Fifty Years of Steven Spielberg's Magic: Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Steven Spielberg, cinema’s most successful director, is a commercial and cultural force. In a career spanning more than five decades, Spielberg has directed 39 films across a variety of genres. Early in his career, his adventure movies came to epitomize the blockbuster. In later years, he focused on historical and adult-themed dramas. What is the magic and powerful emotional appeal of Spielberg’s films that has fascinated audiences for 50 years? Examine the kinds of characters, stories, and conflicts he develops. Explore the techniques that define his cinematic vision. Evaluate whether Spielberg’s films are consumeristic escapism or complex, nuanced, even ambiguous, views of the world and assess if they are still relevant. Participants are encouraged to see each of the following films (widely available from libraries or for online purchase) in advance of class discussion.  This class will focus on Saving Private Ryan.