‘Pink Flamingos,’ a landmark of shock cinema, is honored by the National Film Registry

25 films chosen for ‘cultural, historic or aesthetic’ value.

The newest additions to the National Film Registry — that annual, ever-fascinating time capsule of moviedom — have just been announced.

The 25 films are chosen every year by the Library of Congress for their “cultural, historic or aesthetic” importance to the nation’s understanding of cinema. It’s a decision that weighs blockbusters on the same scale as films rich with political and social concerns: the timely and the just plain fun.

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced the registry’s 33rd annual slate of films on Tuesday. The selections are made in consultation with members of the National Film Preservation Board and other experts. Members of the public may also suggest films via an online submission form.

Notable among the inductees, each of which must be at least 10 years old, are some of the most iconic franchise films in recent memory.

“Star Wars Episode VI Return of the Jedi” (1983) earned the most public votes, according to the Library of

Congress.

Several selections can be read as reflections on the political and social upheaval of the past year, as well as a corrective for years in which inclusion and representation were less prominent concerns. Two documentaries focus on racially motivated violence.

The selection of “The Murder of Fred Hampton,” a 1971 documentary about the police- and Fbi-orchestrated killing of the Illinois Black Panther Party leader. The registry also honored “Who Killed Vincent Chin?,” a 1987 film that examines the 1982 murder of a 27-year-old Chinese American engineer by two White autoworkers in Detroit. The killers, who mistakenly believed that Chin was Japanese and saw him as representing a threat to American manufacturing, were ordered to pay a $3,000 fine but never spent a day in jail.

Then there are the movies for weirdos and outcasts.

“Stop Making Sense,” Jonathan Demme’s spirited 1984 concert documentary about art rockers the Talking Heads, was recognized, along with “Richard Pryor: Live in Concert,” a 1979 stand-up documentary spotlighting a performance by the subversive comedian.

But there’s one title that really stands out among the registry’s class of 2021: “Pink Flamingos,” by film iconoclast John Waters, whose work joins the ranks of “Casablanca” and “Citizen Kane” for the first time.

“Culturally, it still lasts,” said Waters. “It still works.”

LAWRENCE IRVINE/NEW LINE CINEMA/COURTESY OF WARNER BROS. Divine in “Pink Flamingos,” by film iconoclast John Waters.