Savage ‘Private Ryan’?

For several months I have followed the acclaim for “Saving Private Ryan”: the realism, the acting, its depiction of the horrors of war, the way it touches the heart. But no one has noted a very misogynistic element of the film. It is a very small moment, and yet a very meaningful one, particularly if you look at the way women are so frequently treated in Hollywood.

Pvt. Ryan, a sympathetic, noble and heroic character, is describing the one event he remembers with his brothers. He is brought by two of his brothers to witness his other brother feeling up an “ugly” girl. When she realizes she is being observed, she is humiliated and embarrassed (perhaps that is her punishment for being unattractive?). She tries to flee, but the blouse over her head blinds her and she runs into a wall, knocking herself unconscious. She is then dragged around by the leg as the brother who was feeling her up chastises his other brothers.

This is all told by the noble Pvt. Ryan while he is laughing wholeheartedly at this fun memory. And the noble captain, the leader of his equally noble group, also finds it quite amusing.

There were a million bonding stories that could have been told about these brothers. Why pick one that depicts the total humiliation and objectification of a young woman? What was the point?

JENNIFER MILLER

Sherman Oaks