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Chapter 180: Why Save Private Ryan
🕑 Added 2024-12-09 18:43:06 +0000 UTC"Director Rosenberg has no intention of promoting violence."
Standing in the Fox press room, Penny Kellis, Duke's spokesperson, responded to the media's criticism of the film's excessive bloodshed and violence. "Duke detests any portrayal that makes violence seem fun or depicts it as a game. Everything he presents is meant to objectively reflect the violence of war."
The press conference was not only held to counter these criticisms but also to stir up conversation. Although the opposition's attacks were a nuisance, they also helped generate publicity.
Thanks to the Fox staff's efforts, the order in the press room remained excellent. Encouraged by the outstanding first-day box office results, Fox CEO Tom Rothman even made a personal appearance and said a few words.
"*Saving Private Ryan* is a war film shot in a documentary style, with battle scenes occupying about a third of its runtime. While there are many gory and brutal moments, it is by no means a film that glorifies violence!"
Tom Rothman's voice rang out clearly, "If anyone has seen this film, they'll understand that there isn't a single instance of violence without purpose. After watching the film, people will recognize it as the most realistic war movie ever made. It will stand as the most accurate depiction of war in cinematic history."
Although his words were somewhat boastful, Duke, watching from the back of the press room, knew that with Fox's support and the power of the other two studios, public opinion would soon shift. This would not be much of a threat.
If the opposition thought they could bring down *Saving Private Ryan* and revive *Braveheart* with these tactics alone, they were far too naive.
Leaving the press conference behind, Duke walked to the window, gazing at the clear blue sky. Yesterday's box office numbers had already confirmed that, even if *Saving Private Ryan* was under attack, *Braveheart* would not catch fire. While "freedom" was indeed the most deeply ingrained slogan in American society, Mel Gibson's exaggerated way of shouting it might appeal to the Oscar voters, but it didn't necessarily resonate with the general public.
If a film could gross hundreds of millions just by shouting "freedom" in a few well-timed scenes, it would be an insult to the Hollywood industrial model that had taken decades to perfect.
Studios would no longer need to bother with complex pre-production evaluations or market research, and directors and writers could all just shout "freedom" together.
Pulling his gaze back, Duke looked down at the small plaza in front of Fox's main entrance. A sparse crowd was gathering from all directions, slowly forming a dense group. Some of them were holding signs or placards, though he couldn't make out what was written from this distance.
However, this scene raised Duke's vigilance, as he had long learned to approach this industry with the most cynical mindset possible. Moreover, the crowd gathering below consisted of...
Black people!
Immediately, he remembered the protests from several Black organizations over *Saving Private Ryan*.
"Tina, go to the press room." Duke turned and glanced at Tina Fey, who was also looking down below. "Call for Thomson and Penny."
In the bright sunlight, the black skin of nearly 500 African Americans was particularly striking as they gathered in front of the Fox building. Fox's security staff quickly notified management and called the police since, in this country, most people viewed large groups of Black men as a potential threat.
After all, the 1992 Los Angeles riots were still fresh in everyone's memory.
The protestors were not stupid, though. They didn't engage in any violent actions. Instead, under the leadership of a man named Luther, they raised their placards and banners and occasionally shouted slogans, seemingly conducting a peaceful nonviolent protest.
"Those sent to protest at the City Hall theater have already arrived."
Someone approached Luther to inform him, and he nodded before raising his voice. "Lift our signs and banners!"
At that moment, another group of people arrived, roughly the same size. Judging by their appearance, they were Latino. This new group stopped some distance from the African American protesters and also raised similar signs and banners.
"Protest Hollywood's racial discrimination!"
"*Saving Private Ryan* discriminates against minorities!"
"Duke Rosenberg ignores the contributions of minorities in World War II!"
"Call on African Americans to boycott *Saving Private Ryan*..."
Their target was clear—*Saving Private Ryan*.
As if it had all been coordinated, both groups raised their protest signs and chanted their slogans just as CBS, a Viacom subsidiary, arrived with their broadcast trucks. Several large cameras turned toward the crowd, and reporters moved in to conduct interviews.
"There were only white soldiers in the Omaha Beach landing scene!" Luther confidently spoke into the microphone. "*Saving Private Ryan* denies the contributions of Black soldiers in World War II! This is unfair to the entire African American community. Black people should boycott this film..."
Meanwhile, inside another broadcast truck, an editor was shouting, "Tell Riley to interview more people and shoot more footage! The editor-in-chief said this needs to be in prime time news!"
Soon after, the Los Angeles police arrived, while some of the media attending the Fox press conference rushed out to take pictures of the protest.
In his office upstairs, Duke hung up the phone, coldly watching the chaos unfold outside Fox's headquarters, his expression calm.
It had been confirmed—this protest, made up of African Americans and Latinos, was aimed at *Saving Private Ryan*.
"We've all made a mistake."
Standing by the window, Penny Kellis frowned deeply. "We ignored yesterday's protests in the media."
"So did Fox."
Despite the mainstream society's loud calls for ending racial discrimination, from other industries to Hollywood, there was still a deliberate effort to overlook the voices of Black people. Thomson Rothman frowned as well. "With CBS arriving so quickly, it's clear this has Viacom and Paramount Pictures written all over it."
"We need to focus on how to fix this mistake," Duke said calmly.
No one is omniscient. Even he had overlooked the voices of the African American organizations yesterday. Now that the issue had arisen, solving it was the priority.
The office fell into brief silence for nearly a minute before Penny, who had extensive public relations experience, spoke up.
"I have a suggestion," she said after a pause. "We can find authoritative World War II historians across the United States and make sure their voices reach the media to restore the historical accuracy of the Omaha Beach landing."
Thomson Rothman nodded in agreement. After all, anyone with common sense knew that no Black soldiers were directly involved in the combat units depicted in the film.
"It'd be best if we find Black experts," Duke added. "That would give our response credibility and help offset the negative impact of the protests."
There was no shortage of Black experts to call upon, particularly those who had integrated into mainstream American society.
"The trouble from the Latino side shouldn't be too difficult," Penny Kellis remarked. "Their community is much more complex. Even with a Black authority figure, we'll likely still lose some African American viewers. Be prepared for that."
Every protest from the Black community tends to have ripple effects, large or small. Having lived in this country for over two decades, Duke was well aware of this fact.
"I was hoping *Saving Private Ryan* could break *Independence Day*'s box office record for the opening week."
Shaking his head, Thomson Rothman expressed some regret. "If some African Americans really do boycott the film, that won't be possible."
He turned to Penny. "Fox will cooperate with you."
At this point, the common interests of both sides far outweighed any differences, so they naturally stood together.
"Thomson, we can't just respond passively," Duke said, never one to shy away from taking action. "We need to create some negative buzz for *Braveheart* as well. At the very least, we can divert some of CAA, Paramount, and Mel Gibson's attention. Didn't you get some information about Mel Gibson's father? Leak it to the tabloids and stir it up!"
"I'll contact the parent company immediately."
The news that *Saving Private Ryan* had allegedly ignored the contributions of Black soldiers during World War II, thanks to CBS and other media outlets, spread rapidly, affecting the ticket choices of some African American moviegoers. Fortunately, the three production companies and major mainstream newspapers largely ignored the voices of Black communities, focusing instead on praising and celebrating the film. This included the growing debate over whether it was worth saving one man at the cost of eight lives, which became a hot social topic.
Although the response to minority groups was mishandled, the film's overall public relations campaign was still quite successful.
The *Los Angeles Times* even placed the moral dilemma of *Saving Private Ryan* on its front page.
"Why Save Private Ryan?"
That was the headline of the article, which reflected mainstream American values.
"Eight sons for one, eight lives for one. At first glance, it seems like a losing deal. But on closer inspection, was it just one life they were exchanging? In fact, they were defending an American tradition—families protect the nation, and the nation protects families."
"Many people may share the sentiment of the soldiers in the film—why risk our lives to save someone else? Don't we have mothers, brothers, and sisters? Aren't we fighting for our lives too? Why does he get special treatment?"
"Director Duke Rosenberg surely understands the questions his audience will have, which is why his intent is not to debate the value of this particular case. Instead, he aims to showcase this historical rescue mission to convey an eternal moral truth value life and help others."
"The rescue team members learned about the warmth of family and the value of life by helping Ryan; and Ryan realized that he should use his life to protect and care for more people who need to be saved and helped because of Captain Miller and the rescue team. The outbreak of war is not something that anyone can choose or influence, but helping others is something that one can choose and decide."
