Research Proposal: Film Genre Essay

1. Please list the film and the genre being used for the essay Film – Saving Private
Ryan Genre- War  
2. What is the "gist" of the film? Please give the basic storyline in 2-4 sentences (5
maximum) 
Director Steven Spielberg's film, Saving Private Ryan (1998), tells the story of Captain
John Miller, performed by Tom Hank. With a unit of eight U.S. soldiers, he is sent to
rescue a soldier named James F. Ryan, performed by Matt Damon, which has already lost
three family members in action to be returned to his mother. This rescue happened during
the end of WWII at the D-Day invasion of Normandy, responding to a law called "sole
survivor policy," which makes brings back home a sole member left due to services of
war.  
3.   Please define the film genre along with 3-5 specific characteristics. Include
research to define the film genre 
—It is strategic to quote research to define film genre so as to retain specific details.  
—Note on documentation: include quotation marks and parenthetical citations with the
outline. Why? You will not remember that you copied + pasted, or paraphrased research
later when you complete the essay. "No other genre depicts the passing of time – the
turning points of civilization – more frequently than the war film genre. War films are
themselves 'change mummified'. In capturing these monumental moments in history, war
cinema provides a visual representation of that same history." ( Binns, 2017, p.6 )
 
 "Modern technology has allowed the filmmaker to reproduce the frightening sound of
German gunfire and the brutal reality of exploding body parts. American soldiers are
shattered and maimed on the beachhead, and some fall apart emotionally from the stress
of battle. As many reviewers have suggested, the movie counters images of heroic
warriors by disclosing the real terror of combat and is in many ways an antiwar story."
( Bodnar, 2001, p. 805 )
"Some American soldiers in this story question the war effort and their superiors'
decisions, but in the end the nation and its warriors are moral and honorable." ( Bodnar,
2001, p. 806 )

 "Moreover, possibly we can attribute to the early audiences a desire to find out about the
war in a new medium that provided an enhanced form of experiencing the world,
different in kind from newspapers as it offered unique spectatorial possibilities."
(Eberwein, p. 8) 
 
 
     "Consideration of this verifiable historical reality about the birth of the genre justifies
a broad conception of what we can call "war films" today, particularly in expanding the
conception beyond those limited to combat alone." (Eberwein, p. 9) 
 
 
"At this point, it will be helpful to provide an overview of the major elements that figure
in our experience of war films. First, fully mindful of Tudor's concerns regarding the
logical problems of defining a genre on the basis of the conventions that one derives from
the genre itself, nonetheless, we can start by identifying the following essential features
of the genre's conventions in regard to characters and basic narrative elements. 16"
(Eberwein, p. 11)
 
 
"The older, seasoned leader: usually a sergeant, sometimes tough and apparently
unfeeling, but often revealed to have a good heart; traits transferable to other older
characters such as chaplain/priest, cook." (Eberwein, p. 11)
 
 
"Wise, sustaining mother." (Eberwein, p. 11)
"The child endangered or killed as a result of war." (Eberwein, p. 11)
"A tyrannical squad leader/sergeant terrorizing recruits." (Eberwein, p. 12)
"Army/Infantry/Marines —water landings, patrols, ambushes, raids, digging in; combat
in jungles, deserts, mountains; tanks, grenades, flamethrowers; dealing with heat/cold."
(Eberwein, p. 13)

4. Please offer a thesis statement that will explain how the film works with the genre:
 —follows a tradition
 —updates the genre for a new generation
 —provides a new standard for the genre.
 —the thesis should be formal = list the name of the director + the title of the film
(italicized).                                                                          
                                   Steven Spielberg's film, Saving Private Ryan, elevate and expand
the film war genre by allowing its audiences to witness immaculate and realistic cruelty
of war, provide a useful research real and accurate historic recreation of the D-Day
landing on Omaha Beach and a unique not filtered narrative storyline which is far
different use of the film genre characteristic used on prior Hollywood movies. 
5. Please outline 3-4 supporting paragraphs
 —topic sentences will use the same  4-5 characteristics defining the film genre from
Question 3
—follow the topic sentence with a brief description of the scene that will be used to best
example of the film genre's characteristic
 —please indicate if research will be used in a supporting paragraph
Spielberg uses on his movie Saving Private Ryan some of the major elements that
Eberwein's list as components that a film war genre most follow-through characters and
narrative. (Eberwein, 2009) One example and one that it takes the first 20-minute of the
movie is water landings, accompanied by grenades, explosions, and the search of the last
risk offspring to return to his mother, which is the main topic of the movie. (Eberwein,
2009)  
One of the characteristics that renovate the film war genre is the alteration of the standard
Hollywood narratives. The old narratives tend to be more conservative, taking close
attention to what politics or government wants the spectators to learn or see. In Steven
Spielberg's film, Saving Private Ryan, Spielberg said that he wanted to show the
audience the war as it is. In a Mark Cousins' interview made to Spielberg( 2017), he
learns during conversations with war veterans that two conflicts existed: Hollywood's war
and out war, so they asked him: "Can you found on your heart to tell the story of our
war?". (Cousins. Personal communication. 2017)                                
Spielberg, accept that challenge, and he creates a movie reflecting the war view through
the eyes of a veteran soldier, with their fears, doubts, weaknesses, reservations, but in
their heart duty to their country, "Some American soldiers in this story question the war
effort and their superiors' decisions, but in the end, the nation and its warriors are moral
and honorable." ( Bodnar, 2001, p. 806) 
Modern-day technology has permitted o movie producers to procreate the terrifying
sound of German gunfire and the violent realism of body parts blasting all over.
American soldiers collapse emotionally from the tension and trauma of battle. Critics
have inferred that the best way to soldiers heroic acts was by showing the horror of war
( Bodnar, 2001 )  
"No other genre depicts the passing of time – the turning points of civilization – more
frequently than the war film genre. War films are themselves 'change mummified.' In
capturing these monumental moments in history, war cinema provides a visual
representation of that same history." ( Binns, 2017, p.6 ) Introductory and catching
paragraph
6. Conclusion. Please explain how the film fits in the genre: does it continue the genre for
a new audience, does it reinvent the genre, does it modernize the genre, and explores new
angles within the genre. Another approach: how what impact does the film have on the
audience? Does it have longevity? Steven Spielberg's film, Saving Private Ryan, had
revolutionized the film war genre by modernizing the use of technology in film
production to portray a rich and robust elucidation of a historical moment, D-Day
landing, and its censor less of its script. 

  
7. Write a reference page 
 —include a citation for all research included
 —do not include annotations
 —include a citation for the film
 —remember to alphabetize the citations

Reference
Basinger, J. (1998). Translating War: The Combat Film Genre and Saving Private Ryan:
Perspectives on History: AHA. https://www.historians.org/publications-and-
directories/perspectives-on-history/october-1998/translating-war-the-combat-film-genre-
and-saving-private-ryan

Binns, D. (2017). The Hollywood War Film: Critical Observations From World War I to
Iraq. Intellect Books.

Bodnar, J. (2001). Saving Private Ryan and Postwar Memory in America. The American
Historical Review, 106(3), 805-817. DOI:10.2307/2692325

Eberwein, R. (2009). The Hollywood war film. ProQuest Ebook

Central https://ebookcentral.proquest.com

Rubin, B. J. (2018, July 24). 'Saving Private Ryan' at 20: How Spielberg's vivid D-Day
story forever changed war movies. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-ca-
mn-saving-private-ryan-20-story.html

Saving Private Ryan Full Movie Matt Damon Movie. (2020, August 11).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83xMK2MbmcM

Mark Cousins. (2017, July 26). Spielberg Interview. YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFblqNrc8l4