The Nineties in America - Salem Press (2009)

could easily identify the enemy and fight with what

are now considered conventional weapons, rather

than the space-age aerial bombardments of the

Gulf War.

Saving Private Ryanwon many international film

awards and five Academy Awards. Many critics

hailed this film as an homage to the brave soldiers of

World War II. The military community also lauded

the film: Spielberg received honors from the Ameri-

can Legion and the U.S. Army, and both Spielberg

and Hanks received awards from the U.S. Navy for

raising awareness about veterans. Overall, this film

served to inspire patriotism; dying Captain Miller’s

words offer a challenge both to Ryan and to the audi-

ence, “Earn this.”

Further Reading

Auster, Albert. “Saving Private Ryan and American

Triumphalism.” InThe War Film, edited by Robert

Eberwein. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers Univer-

sity Press, 2005.

Lewis, Jon, ed.The End of Cinema as We Know It: Ameri-

can Film in the Nineties. New York: New York Uni-

versity Press, 2001.

Kathr yn A. Walterscheid

See also Damon, Matt; Film in the United States;

Gulf War; Hanks, Tom;Schindler’s List.

 Scandals

Definition Incidents involving violations of law or

morality, usually by public figures

Following the Iran-Contra, Abscam, and savings and loan

scandals of the 1980’s, the 1990’s offered another wave of

ongoing political and nonpolitical scandals that deeply af-

fected the morale, economy, and government of the United

States.

Because they are unanticipated and violate what so-

ciety terms moral behavior, scandals always cause

744 
 Scandals The Nineties in America

From left: Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks), Private James Ryan (Matt Damon), and Private Richard Reiben (Edward Burns) prepare
to fight German forces in a scene fromSaving Private Ryan. (Reuters/Landov)