Will Denny

Professor Kashtan

UWRT 1102

February 20th, 2017

Critical Reading - Forrest Gump

Forrest Gump is a film about a man with special needs growing up in the American South.

Forrest Gump lives a life of adventure, patriotism, and makes a statement on what it means to be

an American. Forrests mother, before dying, told him I happen to believe you make your own

destiny. You have to do the best with what God gave you. You have to find your own destiny

and the purpose to your life. The film makes the statement that being an American is about

overcoming your obstacles and defining your destiny with whichever path you desire.

Forrest Gump lives an adventurous life that includes earning a purple heart in the Vietnam

War, Playing ping pong for the United States, starting a very successful shrimping company, and

doing all of this while overcoming his mental disabilities. As a young child he was forced to

wear leg braces to walk. In combination with his mental disabilities, this caused other kids to

make fun of him and outcast him from everyone else. The film, set in the deep south, showed the

prejudice that was set on him since his early diagnosis. When he was in college he became a

football star, he had Alabama's stadium louder than ever when he was playing. This could show

American values and what we as a country value over other things. He would later drop out of

college to go to Vietnam. Where he saved the lives of his platoon but sadly lost his best friend,

Bubba, who also had mental disabilities. While in recovery, Forrest starting playing ping pong

and became the first American invited to visit China to play for the United States. After his fame

from ping pong wore off, he used the money he had acquired to start Bubba Gump Fishing
Company to pay the bills. Which would grow to become a multi million dollar company. He did

this with the aid of his legless captain from Vietnam, Lieutenant Dan. Throughout this crazy

story of success, the movie portrays how Americans act and behave. You can see this by how

Forrest Gump lives his life and how others react to him. The movie also shows different regions

of the U.S. and there is a clear difference in people from the south and those from other places

shown in the movie. The film makes the point to show the racism and prejudice that was relevant

during the time. Forrest Gump also shows several key events of American history that are

important to the American identity. Forrest Gump portrays different forms of American identity

throughout the film and makes several statements on what it means to be an american. Forrest

gump makes the statement that to be successful in America you must overcome your inner

struggles and the exterior ones as well.

Forrest Gump proclaims that, in America, success is obtained from hard work and

dedication. The film starts explaining his lifes story in Alabama with him being about 8 or 9

years old. Forrest visits the doctor in one of the early scenes. The doctor has a very thick accent

and strong conservative values. He is a stereotypical southern man with suspenders and

clubmaster raybans. A man with this statue should have the credentials of a logos appeal however

the way this scene was shot the audience distrusts the southern doctor. He discredits Forest

because of his low IQ and malformed legs. This was the first show of the lack of inclusiveness

and prejudice that existed in the south at the time. In this scene his mother rejects what the doctor

says, which may contradict the stereotype that is given to most southern women. Making the

statement that women can and should be powerful and important to society. She speaks her mind

and disagrees with the doctor. This is happening in the 1950s, when women were still expected

to keep a small presence. This foreshadowed the attitude that Forrest would develop on life and
his willingness to defy the odds. However Much like his mother didnt accept the doctors

prognosis, the other kids didnt accept Forrest as one of them. They chased him around and

bullied him every chance they got. This continued till he was a teenager and was chased by a

group of bullies in a car. This scene was one of the most brutal showings of prejudice in the

south and made the claim that the mindset of the south at the time was incredibly backwards. He

ran out of his braces and continued to run all the way home to his mother who believe he was

no different. Overcoming his obstacle much like his mother taught him too and he did

countless times after. The most famous quote, that almost anyone can recite by memory, is Life

is like a box of chocolates, you never know what youre gonna get. You never know what

obstacles in life youre going to have to face but whichever one it is you must push through the

difficulty to succeed. The film proclaims the statement that, in America, you must overcome your

disabilities to achieve success. This is seen countless times in the film. Forrest overcomes the

bullet wound to save his friend in the war. He overcomes the death of Bubba and starts a

business in his honor, that sells something he knows nothing about. Pathos is used in the scene

where he delivers Bubbas first cut of the paycheck to Bubbas family. It captures the drive that

Forrest had to accomplish his goal and presents his life as the American struggle and the

American dream. He overcomes every obstacle of his life with hard work and dedication. The

movie makes the point that doing this is an American staple. This is also seen in the cinematic

choices made by the directing team. In times of struggle and hardship the scenes are darker

usually with cloudy skies or at night. Then once the obstacle has been overcame the scene

consists of bright southern sunny skies and has a lighter feel. This is shown over and over again

to propose the idea that the sun will shine yet again with determination to beat whatever obstacle
looms over you. Much like the country itself, being American is about overcoming your

obstacles and obtaining happiness.

Forrest Gump also makes the statement that in America you must find your own destiny.

Forrests mother tells him this countless times throughout his childhood. She put an emphasis on

him not letting others have a negative impact on his life. You must discredit others beliefs that

can tear you down and stick to what you know is the truth. In the south of the United States

many minority groups and people with disabilities were shown prejudice by the caucasian

majority in this time period. People had to discredit the racist, bigotry that was constantly thrown

at them and define who they were themselves. This is shown when forrest starts the Bubba Gump

Shrimping Co. He knew nothing of shrimping yet chose to sail out every single day to cast his

nets. Plenty of his peers said it was hopeless, until one day he became the only shrimping boat

left after a hurricane. The storm raged and he fought through and was left with a calm ocean and

a beautiful sunny sky. The film, through this scene, makes the claim that success is obtained with

hard work and determination. His company reached millions in sales and his life became the

epitome of the American Dream. Forrest overcame his obstacles and with hard work he created

his own destiny.

After his success Forrest said I don't know if we each have a destiny, or if we're all just

floatin' around accidental-like on a breeze. But I, I think maybe it's both. This quote doesnt

doubt the belief that we must create our own destiny but merely recognizes the uncertainty that

life presents. Forrest believed that Stupid is what stupid does, you control your actions and

ultimately your lifes outcome. The will to create our own destiny and the hard work our

ancestors put in founded the United States of America and is part of this country's core.