Abstract
Filmic depictions of the warrior have decayed over the last few decades, driven by a focus on Vietnam – the bad war in which soldiering was hell. When Spielberg decided to revisit WWII in Saving Private Ryan, he recaptured the idea of the good soldier whose mission was a Calling. This essay examines how western culture came to its fallacious, bifurcated understanding of Calling, then explores the definition of Calling, identifies Calling's key features, and then uses these theories to examine the character of Private Jackson, the Christian sniper from the film Saving Private Ryan.
Recommended Citation
Newman, Marc T.
(2006)
"It's Not Just a Job, It's a Calling: The Redemption of Soldiering as Religious Vocation in Saving Private Ryan,"
Journal of Religion & Film: Vol. 10:
Iss.
2, Article 4.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/jrf/vol10/iss2/4