Steven Spielberg

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Steven Spielberg is a man that has had his own work outshine himself. The average teenager may or may not know the name, but most people know the movies he has directed. If you don't recognize who this director is, then a few movies by him that you may have seen are; Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, Jaws, E.T.: The Extraterrestrial, Schindler's List, and Saving Private Ryan are some of the many iconic films Spielberg has directed. Although most people know his movies, most people don't know about Spielberg's acts of generosity. Steven Spielberg was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on December 18, 1946. He spent most of his youth living in Arizona, and "The family often moved with his father's job and it was at Arcadia High School in Phoenix, Arizona that he produced his first feature-length film, 'Firelight'." As a child, Spielberg made movies on an 8mm camera with his friends and family. Growing up, Spielberg created several films when he was in high school, but when he moved from Arizona to live in California, he found the opportunity of a lifetime. Spielberg managed to find a job working at Universal Studios, and he soaked up every piece of information on filming he could. He took every chance to go to film sets, and he learned more movie-making techniques along the way. During his time at Universal, Spielberg worked on a 24-minute film called, 'Amblin", which would later lend its name to his production company. Executives at Universal were so impressed with 'Amblin', they signed Spielberg on as a television director. He later made a few movies that would get him recognized by critics as a rising star. After that Spielberg made more and more movies that would be recognized as some of the most important movies of their decades. A hero must have generosity and resilience, and Steven Spielberg possesses these traits as someone that has had to stand up for himself against critics and bullies, especially when he was just starting out as a director in Hollywood.

As a young man, Steven Spielberg wanted to go to a prestigious film school in California, and he was rejected twice. Now Spielberg is known as one of the most powerful directors in Hollywood, that has directed, written, and produced many well-known movies. As someone that has made famous and profitable films, Steven Spielberg has donated some of his earnings of millions of dollars from those movies to foundations and charities that he has funded. "Starring Liam Neeson, the film (Schindler's List) told the story of Oskar Schindler, a German industrialist who helped over 1,000 Jews escape death during the Holocaust. Though a box office and critical smash, Spielberg did not receive payment for the film, instead preferring his profit to go to setting up the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation which chronicles and stores the testimony of Holocaust survivors" (bio.com). Spielberg funded the Shoah Visual History Foundation as a token of kindness to the hundreds of innocent people of his religion that have died. This is evidence as to why Steven Spielberg is more than a great director, but a great man as well. Not only has Spielberg funded foundations, he has donated the rest of the millions of dollars from his profits from 'Schindler's List' to other Jewish organizations as well. "Steven donated all of his earnings from the film to Jewish organizations and historical projects, such as the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C." (CNN.com). This shows that Spielberg isn't greedy and money isn't everything to him, he likes to make movies because it's his passion. The fact that Steven Spielberg donated all his money that he made from the success of his movies shows that he doesn't care about money for himself, rather money to help, support, and tribute others. Spielberg was made fun of as a child, being called a "greedy Jew", but it turns out that he's the opposite, and has abolished those insults by donating more money that those bullies would ever make in their lifetimes to foundations attributing to Jews that died in the Holocaust.

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Another reason Steven Spielberg is a hero is that he's an inspiration to people that have been bullied. When Spielberg was a kid, he would be bullied all the time for his religion and his appearance. Throughout high school it only got worse. Eventually, Steven found ways to counteract his bullies in ways that, oddly, showed him the power of being a director. "Steven even found a way to use film-making to tame one of the meanest kids at his school, Arcadia High. Steven was so afraid of this boy that he used to have nightmares about him. Sometimes the boy made insulting remarks about Steven's being Jewish. He went out of his way to torment Steven and the other "wimps" at school. One day, Steven had an idea. The boy looked a lot like John Wayne. What if he asked him to play the squadron leader in Escape to Nowhere?" (Biography Reference Center). Upon request, the bully laughed at Steven, but he ended up becoming an actor in one of Spielberg's first movies, 'Escape to Nowhere'. As Spielberg directed his own bully in the movie, he felt a sense of power as a director, and he conquered his fear of the bully. Spielberg's actions as a young child shows that anyone, even someone that was as young as he was in middle school, can stand up to their bully. Somebody like Steven Spielberg, who has directed films like, 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind', 'Jaws', and 'Jurassic Park', has been put down constantly by film schools and critics before. "He was rejected by the University of Southern California (USC) School of Cinema Arts twice" (CNN.com). Spielberg has shown resilience by being able to make it in such a ruthless and tough business like Hollywood. After being turned down by film schools, Spielberg made do with what he had, and took every opportunity he could take to get where he is now. Spielberg has shown that anybody with the will and the skill can do anything they desire in life, even if you are put down by people that tell you "no", or "you can't do that". Steven Spielberg has managed to pull through and accomplish his goals in life to become a director, and a director of such iconic movies, too. He is a hero because he has shown that people can achieve their dreams, no matter what.

Steven Spielberg is heroic because of his charity, as well as being an inspiration for people that are bullied constantly, as well. Spielberg's actions demonstrate him to be someone that isn't self-centered, or arrogant, unlike many people in Hollywood. He seems to have never let his fame get to his head, and instead he is humble and modest about his work. He is just a man with a passion and a talent for movie-making, and he is a director because of this, and not because of all of the fame and money that comes with the job. In his case it just so happens that his job that he loves is a job with benefits such as these. Steven Spielberg is an inspiration to aspiring directors, fans of film, and to me, because of his movies that people have grown up on, his influence on the media, and his character as someone that is respectful, unselfish, and genuine. You may have not known of Spielberg's heroic actions, but now that you do, you may think of him as a man who not only makes inspirational movies, but performs inspirational actions as well.

Works Cited "Director Steven Spielberg Born." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 07 May 2015. "Steven Spielberg." (n.d.): Biography Reference Center. Web. 1 May 2015 "Steven Spielberg." St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Detroit: Gale, 2013. Biography in Context. Web. 7 May 2015. "Steven Spielberg Biography." Steven Spielberg. Bio, 2013. Web. 01 May 2015. . "Steven Spielberg Fast Facts - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 04 May 2015.