Revisiting forrest gump at 25 what made it a cultural phenomenon. Like, maybe youre an incurable optimist who loves the way the movie showcases forrest s innocence while basically painting all of the politically motivated people as immoral or delusional. How historically is accurate forrest gump, the movie. Forrest gump is a movie that narrates the story of a man from the time he is a child up to the time he is a grown up working in a shrimp boat. Ive never met anyone like forrest gump in a movie before, and for that matter ive never seen a movie quite like forrest gump. Forest gump 1994 a box office hit winning hearts and mind of people with achievements of many academy awards. This 27page guide for forrest gump by winston groom includes detailed chapter summaries and analysis covering 26 chapters, as well as several more indepth sections. For this paper, the character selected for personality analysis is forest gump.
Psychological analysis of jenny forrest gump free essays. This movie revolves around a low iq person tom hanks walking through one of the hardest times in america during the. The stereotypical southern accents, the confederate flag license plates seen on the truck that chases forrest. Beginning with the main character, forrest gump tom hanks, sitting on a bench at a bus stop, nothing seems to become clear to the audience. The story mainly follows forrest, but it would be right to call jenny the female protagonist.
Forrest gump, a landmark film by robert zemeckis released in 1994, is mentioned by countless people as a moral tale of great insight. Forrest gump was based on the 1986 novel of the same name by winston groom. The chosen movie is forest gump, which is an american film with a comedydrama genre. Forrest gump essays are academic essays for citation.
For example, the audience assumes from the movie that forrest was responsible for creating the smiley face during his cross country run in the 70s. But forrest manages to save his commanding officer, lieutenant dan, who has lost his legs in a firefight. He is running through childhood with his best and only friend jenny. More discerning movie buffs have mixed opinions, though. Critics describe the film to be a magical story of a hero, while other critics describe the film to be idiotic and insulting.
Forrest gump is a film that defies the conventions of filmmaking, and in that sense it is difficult to do a typical analysis of the film. While recovering in a veterans hospital, forrest tries ping pong for the first time and finds outwait for. The presidencies of kennedy and johnson, the events of vietnam, watergate and other historical events unfold through the perspective of an alabama man with an iq of 75, whose only desire is to be reunited with his childhood sweetheart. The movie presents the audience with a chronological sequence of events that begin from 1960s to date. Driven by the notion of life is a box of chocolates and one never knows which filing they will pick, a delicate, graceful and innocent forrest gump comes into. Revisiting forrest gump at 25 what made it a cultural. The white feather floating and eventually falling next to forrest gumps feet, sets the stage for a story to be told by forrest. Forrest gump covers the 30 years of the recent american history, where gump neatly resolves recent cultural conflicts, making our country feel good about itself, it is a film where opposition. Essay analysis of the movie forrest gump forrest gump zemeckis, 1994 emphasizes the importance of morals and love, while exhibiting historical context. The movie is based on a 1986 novel with the same title written by winton groom. Forrest symbolizes the way we wish to deal with the problems we face throughout the course of our lives, and how we would go about solving them if the universe was on our side. Forrest gump opens and closes with the image of a white feather floating through the air.
Forrest gump film analysis essay free download as word doc. Through his decent, childlike eyes, we too see things in a less confused and muddled way. The backlash to forrest gump started during the awards season of 1994 and 95, when it was pitted against quentin tarantinos. A psychological analysis of forrest gump 2 a psychological analysis of forrest gump the movie forrest gump is a story of a simple man and his journey through life. Forrest had 3 essential qualities to separate himself from others. It is interesting to see how life can surprise us as god turns our weakness into strength leaving all in awe. In the movie forrest gump, the concept of destiny is viewed by the characters in uarious different ways.
One film that captures both your imagination and your heartstrings is the classic american film, forrest gump. Tom hanks, robin wright, gary sinise, sally field, and mykelti williamson. Although critics downplay on the way the gump s story is told, i believe that the underlying messages of the. Analysis of the movie forrest gump essay 1084 words.
Social theories and concepts in forrest gump essay movie. Interpersonal communication in forrest gump book report. Mar 31, 2020 in 1994 a certain film was born starring tom hanks that has stuck with audiences for decades. The historical accuracy of forrest gump persists throughout the movie, even involving itself in the intricacies of each event. Close up lets us see the emotion of a character medium shot most of the figure is shown also see location long shot analysis and cinematography shows the whole. Robert zemeckis film forrest gump explores this conflict, where the film s protagonist, forrest, represents a patriotic, glorious and heroic vietnam war experience for soldiers, while also highlighting the devastation that war caused through the character of lieutenant dan. Most when watching attempt to connect the origins of forrests innocence to the origins and innocence of america itself. We will write a custom essay on social theories and concepts in forrest gump specifically. The movie is centered on forrest gump and the incidences that occur during his life, but during each period in his lifetime he thinks back of jenny and how important she is to him. Twenty years later the movie remains a cultural touchstone, and surprisingly. Forrest gump part 1 summary and analysis gradesaver.
With pinches of romance, historical themes, controversy, and action, forrest gump has something for. Picture perfect man in the film forrest gump directed by robert zemeckis one of the most inspirational movie characters ever was born, forrest gump. Although the two characters grew up together and shared a very close friendship, as the movie progresses they grow apart. The movie was adapted from a book forrest gump written by winston groom in 1986. The movie is ingenious in taking forrest on his tour of recent american history. In forrest gump, the south is portrayed as accurately as anyone could have portrayed it. For both theories, specific examples will be drawn from the movie and will be used in providing an indepth analysis of forests personality.
An uplifting saga about one young boys earnest and goodnatured attempts to overcome his disabilities, forrest gump is also a cheeky social. Micro analysis forrest gump in forrest gump how is mise en scene used to generate meaning and response during the scene in which forrest is seen running across america 1. Forrest gump study guide contains a biography of edward abbey, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Its been 25 years since the first time i ever watched forrest gump, at an age i had no business watching it at. It is based on the 1986 novel of the same name by winston groom and stars tom hanks, robin wright, gary sinise, mykelti williamson and sally field. Specifically it will examine the character of forrest gump. Taking place in alabama, forrest gump would have trouble existing without depicting the south. The main characters in the movie are forrest gump and jenny curran. Director robert zemeckis used computergenerated effects to insert forrest into historical scenes, including meetings with presidents and celebrities, and used a greatest hits sound track to evoke a sense of time and place. It tells the life story of a man who was born with the intellect below average and still managed to achieve much in his life after having problems with legs and wearing leg braces forrest manages to enroll to the football team at school, then enlists to the army and gets to vietnam, returns from the war and starts. Forrest gump summary and study guide supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides for challenging works of literature. The two theories that will find use in examining his personality are the big fivepersonality theory and the traits theory. The opening scene is the most symbolic of the entire movie. Apr 25, 20 through the use of narrative form and stylistic technique, forrest gump has become a cinematic masterpiece.
Critical analysis of forrest gump critical analysis of forrest gump introduction stupid is as stupid does. Forrest gump, directed by robert zemeckis, is an example of the mastery of postmodernistic approach to film. Much of the discussion around winston grooms highly acclaimed 1986 novel forrest gump concerns how different it is from the wildly popular movie it inspired. In lieutenant dans case, this trigger can be argued to be one of two things. Gump, lieutenant dan and bubba are the more peripheral characters. In the movie forrest gump, the character lieutenant dan exhibits clear symptoms of ptsd. The picture perfect man in the film forrest gump directed by robert zemeckis one of the most inspirational movie characters ever was born, forrest gump. Before parting, they each say that they love the other. Another thing forrest struggles with is personal construct.
The film begins in the year 1981, and a floating white feather is the first thing that appears on the screen. Forrest s mental yardstick is very short, it is hard for him to pick up on social cues. Its plot, narrative structure and content are analysed to uncover its underlying theme. The film is adapted from the same name novel by winston groom and directed by robert zemeck forrest gump is an elaborate idea of an america that embraces rampant vulgarity and transcendent beauty is narrated kehr 1. Forrest gump is so polarizing that the way you understand this movie is better than a buzzfeed quiz as a key to your personality. It utilizes historical fiction to capture the essence of the age and mood of the events it covers. His story takes place during a time of historical significance for our young country, the 50s through the 70s. After all, the movie ends with forrests son going off to his first day of school just like forrest did at the beginning of the movie. The movies soundtrack is used based on the lead of characters emotions.
Forrest gump is an intriguing, graceful, comical film. In the movie forrest gump, the concept of destiny is viewed by the characters in various different ways. Analysis of the film forrest gump, sample of essays. As stated above, the initial trigger is a traumatic experience that he could not overcome. Introduction this paper aims to discuss a movie summary and analysis. Lieutenant dan believes in predetermined estiny, jenny spends her entire lite trying to take control of her destiny, and forrest simply takes life one step at a time. The film is a wisely goofy commentary on the stupidity of smartness. Forrest gump is one of those great films that brings out all kinds of emotions. Forrest gump was released in the united states on july 6, 1994. The story of forrest gump is a story of hope, love, perseverance, respect, and tolerance. Oct 24, 2016 forrest gump is a special movie that has resonated with millions of people around the world.
The movie forrest gump, played by tom hanks, tells of a tender hearted, iq challenged person, who experiences great achievements throughout the latter half of the 20th century. Many folks have been inspired by the message of this movie and have gone to improve their lives in enumerable ways. The plot focuses on the unveiling of the character qualities and life events of a man with an intellectual disability performed by tom hanks. Forrest gump is a 1994 american comedydrama film directed by robert zemeckis and written by eric roth. Forrest gump essay examples free research papers on. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of forrest gump by edward abbey. Lieutenant dan believes in predetermined destiny, jenny spends her entire life trying to take control of her destiny, and forrest simply takes life one step at a time, believing that destiny is about the journey. Summary of the movie forrest gump 1452 words 123 help me. Analysis of the movie forrest gump 1220 words bartleby.
Its a heartwarming journey through defining events of the late 20th century, as seen through the eyes of a dimwitted but honorable hero. The movie forrest gump was released in 1994 and directed by robert zemeckis. Jan 24, 2018 another thing forrest struggles with is personal construct. Although his iq is 75, he sees the world far clearer than most. I chose to analyze this movie using fosters methods because it is already such a heart wrenching movie, but when you dig even deeper, you start to notice things you didnt see before. On july 6 of 1994, the two hour and twentytwominute film, forrest gump, hit movie theater screens. Any attempt to describe him will risk making the movie seem more conventional than it is, but let me try. In the movie forrest gump, director describes the historical development of america after the world war ii by showing the life of forrest gump. The subjectivity, spatial relations, temporal relations, conventional patterns, and cause and effect of narrative form develop the emotional response for the audience to connect with forrest gump on an emotional level. On july 6, 1994, paramount unveiled robert zemeckis forrest gump in theaters. The movie concentrates on the life of forrest gump, which is the main character of the movie. Scribd is the worlds largest social reading and publishing site.
The disabled underdog experiencing and participating in moments that help to define the history of the united states. The movie focuses on gumps experiences with government, racism, poverty, mass media, and politics among other things. Forrest tom hanks is venturing to find his destiny, but also influenced by other peoples destinies zemeckis, 1994. Forrest gump 1994 full movie tom hanks movies youtube. This does the novel a disservice, in that it deserves to be judged on its own merits rather than solely in comparison. Forrests mental yardstick is very short, it is hard for him to pick up on social cues. A psychological analysis of forrest gump running head a.
The director, robert zemeckis, is experienced with the magic that special effects can do his credits include the back to the future movies and who framed roger rabbit, and here he uses computerized visual legerdemain to place gump in historic situations with actual people. The first is that he was shot, injured, and then, handicapped as a result of his fight. It is hard for forrest to see the bad in people, which can be a good and bad thing. Released in theaters over two decades ago in 1994, it has become one of the most beloved films of all time and enjoyed high amounts of praise from both critics and moviegoers alike. This is the boundaries and judgements we set for ourselves in situations wood, 1998. Forrest gump is a movie directed by robert zemecki, based on a book written by winston groom. An analysis forrest gump film 1994, is an american romantic comedydrama film directed by robert zemeckis, narrated and starred by tom hanks the story revolved around a slowwitted but exceptionally gifted person, forrest gump, who happened to have participated to the many significant events that occurred in the later. The story depicts several decades in the life of forrest gump, a slowwitted but kindhearted, good natured and athletically prodigious man from alabama who witnesses.
Work cited used camera angles, symbolism,allusions technique description low angle used to make one character dominant. In the opening, it comes to rest in forrests suitcase. The story revolved around a slowwitted but exceptionally gifted person, forrest gump, who happened to have participated to the many significant events that occurred in the later. The southern culture is one of the first aspects of the movie that the audience is introduced to, is the southern culture. The lighting is natural, as forrest sits on a bench at a bus stop. After watching forrest gump many have an immediate love for the movie. With tom hanks, robin wright, gary sinise, sally field. Film analysis for forrest gump by tanner killen on prezi.
An adult forrest gump is sitting on a bench at a bus stop and he picks the feather and puts it in a book in his briefcase. It was a period of time where questions of morality and equality had come to the forefront in american culture and. Its not so much that the film is overly complicated or that reality is always in question or any art house tricks of that kind. Jul 04, 2014 its a heartwarming journey through defining events of the late 20th century, as seen through the eyes of a dimwitted but honorable hero. Analysis of the movie forrest gump essay emotions, movie, film. An analysis forrest gump follows a southern gentleman through his life of heroism, happiness, and loss.
In the movies final scene, forrest sits on a bench with his son, forrest jr. The movie was directed by robert zemeckis, who also was the director of the polar express. An analysis forrest gump film 1994, is an american romantic comedydrama film directed by robert zemeckis, narrated and starred by tom hanks. Six academy awards winning drama forrest gump leaves a first time viewer not knowing what he is going to get from beginning to end in this historically eventful and surprising life adventure film.