Dear Mr. Spielberg,
Written by Nicole Goldstein
It is such an honor to be able to communicate with you, even it’s electronically. I have to ask: how do I even begin to describe what an impact that you have made your audience? Better yet, how do I even describe how you have impacted me?
You have been an inspiration to me since I was young. I remembered falling in love with film and you were the first director that I came to recognize and remember. You are a memorable and remarkable aspect to the film industry and your craft is not only changing the filming industry but also the world around us. I remember the first time that I watched your 1993 masterpiece, Schindler’s List. I get weird looks because I say this is my favorite film of all times, but I don’t care. I love this film and how much of a powerful impact it made on my life and the world around me. Your commitment and bravery to tell the story in Schindler’s List is awe inspiring to me. You stuck through it and that takes guts and determination. I have always wanted to say to you that I know it was hard that what you went through- those Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director were well deserved.
Branching off of this particular project, you pursued a project called The Shoah Foundation to commemorate and record the testimonies of those that survived the Holocaust. This is specifically significant to me because my grandfather, Alfred Hermann Goldstein, was one of your interviewees. For that reason, I want to reach out to you and sincerely thank you for creating this incredible library of testimonies from that tragedy. Without your initiative and drive, these stories and individuals would be lost forever. I cannot thank you enough for going out of your way, capturing these stories in their barest form for future generations to remember and learn from.
Your other projects including Jaws, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, Warhorse, Lincoln, Munich and Saving Private Ryan just to name a few influenced me in numerous ways. With Jaws, you left an imprint of terror on every audience member in the theater or the small TV screen at home. By the way, it is the very first summer blockbuster ever, so congratulations on that honor! What is even more impressive however is that even in the modern day and age, Jaws leave audiences trembling with fear; that is how a film is supposed to be.
Your other films have left an impressive imprint on film history. With E.T., you told an endearing story of friendship and true belonging, which was well communicated and quoted all the time; this is also how to tell if you left an impact on society, which you most certainly did. Saving Private Ryan was powerful. I mean, wow. As illustrated within the first twenty minutes of the film, you are unafraid to set the scene with horrific realistic details of war and prompt discussion of the real life issues of war and destruction. You are unafraid of breaking barriers in concerns with depicting realism and gruesome wartime settings while at the same time merging the lessons of loyalty and devastation into a jammed packed punch of a film. Warhorse made me cry; it was so incredible. Even when the subject of a story is a horse, you managed to make the film than just about the physical characters. The emotion and the true endeavors of the characters is what drove the story. With Munich and Lincoln, you painted pictures of these events through complex characters and enticing situations that dragged the audiences along for the intense rides and left them astounded. I could jabber on an on about specifically how each of your films are masterpieces in their own right, but I digress.
And don’t think that I would forget your collaboration with Dreamworks Studios. I mean The Prince of Egypt is my favorite cartoon movies that I watched constantly as a kid. It’s still my favorite; the visuals along with what the story told and left behind for its audience is indescribable. When I have children someday, I will force them to watch this film.
Thank you for your contributions to the film industry and thank you for sharing your inspirations and for opening your imagination to us. I hope that you do not stop making movies for a long time. Someday I hope to meet you in person in and shake your hand thanking you for all that you have done and will continue to do.
SINCERELY,
AN INSPIRING FILMMAKER
P.S. I am looking forward to Bridge of Spies coming out next month.
Reference:
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