On Saving Private Ryan, Thoughts

I was rewatching Saving Private Ryan, which seems to have a high number of cameos. My main issue with the film is the depiction of the German soldier named only “steamboat willie,” who is shown mercy (although in this context it isn’t really mercy, just adherence to established rules of war) in large part because he showed a genuine effort of surrender and whose killing outright could be construed as a violation of humanitarian law, only to return to the front to fight against the same band of soldiers, killing several of them in the process. The person who showed him mercy is then depicted, rightfully, as a coward in the latter part of the film. The film attempts to connect the show of mercy in the middle part of the film with the German’s return in the latter part of the film, only for him to take advantage of that mercy, killing several people in this process. I think this is a commonly-depicted story arc, the notion of mercy or forgiveness equated to weakness, but I think it is ultimately misguided, as these events are separate events. “Steamboat willie” could have conceivably followed their orders and returned to the American lines. Or been scared straight and deserted. But also, a violation is a violation, on principle, whether or not it returns to bite them in the butt, proverbially. It is not necessarily the case that someone shown mercy will use that as an opportunity to return or to exploit or take advantage. But, in some sense, it is irrelevant if he returns later on, because it was still a violation at that moment for them to kill him, whatever happens following that event. That said, in practice showing mercy could very well result in this type of event but not necessarily so, and obviously, the world is a lot messier, less clear, more complicated than the way any movie, especially a Spielberg movie, might depict it.

take the shot

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