War, Justice, and Democracy in the Films of Steven Spielberg: Saving Private Ryan

ADMISSION:
Admission is free. Reservations required. 

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DESCRIPTION:
In a series of seven screenings and conversations, USC School of Cinematic Arts lecturer Luis Gabriel Moreno-Ocampo and professor Ted Braun will examine how the films of Steven Spielberg have articulated and shaped global narratives of war, justice, and democracy in the 21st century. The program will offer analysis by Ocampo and Braun in conversation with, schedules permitting, the screenwriters of Saving Private Ryan, Schindler’s List, Bridge of Spies, Munich, Minority Report, and Lincoln, and an evening with Steven Spielberg (schedule permitting), exploring how this group of films by Spielberg connects emotion with thought, and connects the human lives of characters with institutional ideas that promote national democracy and transcend borders.

In Saving Private Ryan, winner of five Academy Awards including Best Director, Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) takes his men behind enemy lines to find Private James Ryan (Matt Damon), whose three brothers have been killed in combat. Surrounded by the brutal realties of war, while searching for Ryan, each man embarks upon a personal journey and discovers their own strength to triumph over an uncertain future with honor, decency, and courage. 

“For 20 minutes, Spielberg immerses the audience in the most brutal war situation,” according to Moreno-Ocampo. “Then the film becomes about the role of the U.S. in controlling Nazism, killing them without mercy even after they had surrendered and, in particular, protecting American citizens.” 

The screening will be followed by a conversation with Moreno-Ocampo, Braun, and screenwriter Robert Rodat. 

About the panelists: 

Robert Rodat (Screenwriter) is the Academy Award–nominated screenwriter of Saving Private Ryan, The Patriot, Fly Away Home, Tall Tale, The Comrades of Summer, The Ripper, 36 Hours to Die, Kursk (AKA The Command), and The Catcher Was a Spy. He received a co-story credit on Thor: The Dark World. He created the TNT television series, Falling Skies, co-conceived with Steven Spielberg, which ran for five seasons and 52 episodes. He created the Peacock series, Those About to Die, currently shooting its first season in Rome, starring Anthony Hopkins and directed by Roland Emmerich. Rodat was born and raised in Keene, NH. He received a BA in History from Colgate University, an MBA from Harvard University, and an MFA in film production from USC. 

Luis Gabriel Moreno-Ocampo (USC School of Cinematic Arts) was the founding chief prosecutor of the new and permanent International Criminal Court from 2003–12. There are seven documentaries presenting parts of his work at the ICC, including Darfur Now and Kony 2012. Previously, he had a critical role during the transition to democracy in Argentina. He was deputy prosecutor in the trial against the military junta, a case depicted in the Amazon production, Argentina 1985, a 2023 Academy Award nominee for Best International Feature Film, and 2023 Golden Globe winner. Currently, he lectures at the USC School of Cinematic Arts on films and war, crimes, and justice. Previously he was a visiting professor at Stanford and Harvard University Law School. In November 2022, Oxford University Press published his book, War and Justice in the 21st Century, describing his nine years of practice as the ICC’s chief prosecutor. He is presently involved in private practice assisting Armenian people suffering a genocide in 2023. 

Ted Braun (USC School of Cinematic Arts) teaches screenwriting and is the Joseph Campbell Endowed Chair in Cinematic Ethics. Braun’s feature documentary, ¡Viva Maestro!, about conductor Gustavo Dudamel, premiered theatrically in 2022, was nominated for the WGA award for Best Feature Documentary, and is currently streaming on MAX. Set against unfolding violence and social unrest in Dudamel’s home of Venezuela, the film is an exploration of art in a time of political crisis. It’s his second film with Participant, which co-financed his feature debut Darfur Now. Darfur Now was named one of 2007’s top five documentaries by the National Board of Review and won the International Documentary Association’s Emerging Filmmaker Award and the NAACP Image Award. His docu-thriller Betting On Zero received a WGA nomination for Best Feature Documentary of 2017, and a special jury mention for investigative work at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival. In 2018, Variety named Braun one of the world’s Top Ten Teachers in Film and TV. 

Related events:

Schindler’s List
Monday, October 2, 2023, at 6 p.m.
Norris Cinema Theatre
For info, click HERE.

Minority Report
Monday, October 30, 2023, at 7 p.m.
Norris Cinema Theatre
For info, click HERE.

Bridge of Spies
Monday, November 13, 2023, at 7 p.m.
Norris Cinema Theatre
For info, click HERE.

Munich
Tuesday, April 2, 2024, at 6:30 p.m.
Norris Cinema Theatre
For info, click HERE.

Lincoln
Tuesday, April 16, 2024, at 6:30 p.m.
Norris Cinema Theatre
For info, click HERE.

Presented by the USC School of Cinematic Arts, Outside the Box (Office), and USC Visions and Voices.