Our Mission
Library of Congress, Washington DC
Matthew Ryan, the screenwriter of Aegis for Dreams, as well as the Founder and Trustee of the Foundation, shares some thoughts on this film project.
A Film For Our Country, For Our Soldiers
We will make this feature film in a charity. That may be unprecedented. Feature films have long been the exclusive province of commercial (for-profit) filmmakers. Artistically and historically, that should be a breath of fresh air to viewers of the film as we don’t need to alter this great story in pursuit of the next dollar of profit.
Our Foundation qualifies as a tax-exempt public charity first because of our educational mission. But this isn’t dry textbook material; rather, it’s a compelling story primarily about the relationship between two people that happen to be giants of American history. Read about our education plans HERE.
The second prong of our tax-exempt status is charity itself: if we receive any net profits from exhibiting this film, we will pay these net profits to soldier charities (primarily) and youth charities. Read about our giving plans HERE.
Matthew Ryan at Washington's Headquarters, the Ford Mansion, Morristown, New Jersey
Heroes Worth Meeting
There is an adage: “Never meet your heroes.”
Here’s the quick urban dictionary translation: it’s unwise to seek personal acquaintance with people you regard with high esteem, as they often fail to fulfill your expectations, and leave you disappointed.
I’m sure the adage is true in many cases, but as an idealist, I really dislike the idea. I think we should have people to look up to, to inspire us, to make us better. Someone to disappoint and aspire for. Someone who is an aegis for our own dreams. When we find people like that, we should celebrate them. Aegis for Dreams was born of that idea.
I became well-acquainted with Washington and Hamilton eight years ago, when I started reading extensively on the Founding Era (coincidentally, I was the same age as Hamilton when he died in a duel). I found the long, sometimes uneasy relationship between Hamilton and Washington fascinating. I set out to write about this relationship. That led to the screenplay, and later, this Foundation’s ambitious film project.
Live "Historically" - You Never Know Who's Watching
It is often said that our Founders lived “historically”.
It means they saw their actions as public figures would be known not just by their peers, but by generations to come – just as they knew in detail the actions of their role models and cautionary characters of ancient Rome nearly 2,000 years earlier. They strived for “fame”, that is, to make their mark, historically.
To me, this standard set by the Founders is serious inspiration for us, and is the key theme in Aegis for Dreams (hence our title). The film provides a unique opportunity to cinematically experience, and be inspired by, what made Washington and Hamilton special, and possibly incorporate some of the Founders’ ideals in our own lives.
People have been writing books about George Washington for as long as America has existed. Some of these books have been celebrated as the highest form of biography. Some others, not so much. One book falling into the latter category was “The Life of George Washington” written in the early 1800s by Mason Locke Weems – better known as Parson Weems. He was an itinerant minister and part-time author. Sprinkled within the facts contained in the book were myths created by the author, including Washington confessing to chopping down the cherry tree because he could not tell a lie.
Say what you will about Weems’ scholarship, the book is noteworthy for another reason. It involves a young boy born in the still-untamed frontiers of the American Midwest. Although the boy was born to illiterate parents, he had a burning desire to learn. Weems’ book found its way into the hands of the boy, who studied it and was greatly impacted by it.
That boy was Abraham Lincoln.
Lincoln learned the story of Washington using what was then the most sophisticated teaching technology of the day: a bound book. Through the power of modern cinema, we have at our disposal something akin to time travel — the re-enactment of important historical events contained in a cogent story.
We can only hope that the next Lincoln will be watching. That is our opportunity.
A Humanities Project
I am a proud graduate of Albany Law School and LeMoyne College, a small Jesuit school in Syracuse, New York. The skills I developed at these schools prepared me for my thirty year career legal and banking career, then to write this story and secure the Foundation’s legal right to tell it, in a case before the United States Tax Court.
While at LeMoyne College, I took many courses in the Humanities. To me, the Humanities is about the power of example. How virtuous actions and positive, powerful words, inspire others, and create similar words and actions, continuing a virtuous cycle. We human beings are imperfect. The Humanities inspire us to be better.
Humanities elements are woven into the fabric of the story, but none more significant than Joseph Addison’s stage play Cato (a tragedy) which served as a powerful motivation to Washington. Also included are Thomas Paine’s influential pamphlet series The American Crisis, Patrick Henry’s fiery Liberty or Death speech (also heavily influenced by the Cato play), and even the Declaration of Independence. Works of Mozart (born a year after Hamilton) serves as the soundtrack of the film.
Our wish is that Aegis for Dreams becomes a part of our great humanities tradition.
“The humanities preserve our valued traditions and transmit them from generation to generation. The humanities listen to the voices of many generations, and share them through history, literature, philosophy, ethics, religion, languages, archaeology, and all the other areas of thought, and culture that make up the record of human activity.”
The National Endowment for the Humanities