found the film’s themes — anti-racism, gun violence prevention, compassion for the poor, protest against political corruption, respect for the environment, addiction awareness, and media-conscious leadership — to be deeply aligned with my art.
🧬 A Human Lens on Society
There were other themes I found particularly moving as well:
- Dignity toward elders
- Compassion for the dying and vulnerable
- Emotional intelligence in the portrayal of raw, unfiltered human faces and bodies
- Sensitivity around sexuality, including a nuanced view of pornography through the lived experiences of adult actors
The film was so densely packed with eye-opening moments, I’m sure I’ve forgotten some already. It moves fast and is absolutely worth watching more than once.
🔥 Racism and the KKK: A Bold Cinematic Move
Perhaps the most powerful and unforgettable part of the film, for me, was its overarching statement against racism. While the format centered around asking Americans what their country means to them, the film’s narrative sequence—and what was shown, and when — spoke volumes.
Early in the film, the KKK is interviewed, their lives and rituals documented in detail as they prepare cross burnings and robe ceremonies. Interestingly, they seemed happy to be included. But as the film unfolded, it became inspiringly clear that their participation had been a trick on them — their twisted misunderstandings were eventually completely ridiculed in profound contextual contrast.
This juxtaposition — placing their harmful ideology alongside powerful, humanizing stories from BIPOC voices and protestors — made the message unmistakable. As someone already passionate about anti-racism, I was stunned and moved to be placed in this triggering setting with the KKK. The calm, intimate way it was filmed allowed me to study and pontiicate on their twisted beliefs rather than tread lightly in my thoughts on this most volatile and alarming topic of their sick lives.
After watching, I immediately researched the meaning of cross burnings and dug deeper into what I had always been too shaken to look at quite as closely as this time. The film provided a sanctuary for this kind of introspection. Their cross burnings, I found out, have no spiritual meaning, but rather are a fearful and terrorizing act of psychological manipulation to instill panic, with a tone of hatred and evil aggression. Indeed if the cross of Jesus Christ has any pure spiritual meaning, this is an enormous offence to it.
Remarkably, I watched it during Black History Month—a time made even more meaningful because it was the very month President Trump had attempted to remove Black History Month from federal recognition.Though ADITLOA was made during his first term, watching it during the more harmful second administration gave the film even more weight.
🔫 A Cinematic Language of Objects
It was such a rewarding experience to watch both Artifact and A Day in the Life of America back to back over two nights. One of my favorite discoveries was the thread of media-savvy storytelling that runs through both films. Jared, as both an artist and director, understands how even the placement of objects in a scene can tell a story.
In ADITLOA, it felt like he was spotlighting people’s personal environments—zooming in on meaningful items they had arranged in their spaces, using these objects to reveal something deeper about their lives. In Artifact, it was more deliberate: Jared clearly orchestrated the arrangement of items for symbolic effect. At first glance, they might seem casually placed, but when viewed closely, they unfold into a visual narrative that’s exceptionally poignant.
This rewards observant viewers. It felt like finding secret bonus content hidden in plain sight — exactly the kind of thing that gives cult classics their enduring allure. It also raised fascinating questions: How much of Artifact was truly documentary, and how much was performative or metaphorical? The line is evocatively blurred — and that only added to my emotional connection with the band and their message as well as my confidence in their integrity and coded, even larger authenticity.
💎 Acting, Directing, and Real Life
Jared’s extensive experience as an actor—working on carefully designed sets and learning how props tell stories—seems to have made him passionate about using those techniques in nonfiction storytelling. In these documentaries, he translates the language of fictional cinema into real-life reflection.
He blurs the boundaries between film set and real life, making it feel like we’re watching lifestyle itself become a kind of metaphor for deeper truths. His interviews, and those of many actors, often touch on this idea: How much does an actor “become” the character? Watching these films, it feels like Jared lives that question, letting the fabricated meet the real in a seamless, revelatory way as a much bigger picture creation and revelation.
🎨 Cultural Leadership Through Art
As the lead of Thirty Seconds to Mars, and as a cultural icon in the movie world, Jared has always been someone who leads with vision and intensity. These films confirm that his role as a producer and director is inseparable from his larger artistic mission as an actor and musician.
He uses his platform not just for personal success, but to foster vital socio-political conversations. It’s such a relief — and honestly, a joy — to see someone with his power and influence using it to incubate so much inclusivity, compassion, and awareness in the community.
Once again, as always, Jared is the perfect artist to mention in context with my NIRVANA #KurtCobainIsAlive documentary. I’m deeply honored and proud to do just that.
Love, Ba
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