D-Day
Throughout the first twenty minutes of the film, which shows the D-Day landings from the perspective of American soldiers, director Steven Spielberg uses intense, vivid imagery to capture the horror of the invasion and the carnage it inflicted on soldiers. Soldiers are blown apart limb-by-limb before viewers' very eyes. They lose blood; their wounds are shown in a breathtaking, no-holds-bar kind of way that leaves nothing to the imagination.
Nazism
As Captain Miller and his squad descend deeper into Nazi-controlled territory, imagery surrounding Nazism (like Swastikas, Hitler, and Iron Eagles) becomes more common. This underscores the treacherous nature of Miller's mission and shows that to be successful, he and his squad will need to be intelligent and cunning in their decisions.
Family
After Captain Miller meets up with Private Ryan, imagery surrounding family becomes more prevalent. Miller shows Ryan pictures of his wife to keep his spirits up; Ryan tells Miller about his family in extensive detail. This imagery illuminates the power of family and the force with which it allows someone to carry on even in difficult times.
German machine gun nests
The imagery of German machine gun (MG) nests permeates the film. At seemingly every corner, Miller, Ryan, and their squad encounter heavily armed Germans capable of inflicting profound carnage because of their weapon of war. They are terrible weapons capable of ripping human beings limb from limb.
