My favorite movie is Forrest Gump, which was released in 1994. It follows the life of a man with a pronounced intellectual disability, which hinders his reasoning. The setting is America in the 1950s, the 1960s, the 1970s, and the early 1980s, as well as Vietnam in the 1960s. Four themes are most prevalent in the movie: love, death, a fool’s wisdom, and the purpose in life.
Three major characters can be outlined: Forrest himself, Jenny, and Lieutenant Dan. Surprisingly, despite being the titular character, Forrest has virtually no character development – he starts and stays a simplistic, loving and dutiful man throughout the movie. In contrast, Jenny undergoes transformation from a kind and friendly girl to a deceitful drug addict and to a loving wife and mother. Lieutenant Dan starts as a proud officer who then suffers from PTSD and physical disability and recovers mentally. Interactions between characters are memorable because the dialogue script constantly evokes various emotions.
The first influence that this movie can have of the viewer is inspiring a different viewpoint on social gender roles. First, there is deconstruction of classic masculinity stereotypes in numerous scenes. It is evident when Forrest as a soldier listens to Jenny’s advice and later follows it (Zemeckis, 1994, 01:14). Another example is Forrest crying when he delivers a eulogy to Jenny (Zemeckis, 1994, 02:40). Stereotypical femininity is also challenged when Jenny chooses a rebellious and independent life (Zemeckis, 1994, 01:40). As a result, the audience is led to take a more nuanced view on the essence of gender.
Forrest Gump is definitely an anti-war movie, which criticizes violence. The most evident example is the Vietnam storyline, which depicts brutal deaths and health consequences of combat (Zemeckis, 1994, 01:20). A more subtle critique is seen in Forest’s narration of political assassinations. At the same time, there are instances when Forest himself starts beating people, but these scenes are structured in such a way that viewer sympathize with Forrest because he responds to insults directed at Jenny. Overall, Forrest Gump promotes important life values, while portraying an effective critique of social stereotypes and violence.
Reference
Zemeckis, R. (1994). Forrest Gump [Film]. Paramount Pictures.