Through Forrest Gump's experience, the film connects various famous historical events in the twentieth century in the United States and vividly depicts a historical twentieth century in the United States.
In the film, mother and Jenny are two roles that have influenced Forrest Gump's life. As a disabled person whose IQ can't reach the standard of normal people, he could only go to a special school, but because of his mother's efforts, he got into an ordinary school. Although Forrest Gump still has problems with his legs, her mother taught Forrest Gump to have hope in life. She said, "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get." She also said, "If you want to know a lot about a person, you can know where he will go and where he will live just by looking at the shoes he wears." It is this mother who, with her love and patience, inspired Forrest Gump's life. Otherwise, Forrest Gump may just be an ordinary fool. The existence of the background that Forrest Gump's IQ is lower than the average not only paves the way for the following plot, but also shows the widespread anti-intellectualism in the United States in the middle and late twentieth century. There are many historical events in the film, which will be dull if expressed from the perspective of a normal person, but there will be a sense of humor and relaxation if expressed from the perspective of a person with low IQ. For example, the school gate blocking incident, Watergate incident, Vietnam War. At the same time, it is also a masterpiece of anti-intelligence movies launched by Hollywood in line with the times. The popularity of anti-intellectualism lies in the confrontation between American small-town culture and urban culture, which not only reflects the different attitudes of Americans towards lifestyle choice, but also reflects the two fundamental conflicts of American social values.
There are many connections and conflicts between the plot structures in the film. This is not only to make movies more interesting, but also to show the real background of America in the twentieth century. For example, the root cause of the above-mentioned school gate blocking incident is the long-standing racism. Forrest Gump recalled, "The short man standing at the school gate later thought it was a good decision to run for president, but some people thought it was not." Then the film goes on to say that george wallace, who supported apartheid, participated in the presidential election, was attacked by gunmen in laurel, Maryland, and was permanently paralyzed from the waist down. Related to racism is the Black Panther Party, a hippie organization that Jenny later joined.
As Forrest Gump's childhood playmate, Jenny forged a deep friendship from the acceptance of others when they crowded him out on the bus. Sitting as the heroine, Jenny also has a lot of foreshadowing. When she was a child, Jenny didn't like going home because she had a father who would molest her. There is a scene where Jenny pulls Forrest Gump to pray to God in the cornfield, "Dear God, turn me into a flying bird!" " ! Fly as far as possible. "When facing her own problems face to face, Jenny chose to turn to God, which reflects the important position of religion in the United States. In the religious concept of the American people, everything has its destiny. When Forrest Gump was wearing braces, his mother enlightened Forrest Gump with the word of God. At the back of the film, Forrest Gump and Captain Dan go to church to pray to God after failing to catch shrimp. In fact, Jenny solved her father's troubles by calling the police, and Forrest Gump and Dan also caught shrimp through their own efforts and some realistic situations. But they still pray to God. Because in the United States in the twentieth century, people still think that believing in God is a pure spiritual dependence, not a material exchange. In a society with fierce competition and tense interpersonal relationships like the United States, if people have no religious beliefs, they will have no sense of belonging, social identity and satisfaction in getting along with groups. There is a detail in the film that Forrest Gump mentioned in a TV interview with John Lennon after he returned from ping-pong diplomacy. China people don't go to church and have no faith. The host's exclamation just represents the views of most Americans on China after World War II-ignorance, curiosity and "unbelievable".
Speaking of Jenny, after the police intervened, Jenny got rid of her father and lived with her grandmother. But the shadow of childhood still exists, which laid the groundwork for Jenny to join hippies later. Forrest Gump, who came back from Vietnam, accidentally got involved in an anti-war rally. In the 1960s, the hippie movement rose in America. At that time, many young people rebelled against society and tradition with extreme behaviors such as strange clothes, long hair, long beard, wearing miniskirts, taking drugs, listening to rock music, dancing swing, homosexuality and living in the countryside. Decadence is their way of life and anti-war is their slogan. Jenny is the representative of hippies. There is a very meaningful scene in it, that is, Forrest Gump gave a long speech, but it was not heard because of equipment problems. Only one sentence, the most important one, has spread-I am Forrest Gump. This sentence let Forrest Gump find his beloved woman. But it also shows that. These hippies really don't care what others say. They rebelled and opposed it for the sake of opposition. This is in sharp contrast with Forrest Gump's honest and kind outlook on life, faithful love and friendship in the film. It is the author's review and criticism of the past.
Every detail of Forrest Gump represents reality. Persistence contained in Forrest Gump's long-distance running. A shrimp boat bought because the agreement with the comrades exhausted the assets, and so on. Every element in the film illustrates the United States in the middle and late twentieth century. As the most turbulent and confused generation. After World War II, the rebellion of babies when they grow up has had a great influence on the American spirit and the traditional American dream. And the film is trying to guide people to reshape the American dream through this low IQ Forrest Gump. The plot of the film actually tells us that in America, a place full of tolerance. As long as you keep working hard, no matter what kind of person you are, even a mentally retarded Forrest Gump can succeed.