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Heroism Provided by Steven Spielberg Steven Spielberg is a much respected filmmaker, screenwriter and producer sometimes even an actor has created well known films such as King Kong, Superman, Jurassic Park and Saving Private Ryan. Spielberg’s creativeness in developing such well crafted movies has made him noticed since the early 1960’s when he began. Spielberg has a wide variety of genre’s used in filmmaking such as Sci-fi, War, Romance and Adventure. Spielberg’s ability to create such a variety allows him to be known all over the world as one of the best all time directors. He has won 3 Oscars, 2 Golden Globes, and 2 BAFTA’s. Spielberg was born December 18 1946 in Cincinnati Ohio he had an early career of film making starting at sixteen years old, according to Wikipedia: “Spielberg wrote and directed his first independent film, a 140-minute [|science fiction] adventure called [|//Firelight//] (which would later inspire //Close Encounters//). The film, which had a budget of US$500, was shown in his local [|cinema] and generated a profit of $1. He also made several WWII films inspired by his father's war stories” (Wikipedia.com).

As he grew older he was able to find a way to get into Universal Studios as an internship, as he became more famous he was able to start developing his own movies and shows. “Spielberg became the youngest director ever to be signed for a long-term deal with a major Hollywood studio (Universal). He dropped out of Long Beach State in 1969 to take up the television director contract at Universal Studios and began his career as a professional director.” (Wikipedia.com)

One particular movie genre that Spielberg is good at creating is the genre of War films. There are many debates whether or not War movies are appropriate because of the violence and the sad memories brought on by them. Spielberg’s major award winning film, Saving Private Ryan is about World War II and features a group of men who go out and search for a soldier (Private Ryan) to bring him home due to the fact of his brothers being killed in action. The movie takes place throughout the European continent starting with the bloody battle of D-Day. The movie ranked number one in box office gross reaching an incredible 492 million dollars.

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Another major war film was his recent one that he co-produced with Clint Eastwood is known as Iwo Jima. Based on the actual attack the film features a realistic view on the group of men who raised the flag and got the publicity for doing something they were ordered to do. The men were sent home to talk about the photo of the flag being raised on Iwo Jima, the public thinking that it was a winning victory in reality it was just the start. The movie shows how the media reacted to such an event and gave those soldiers such credit when all they wanted to do is go back and be with their brotherhood of soldiers. The film allowed the viewers to see that there was more than a flag being raised and showed the actual event that took place on the island of Iwo Jima.

One of the latest Spielberg productions was Band of Brothers which Spielberg helped produce was set in a movie style format. The series also focused on World War II featuring a group of soldiers who are fighting in Europe during Hitler’s peak of leadership. The series is filmed by following the individual soldiers throughout the war, allowing you to understand their personal backgrounds. Throughout the series you realize how much of a brotherhood these men had and how much they relied on one another to get through the war. The way Spielberg filmed the series allowed the viewers to realize in reality of how our soldiers of that time had fought and reacted to such a terrible event. What all these films have in common by Spielberg is they all show the heroism caused by the men that had fought in WWII. The creativity that Spielberg is able to use in his films such as Saving Private Ryan allows the viewers to see the heroic efforts used in the rescue of Private Ryan and how many soldiers died in trying to find one person. When you see these World War II movies you can make the connection of how the soldiers in the actual event had gone through. The film Iwo Jima you visualize the landings on the beach and how many of them men died before even reaching the shore due to the heavy gun fire and defense from the Japanese. You see the honor and strength these men had since they were willing to die for their country. Even though the people who were used in the movies were not the actual people who fought in the war, it still made people realize how grateful we were to have such people willing to fight for our freedom and our country during that era. His films were based on actual facts, which made it even more emotionally drawn to the viewers. Using his skill and creativeness he was able to bring the actual events of the past to our present time. That is what makes Spielberg such a great director, he has the ability to draw the viewer in and get a personal contact in thinking of what had actually taken place. While watching these films you could feel as if you made a connection with the actors involved in the movies with the veterans who had actually fought. Many special features used in movie making shows the viewers how realistic movies can be to the actual event that took place. Spielberg’s war films he is able to show the gruesome effects of war and how traumatizing it can be. Even though in war filmmaking it shows how bad war can be, it also shows you the heroic efforts used by many soldiers of that time. They show the brotherhood and how people who did not know one another became family. Spielberg does an excellent job in showing how realistic his movies can be to the actual events. They have caused the audience to notice the drastic events that had taken place during World War II and allow them to feel the need to respect what they have done for us. These three works that Steven Spielberg had created throughout his career of being a movie creator have given those who appreciate what our servicemen have done throughout the years and the respect needed. Without those people who had fought in the war we would not be a free country. The use of War movies has shown the audience the effects of war and what our servicemen have gone through and allows us to be thankful for what we have now. Spielberg has allowed us to understand what has happened in our past by showing us these videos due to the fact of how everyone always tends to move forward and forget about the past. By not giving respect to those who had fought for our country and gave us the freedom we have now. These strong and heroic people volunteered themselves to war knowing that they may not come home. Spielberg’s movie touch allows the viewers to keep coming back for more, as soon as a movie is previewed and the words of Steven Spielberg are shown for the director fans rush to see it. Typically because he has such high quality skills that allow him to create scenes that no other director can, scenes full of hardcore fights and unimaginable graphics that seem so realistic. Spielberg says, “ I always like to think of the audience when I am directing. Because I am the audience.”  ( Evancarmichael.com). This is why Spielberg is very well known and everyone respects his films. He gives a special touch to his videos that allows the viewers to get a really good understanding of the characters and what is going on in the video. His work is such high quality that he has been recognized by many as one of the best film makers of all time winning many awards due to his creative work. “Along with his three Academy Award wins, Spielberg has received many other honors during his distinguished career. He received the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1986. In 2004 Spielberg received the Directors Guild of America Lifetime Achievement Award and the French Legion of Honor in recognition of his work. He was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2005” (Biography.com).

This is due to Spielberg’s dedication to film making, he has been creating films since he was young, and has successfully continued to keep viewers coming back for more. Spielberg has many other genres of movie making that he is incredibly skilled at. He is able to work with a number of different producers and directors allowing him to get the needed help to create the next big movie. The main issue of war is the one that I feel he takes time in recognizing those who had fought for our country and tries to give the actors recognition and a sense of heroism to show the veterans of our time the respect they absolutely deserve. Without filmmakers such as Steven Spielberg we would not be experiencing such creative movie making, there are many other filmmakers out there that have created fantastic movies but Spielberg is one of the best and will always remain on the top spot. The way he can create an actual event into a movie and make it seem very realistic shows that he has the skill and power to turn past events into stunning movies. Spielberg’s wide range of imagination allow him to make every film completely different from the last, this why is I believe that he has put an impact on society by allowing the viewers to experience excellent movie making.




 * __Sources__**

Steven Spielberg - Biography -." //Biography.com//. Web. 26 Oct. 2009. .

Steven Spielberg -." //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. Web. 26 Oct. 2009. .

Steven Spielberg Quotes - Famous-Entrepreneurs - Steven Spielberg." //Famous Entrepreneurs, Small Business, Young, Successful, Women, Toronto Resources//. Web. 26 Oct. 2009. .

Steven Spielberg." //The Internet Movie Database (IMDb)//. Web. 26 Oct. 2009. .