American ideology of manhood through the lens of Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece Saving Private Ryan was released in 1998 and was met with immediate critical success for its realism and accurate depiction of multiple ideologies. Manhood has been displayed in many different ways throughout cinematic history, however Saving Private Ryan offers an interesting critique on masculinity by displaying two unique angles due to it being set in the 1940s yet being made in the 19990s.

The movie is set in the 1940s where there was a distinct importance placed upon an American man to be seen as masculine and strong. In particular when American joined the war in 1941, there was a need for American men to prove themselves as worthy and join. Steve Estes writes,‘The declaration of war in the United States brought a rush of enlistments, a draft and calls to arms based on the obligations of citizenship and manhood. For young white men, service...was a chance to prove themselves’ (p18), men of that generation who were being enlisted thought that this was a chance to prove themselves as a man and fight for their country. The need was so strong to prove themselves, it became a national identity for men, many soldiers would lie about their age in order to be enlisted due to their great need to contribute to the war that showed the greatest clash of nations since World War I.

From the onset of the film there is an abundance of men who display prototypical traits of masculinity. As previously mentioned, men thought that it was the most manly behaviour, to sign up and fight in the war however when it comes to war they are faced with the stark realisation that it is not as glorified as society makes it out to be. Spielberg captures this realism in the early stages of the film, on the Omaha Beach D-Day landing. There was a sense of importance and unity for the American soldiers as they were given responsibility for landing on the beach and invade the German occupied France. Spielberg shows many men aboard the landing craft are men who pose as scared soldiers, vomiting and shaking in the boat before they land on the beach. During this sequence the audience is introduced to the character of Captain Miller, who is trying his best to suppress his fear yet his hands are still shaking, showing a physical sign of weakness. This shows a realistic portrayal of how men, who may have once been quintessentially masculine men, dissolve when faced with the stark reality of war.

However this is usually not a trait of many war films, in particular American war films, Robert Eberwein states ‘World War II has become the indispensable symbol of American patriotic virtue and triumph… the celebration of the American intellectual tradition and the glorification of American GIs as the world’s greatest fighting men’ (p212) yet in Saving Private Ryan, American fighting men are shown as being fearful of what is to come and they are instantly mowed down by the Germans when landing on the beach. Films such as Apocalypse Now (1979) , The Deer Hunter (1978) and Full Metal Jacket Jacket (1987) all show the American military as being strong and to succeed you have to be exceedingly masculine.

Later in the movie the audience is introduced to the other members of the squad, five other men who are all versions of the stereotypical male. Private first class Caparzo is seen smoking, carrying heavy guns and has a strong physique of a male yet he is the first member of the team to die. One interpretation of his death is that it was his strong sense of masculinity that ultimately lead to his death. Caparzo was brave and headstrong as he wanted to save the young girl and take her to a safer location and this is what lead to him being distracted, left out in the open, vulnerable to the sniper that killed him.

On the other hand, another interpretation could be seen as he displayed less than masculine traits. He showed compassion towards the small child, which was met with morbid consequences.There are also no females or families in the film, which are all things that the man must leave behind and forget about so he can focus on the task at hand, winning the war. However Spielberg once again reinforces the realism of what a man would be like during times of war, they will miss their family. So by introducing the young female character it serves as a realization for both the characters and the audience that they are more than just soldiers.The thought of home, women and family all continue to remained foreign concepts for soldiers at the time so by showing Caparzo giving in because the girl reminded him of his own family serves as an accurate representation for how men at war must have been feeling at the time.

The character of Wade is introduced during the Omaha beach sequence but it is later in the movie where his character is more developed. During the D-Day landing, he is shown as being the medic which would not be typically seen as being the most masculine job. There is much less fighting and killing during the war for medics than other jobs, therefore he has less of a chance to exhibit the stereotypical masculine traits. However as Spielberg gives the audience a visual account of the battle, it is clear that there is much bravery in being a battle medic. The character does not seem any less masculine than characters such as Caparzo, Mellish or Horvath as would be expected.

Much like Caparzo, Wade ultimately dies at the expense of his masculinity. During the fight against the Germans at the machine gun post, he was given a specific job by Captain Miller, the team needed to work in unison to defeat the Germans. Wade ultimately is mortally wounded in this endeavour, during his final moments he instructs his fellow soldiers on how to treat him. Even when he is in pain and dying, he shows strength, bravery and authority, all masculine traits Though when it comes to the moment of his death he ultimately sheds the exceedingly masculine exterior. During his final moments before death he calls out for his ‘momma’, he cries and whimpers before dying in his friends arms. If this was shown during the 1940s, to an audience of the time this would have been a less masculine and less favourable way to go. However, this is also an accurate depiction of how men in war were.

On the contrary the death of Wade could lie with the actions of Miller which directly link with his masculinity. From the onset of the film Captain Miller has been shown as being the quintessential man. He is the head strong leader of the group that they all look up to and trust with their lives. Though during the skirmish of the machine gun post, is the first time that the trust may have been misplaced. He exudes powerful masculinity over the other soldiers, where they all have doubt in their ability and the need to take the machine gun post, Miller is firm in his belief that this is necessary. He does not divulge the information as to why he thinks it is important to take the post, another stereotypical straight of the masculine male figure, someone who is stoic and unmoving. This decision is the one that ultimately results in the death of Wade, a casualty which could have been avoided if he had listened to the queries of his team.

The subsequent scenes where Miller reveals that he is a teacher and lives a mundane life, further reinforces the precious point. By revealing this, it melts his stoney exterior to his group and they become closer because of it. Previously, they had imagined what job he could possibly have, all were hyper masculine roles as they fitted the role that he projected. This is one of the ideologies of masculinity and manhood, that men should have masculine jobs in order to contribute to society however it is not the case for Miller who is revealed to be more like a modern man of the 90s than the one tone man of the 40s.

As previously mentioned the film was made in 1998, during this era there was a new modern man had emerged as suggested by Brenton J. Malin '80s seemed stereotypically hypermasculine, a host of '90s images suggest a new phase of more sensitive manhood. In the Clinton era...a -crisis of masculinity- had taken root - one that had men questioning traditional male ideas and seeking new identities’. During this time there were many movies that displayed this masculinity-in-crisis dilemma through having a more effeminate man as the star. None more so than Fight Club (1999), a story about a man struggling with his masculinity so he projects a more masculine version of himself into existence. This theme is clearly represented in this film through the character of Upham.

It is at the end of the Omaha beach sequence, the audience meets the cowardly character of Upham who strictly juxtaposes every other character who is portrayed on the screen. He is meek, cowardly and clumsy whereas all other characters that the audience has met thus far have at least fought or died fighting on Omaha beach. He is seemingly the exact opposite of the stereotypical definition of masculinity.

Upham, goes on the journey to manhood throughout the film, he takes many rights of passage in order to get to that point. Upham regularly shows traits that would be associated with stereotypical femininity,it is revealed that he is an academic, he is very smart and knowledgeable of languages, not a trait common for the more masculine soldiers. He also enjoys reading, this is alluded to during his first encounter with the squad as he talks about the bond that forms between fellow soldiers, he also likes poetic music, which is revealed later in the film.

When Upham knows that he is going to be recruited into Miller’s squad he does not show an eagerness to join, this would not be unusual for many of the men of the time. As previously mentioned, men wanted to prove themselves as worthy therefore this tells us a lot about the character of Upham as he does not represent a man of the 40s.

The team are involved in many large scale battles and small scale skirmishes, all of which where Upham is seen as behaving less than favourably in the eyes of the audience and other characters. Spielberg created characters that were placed to juxtapose against Upham to further highlight his faults and failures. During the skirmish of the German machine gun post, Upham provides nothing to the fight whereas the previously kind and brave Wade is killed. He continues to urge the Captain to spare the life of the German soldier who killed him. His action is seen as naivety rather than honourable, one of his actions that would continue to have effects later in the film.

During the ending battle in Ramelle, Upham continuously displays less masculine traits throughout the battle. Fellow soldiers have learnt to not rely on him to protect them by using his weapon, by assigning him to carry ammo, this serves as a personal demotion for the character. Though he ultimately fails at this job and continues to fail at his job. He is indirectly responsible for the death of two of his fellow soldiers. It is not until the end of the film where he is shocked out of his naivety by seeing the German soldier whose life he spared. He mercilessly guns him down, the first time he has killed, ‘Upham goes through the “Emersonian transformation” and becomes the killer, as a measure of manhood’ (p116) as suggested by an academic journal he has finally overcame his fears and subverted expectations, he stepped into manhood.

One other character that struggles with his manhood is the titular character of Private Ryan. He is the first character that the audience is introduced to in the film, during the 90s when he visits the mass graves. It is clear that he is going through a crisis as he experiences survivors guilt, Edward Tick writes, ‘sometimes the vistations are caused by guilt. Those who do not die often feel survivor’s guilt; they endlessly ponder the question, Why did I live instead of them?’ (p112), this is a common mental illness that many veterans of today suffer with .The film begins with the question of whether his life was worth the many lives that were lost for his own. There is a stigma placed on men to not show emotion or talk about mental health, ‘men are not supposed to be vulnerable’ (p22) writes Terrence Real, this is an issue that has continued from the 40s setting of the film until modern times of today, including the 90s. Ryan finally breaks down in front of the graves before the film begins. This challenges the 40s view of how a man should act yet also embracing the more modern man who is not afraid to show their emotions.

When the audience is next introduced to Ryan, it is at the beginning of the battle of Ramelle. He shows the stereotypical traits of men from the 40s, as previously mentioned. He is torn between leaving with the group or staying and defending the bridge at Ramelle with the rest of the soldiers. It would have been seen as less than manly to go home without earning it first as he states ‘It doesn’t make any sense Sir. Why do I deserve to go?’ he continues to question what he has done in order to earn his leave. He suffers from a crisis of conscience, he chooses, what was deemed the most honourable decision. This decision ultimately resulted in the death of most members of the team.

During the beginning battle of Ramelle the camera occasionally follows Ryan, he provides a useful soldier and fulfills the duties given to him by his captain. He does not stand out from the other soldiers as Upham did during this sequence, he proves himself as a useful soldier. Although Ryan seems to be projecting the idea of hyper masculinity in the 40s, towards the end of the battle sequence he is shown to be cowering and shaking. Once again, Spielberg, is reinforcing the idea that it was expected by others for men to behave in such a way and also men had a pressure to fulfil society's demands.

In conclusion, there are many themes of The American Imagination displayed throughout the film. However, the theme of manhood provides an excellent example of the American Imagination and the myths and ideologies that come with it. The characters offer an interesting mix of men that represent the men of the 40s, such as Caparzo and Wade yet also there are examples of the more modern men of the 90s in a character like Upham.

Bibliography

Cem KILIÇARSLAN, 2009, ‘Journal of Faculty of Letters‘, The Masculinist Ideology and War-Combat Films: Reassertion of Masculinity in Hollywood, volume 26, P116

Eberwein. R. ‘The War Film’, 2005, Rutgers University press, New Brunswick, N.J.

Estes, S.’The Masculinist Ideology and War-Combat Films: Reassertion of Masculinity in Hollywood’, 2005, University of North Carolina Press, Chapel hill, NC.

Miller, T. ‘Popular Culture and Everyday Life’, 2005,Peter Lang Publishing Inc., New York,

Real, t. ‘I don’t want to talk about it’, 2003, Fireside, New York

Tick, E. ‘War and the soul’, 2012, Quest Books, Wheaton

Filmography

Saving Private Ryan, 1999 [Film], Stephen Spielberg. Dir. USA, Amblin Entertainment, Mutual Film Company