similarly affected by the hororrs of war and casually execute downed American soldiers. In Saving Private Ryan, allegiances do not matter, all men are equal, and rules only matter until they conflict with the mission objective. Upham's transformation from cowardly interpreter to Willie's executioner shows the transformative realities of combat. Professor William J. Prior and Auster wrote that Upham represents respect for human life and moral decency when he interferes to prevent Steamboat Willie's execution, despite the fact that it would protect the mission. He offers the intellectual perspective of a civilian, but his lack of combat experience makes him unable to kill the prisoner, which results in the deaths of many of his allies. Miller's experience means he is conscious of the risk involved in releasing Willie, but he is simultaneously struggling to cling to his own humanity and decency, believing that every time he kills he is moving "farther from home". Although Willie is the enemy, he is also a human with his own right to exist, and summarily executing him would further distance Miller from the self he and his wife knew. His decision to spare Willie and reveal his civilian background, returns to him a semblance of his humanity. Legacy Cultural influence Saving Private Ryan was credited with renewing interest in World War II leading into the 21st century. NBC wrote that in presenting audiences with its "stomach-churning violence and soul-shaking intensity of that pivotal chapter in the war", the film had reshaped the United States' "cultural memory". It is regarded as one of the most accurate and realistic war films ever made, particularly for the opening Omaha Beach battle. Film historian Steven Jay Rubin said, "It was a game-changer... it was devastatingly dramatic, visceral, immersive. I didn't touch my popcorn because it felt sacrilegious to eat while I'm watching it." Even so, director Oliver Stone claimed that Saving Private Ryan depicted a "worship" of WWII as "the good war" that, alongside films such as Gladiator (2000) and Black Hawk Down, made audiences more in favor of war: "By the time of the Iraq War, we were ready to go back". American academic Paul Fussell similarly decried Saving Private Ryan for providing an "honest, harrowing, 15-minute opening" of Omaha Beach before descending into more broadly acceptable action-adventure fare. He said, "Its genre was pure cowboys and Indians, with the virtuous cowboys of course victorious." In 2014,