Patriotism
Leading into the early 21st century, there was renewed focus in America in glorifying the generation that had fought in WWII, depicted in films such as Saving Private Ryan and The Thin Red Line, the miniseries Band of Brothers (2001), books, including The Greatest Generation (1998), and a World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.[w] Many publications believed this resurgence of interest in the war to be a response to decades of American cynicism toward the nation's failure in the Vietnam War (1955–1975), and anticlimactic victories in the Cold and Gulf wars that resulted in little diplomatic success or celebration.[x]
Many films about the Vietnam War depicted its American combatants as self-hating, "deeply troubled, or even psychotic," offered little respect, and portrayed the conflict itself as one mired in dread, anxiety, and general negativity.[133][76][87][134] Literature professor Marzena Sokołowska-Paryż said the worship of WWII as "the last Good War" and its veterans as "the greatest generation" represented a "therapeutic [form of] patriotism" designed to rehabilitate the modern image of combatants as the enduring legacy of WWII soldiers and the core American national identity while forgetting any lingering guilt over the Vietnam War.[134][76] Film scholar Albert Auster described this reappraisal as a reversal of attitudes up to the early 1990s where historical wars, including WWII, were not beyond criticism and, particularly in response to the Vietnam War, literary critics aimed to undo the impression of WWII as the "Good War".[135] Saving Private Ryan is American-centric, beginning and ending with an image of the nation's flag fluttering in the wind, a desaturated image suggesting a nostalgic image of "the deep pride we once felt in our flag".[87][137][118] Stephen Holden described it as "a wholehearted celebration of American pluck and virtue and honor".[76]
Holden and Ebert disagreed with the view of some critics that Saving Private Ryan's "harrowing" and realistic combat scenes were a statement against war. They wrote that it accepts war as a necessity and portrays its main characters not as symbols, but as real people trying to kill the enemy without getting themselves killed.[76][18][28][138] The scenes of the elderly Ryan visiting Miller's grave with his family received some criticism.[76][137] Author John Biguenet queried how such a "savage and unsentimental film" could conclude with a scene so sentimentalized. Spielberg said in making the film he was meant to "wave the flag and be patriotic," but that the reality of his father's experiences made him want to also convey the harsh reality.[137] The Omaha Beach landing establishes the distance between the commanders safe at home who order Ryan be rescued, and the soldiers endangered in doing so.[58][139] It is a sentimental mission intended to spare one family the grief of losing all of its sons, but Miller refers to it as a public relations scheme designed to boost civilian morale.[28][137] General Marshall quotes a letter by Abraham Lincoln to a similarly affected family, but where Lincoln's letter expresses sentiment and patriotic sacrifice to the mother, it is not sentimental nor does it claim that her grief is greater than any other mother who lost her child at war.[140][137] Biguenet said Marshall, in comparison, confuses sentimentality for morality.[137]
Despite the patriotic American imagery, the characters of Saving Private Ryan do not discuss their home country or protecting democracy from fascism. The soldiers are only concerned with returning home to their loved ones. Miller's men openly state that they do not care about Ryan, but Miller says that he will go into metaphorical Hell to save him, if it means Miller can return to his wife. The soldiers actively fighting are not sentimental about their mission.[137]
Turan and Biguenet said Saving Private Ryan "feels like an official act of atonement" for modern generations failing to acknowledge the "courage and sacrifice" of WWII soldiers. When Miller tells Ryan to "earn this," he is effectively speaking about the debt owed to veterans who made "the ultimate sacrifice" for their country.[76][137][19][141] Biguenet called this a "terrible, impossible order", a moral burden that Ryan will carry until his own death because there is no way to compensate the high price paid by Miller's men. Spielberg suggested the answer was in the living paying homage to the fallen soldiers and the freedom for which they fought.[137] History professor John Bodnar described the image of the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial as depicting a national unity with row after row of white grave markers, serving as a permanent reminder "to other nations of the sacrifices made by the United States".[139]
Morality and humanity
Unlike some older WWII films that portrayed the soldiers as infallible heroes, Saving Private Ryan presents battles fought by brave but frightened civilians, the majority of whom at Omaha Beach were not combat veterans.[137][28] Ebert believed much of the audience, including himself, would identify with Upham, someone completely unprepared for the realities of war but who must fight regardless.[58] Miller is the opposite: an experienced soldier who is scared and anxious because he knows exactly what to expect and is haunted by his responsibility for the lives of his men.[137][28][84][4] Although 94 men have died under his command, Miller rationalizes that he can prioritize his mission over his men because each sacrifice was responsible for saving many more lives. However, his mission to rescue Ryan demands he risk the lives of several men to save just one.[137] Turan said Miller's trembling hands were a sign that he is "dangerously close to coming apart".[84] Far Out magazine wrote that the focus on Miller's ailment acknowledges the side-effects of war such as post-traumatic stress disorder, something he suppresses to fulfil his duty.[4]
Spielberg said the mission to rescue Ryan cannot be morally or patriotically justified, risking eight lives to save one. This theme is reinforced when they encounter the sole survivor of a glider crash caused by heavy steel shielding added to protect a single general on board, resulting in 22 deaths. No character claims that the mission of Miller and his men is heroic, and the men express the grief their own mothers will feel should they be killed on this endeavor. The "toughest" soldier, Horvath, gives it meaning when he tells Miller that saving Ryan could be the one decent thing they can accomplish in "this whole godawful, shitty mess". Biguenet said that Spielberg is explicitly condemning their mission as an immoral act to force upon soldiers.[137] Ebert considered the decision to deviate from the mission to attack the German gun nest on the way to Ramelle to be a deliberate rebellion against their orders. The action is not part of their mission and it is possible to avoid the situation entirely, but it grants the soldiers the opportunity to do what they came to Europe for; to fight a war.[58] Hanks said the decision to stay with Ryan and defend Ramelle was the characters "bringing meaning to a situation that until then had been absurd".[28]
While film critic Andrew Sarris found the German characters to match evil archetypes found in other WWII films, concluding with Upham's lesson that Steamboat Willie should have been killed earlier, Saving Private Ryan does not portray the Allied soldiers as unimpeachable heroes.[88][142][137] Following Omaha Beach, two Allied soldiers laugh as they execute two pleading German soldiers, but the soldiers are speaking Czech, indicating they are potentially from German-conquered Czechoslovakia, forcibly conscripted into the war effort.[142][137] Biguenet wrote that the Germans are not portrayed as any worse than the Americans, as they are similarly affected by the horrors of war and casually execute downed American soldiers. In Saving Private Ryan, allegiances do not matter, all men are equal, and rules only matter until they conflict with the mission objective.[143][144]
Upham's transformation from cowardly interpreter to Willie's executioner shows the transformative realities of combat.[137] Professor William J. Prior and Auster wrote that Upham represents respect for human life and moral decency when he interferes to prevent Steamboat Willie's execution, despite the fact that it would protect the mission. He offers the intellectual perspective of a civilian, but his lack of combat experience makes him unable to kill the prisoner, which results in the deaths of many of his allies.[143][144] Miller's experience means he is conscious of the risk involved in releasing Willie, but he is simultaneously struggling to cling to his own humanity and decency, believing that every time he kills he is moving "farther from home". Although Willie is the enemy, he is also a human with his own right to exist, and summarily executing him would further distance Miller from the self he and his wife knew.[145] His decision to spare Willie and reveal his civilian background, returns to him a semblance of his humanity.[144]
