The film I choose for this assignment was Saving Private Ryan, directed by Steven Spielberg. The main plot line of this film is about World War II soldiers who are assigned to find Private Ryan whose whereabouts are unknown in Europe. His brothers have all died in combat, and it is brought to the attention of General George Marshall who gives the assignment for Ryan to be found. The movie follows the soldiers’ story, led by Captain John Miller, as they embark on their journey locating Ryan. Furthermore, there are many themes that could come out of this movie. Personally, I believe the most important theme shown in the film is sacrifice. Soldiers sacrificed their lives to find Private Ryan and essentially gave him the gift of freedom by bringing him back home. Many soldiers lost their lives during the journey- including Captain Miller- who respected Ryan’s decisions to stay and defend the bridge with, “The only brothers he has left.” He didn’t have to stay and could have ordered Ryan to leave but they fought alongside, stayed courageous, and protected their country.
My analysis of this film goes along with many of the other themes and political messages I observed. One theme that was evident throughout the entire film was perseverance. Many of the soldiers, including Captain Miller, were nervous and often terrified of the horror going on around them. They had to witness gore, pain, and events that many of us could not even imagine. But each of the soldiers in the film continued to press forward. There were indicators of fear, for example when the soldiers froze on the beach in the beginning of the film during an attack on them, yet many of the men kept advancing and did not give up on their mission. Another theme I recognized throughout the film was selflessness versus self-preservation. Some of the soldiers, like the ones sent out on the quest to find Ryan, put serving their country before themselves. Even Private Ryan had the permission to return home before any more battles at the bridge and chose to serve his country and not leave his men behind. On the other hand, there was a moment where Corporal Upham, the translator, had the opportunity to save Private Mellish from the German soldier attacking him. Instead, he couldn’t kill the German soldier and let Mellish die. His compassion resulted in him causing the deaths of Miller (from convincing him to free Willie) and Mellish when the German stabbed him. It leads us to think about the question: Why do bad things happen to good people? More in depth with this film, we can ask ourselves why do we do good deeds when they are not returned or while others are selfish and vicious? Captain Miller gave this man his life and freedom, and he returned this by getting him killed.
One of the last moments in the film that I want to analyze due to its importance is Captain Miller’s final words. In his dying breath to Private Ryan he says, “Earn this…earn it.” I believe Miller was trying to tell Ryan that he has been given a second chance, the chance to live a normal life after surviving the war, and that he needs to live it wisely. Many men let their lives go to waste without even realizing it, and they also didn’t realize how many lives were lost giving them theirs. All of these men were just ordinary guys from different backgrounds and families. They had wives and children, regular jobs, parents, etc. This can also circulate back to the main theme of sacrifice.
Saving Private Ryan is a film every American should see. It displays themes of sacrifice, perseverance, and selflessness that can teach us so many lessons. This movie also shows the drastic effects of war and gives viewers a glimpse of what many men went through, and didn’t come back from, to save our country. I feel that this film is relative to our American Politics class because it is moments like the ones in the film that helped shape the way our country operates today. Saving Private Ryan’s message serves as a reminder of the sacrifices of the truly great generation of Americans who fought and defeated Hitler in Europe, thus preserving freedom in the United States for the generations that followed. This is the highest value of the political community; The right of an individual to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These men secured these rights for us Americans by risking their own, and if they had not our country would not be the way it is today.
