Forrest Gump
“Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.” Forrest Gump is the portrayal of a man that has been alienated from society, not because he is unintelligent or dimwitted, but rather because he is not restricted by the conventional ideals which are embedded within his culture; thus, Forrest challenges the conformities and principals that most people are accustomed to. The contrast that Robert Zemeckis, director of the film, is attempting to convey through the character of Forrest Gump is how most people are too smart for there own good; and thus, try to escape the realities and actualities of life. While other characters in the story are suppressed by society’s conflicts, Forrest remains blinded to all; hence, he is able to live in the moment, rather than evading what is real. Forrest’s unique selflessness and compelled nature to do what is right, as opposed to what is easy, are what our society incorrectly labels stupidity or futility. Zemeckis is obviously pointing out that an individual has no control over his or her own destiny and in order to live a noble life, must accept life as it is.
I think it is very appropriate that Zemeckis begins his movie with the scene in which he does. Approaching Forrest’s worn out and dirty shoes with a fluid camera shot of a feather floating on the breeze foregrounds the entire movie. It is an obvious symbol for Forrrest and the way he just casually makes his way through the worst of times without being harmed. The feather is many years old and has been through so much, yet it still remains clean and pure; exactly like Gump. Moreover, the coloring of the feather is very significant. It is white with black marks, giving off a inkling that there might be a union of bad experiences with innocence. Zemeckis challenges the viewer to examine why Gump is able to remain so pure, and at the same time surpassing the restrictions of society and its controversies. Gump is able, throughout his entire life to remain as we all are as children. To Gump, it doesn’t make sense to break a promise, or give only ninety percent. Such an irony is carried throughout the entire film. Gump, thought by most to be incapable of succeeding, does great things, and moreover; he helps those who would, in our society, be thought more likely to be helping him. The viewers, through Gump’s misunderstandings of l...
... middle of paper ...
...nt feather continues to float and so will that lost innocence.
Even though Forrest Gump appears as such a simpleton, he is very complex. He had a way of looking at people, incidents, history, animals, and nature in ways that no one had ever quite seen the world before. The movie is so influential because Forrest is a little of everyone, or at least a little of what everyone wishes they can be. What I took away from this movie, as does most of the audience, is that life is a mystery that, until revealed in its entirety, doesn’t make much sense. However, it is not something to be scared from or run from, but rather something to be interested in and to be accepted. The audience accepts Gump as a character, but more importantly, they accept his way of life, just like Lieutenant Dan and Jenny did.
Robert Zemeckis is well known for his concoctions of pop culture references, period nostalgia, comedy, and romance that captured the hearts of the film going public. He, in ways that not many others can do, is able to convey his ideas about life in a humorous manner that lets the audience accept it. That is why the movie was so successful and why it was the recipient of such high awards.
...heme of maturation in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, is conveyed through the characters of Scout and Jem, in conjunction with the assistance of their virtuous father Atticus Finch. Early in the novel, Atticus ascertains himself as a major facilitator in the maturation process of Scout and Jem by incessantly providing mature solutions to his children’s predicaments. Moreover, Scout, a major benefactor of the Boo Radley incident and Atticus’ wisdom, has helped her develop into a very tolerant and mature individual. Undeniably, Jem’s remarkable development into a broadminded and compassionate character can be directly attributed to Atticus’ kindness and Jem’s exposure to the Tom Robinson trial. In synopsis, it is evident that the individuals and social circumstances that surround an individual play a major role in defining the type of individual one will become.
Kassin, Saul, and Lawrence Wrightsman (Eds.). The Psychology of Evidence and Trial Procedure. Chapter 3. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications, 1985. Print.
Forrest Gump. We saw him in Big go from a boy to a man in a
In Laurence Armand French Ph.D. and Thomas J. Young Ph.D.’s article The False Memory Syndrome: Clinical/Legal Issues for the Prosecution talks about memory recall being an unreliable form of evidence in the Criminal Justice System. French and Young state that hypnosis and lie detector tests are a misconception because “the cognitive interpretations of the emotional/autonomic aspects of the central nervous (CNS) and peripheral nervous systems are not true indicators of reality,” (p. 38).
Although, it is proven difficult to completely change your point of view from the society you are brought up in. The characters in this film go through a lot of self-reevaluation to find their place in society, as well as a reevaluation of their initial prejudicial
Psychological research shows, a witness's memory of details during the commission of a crime, has a high probability of containing significant errors. In response to these findings, the question is should witness testimony still be permissible in a court of law? Obviously, the answer to this question is an important one and is debatable. Consequently, what we know is many innocent people go to jail due to eyewitness misidentification. Therefore, it is imperative that all defense attorneys thoroughly evaluate the validity of eyewitness recollection events. Any defense attorney who does anything less is ignoring the findings of the psychological community and its’ study of how the brain functions. As a result, an intense analysis of an
In the novel, To Kill A Mocking Bird the author, Harper Lee illustrates how Jem and Scout change from two innocent children without a care in the world to two mature and understanding children. Jem begins to show us that people are not what they appear. Jem may not come from the best background, but he finally learns not the judge a book by its cover. Jem's experiences with courage go on through the novel. His understanding of courage develops to a more mature de...
...nd genuine kindness extend further than just treating the President of the United States like a normal person, even though Forrest Gump is ignorant of the ‘issues’ of different people. At the University of Alabama, two African American students are granted acceptance after an enormous ordeal on blacks going to colleges with whites because of the insane amount of racism the United States of America had. As the two African American students made their way up the staircase, one dropped a book and Forrest rushed through police officers and rioters to pick up the book and hand the book to the colored student who dropped it. Forrest’s ignorance definitely contributes to his selflessness and generosity towards people who are different (during the time period in American history the movie was based on), however, it is one of his traits that makes him a true unexpected hero.
It is a great example of how persevering through life’s obstacles can make life even better than before. Being different creates many challenges for Forrest, however, he shows inner strength as he fights through these challenges. Along with this, Forrest Gump shows how having support while trying to escape a dark path will make success easier. Therefore, the movie reveals that life will not always be perfect, but it is important to persevere through the adversity that it is filled with. Ultimately, no matter the circumstances, any obstacle can be
An individual is shaped and molded by how they are treated by those that surround them. Most people value the opinions of those they care about and want to act in accord. Consequently, the choices people make are greatly influenced by the people in their lives. Sometimes, someone will become close with people who are different from each other. Such is the case in Good Will Hunting. Will Hunting (Matt Damon) struggles between the people that created him and the people that discovered him.
Baz Luhrmann has done this film in a unique and brilliant way, with help of the above, and of course a great loved story as a base.
The character Jenny Curran from the movie Forrest Gump, had a tough life from the very beginning of the movie throughout to the end. During the movie, most parts were assumed and not actually said. For example, as a child she was physically abused as well as sexually abuse, however, it isn’t said, a scene of her with dirty ripped clothes and older Forrest narrating says “her father was always touching and kissing her and her sister” that implies that her father was sexually abusing her. Jenny’s father was not only abusive but an alcoholic and neglected the care of Jenny. Throughout the rest of the movie, Forrest is always there to support and love her, and the detrimental decisions she makes and the different paths she endeavors, inevitably catch up with her in the end. In this essay, one of the main points we see by Jenny’s character are all of the metaphors between what she says and the advice she gives to Forrest, for example, to run from danger and her own constant behavior to fun away from whatever she is afraid of. Jenny Curran will be the focus observation and personality study. Although the main character in this film is Forrest Gump, we are able to see the trials Jenny’s incurs and how it develops her personality. The main idea of this essay is to look at Jenny’s life and find the foundation for what her personality was build on and all of the influences of change throughout her life. Her various personality and life changes will be examined as well as the environmental and social influences.
...movie that I fell in love with. But most of all I love how the story line is a great overlap into the cinematically engaging movie. There is a great use of camera, timing, shots and story line that are portrayed in this movie without being too overwhelming. This allows the audience to relax during the movie and just take in the scenes as a story from reality. To this day, and even still doing this paper I still come to find different aspects of the movie that I missed the previous times I have watched it.
Toy Story, released in 1995 was the first Pixar feature length animated film. It was also the first computer-generated imagery feature film. John Lasseter directed and edited Toy Story using the technology of computer graphics. Sheriff Woody and Space Ranger Buzz Light Year are toys that come to life when the humans aren’t around. Their story focused on friendship, admiration, jealousy, collaboration, and conflict. Toy Story, took four years of effort, including production, lighting, and technique. Toy Story is a great performance on film because it appeals to a wide audience through CGI technology, which gives the toy-look to the movie.
In Dukana, woman are held in very little regard, especially in comparison to man. The only option/aim they are allowed in life is to find a husband who will take care of them (50). They are expected to be the perfect wife and mother, if they don 't bear children they are basically "useless"; and it 's automatically assumed something is wrong with the woman, rather than the man (52). Even from birth, girls have less worth than boys (52). In the story, women are simply misused and treated like dolls or objects, not real human beings; they are subjugated and overpowered, which is a common characteristic of colonialism/postcolonialism. Women are thought of in a very low light, they are only expected to be a mother and wife, they aren 't allowed to reach their full potential in life. "The lucky girls got married as soon as they were born or shortly after. The less lucky ones were married just before puberty, while the really unlucky ones did not find a husband at all. It was all a matter of luck. A husband did a girl a favour by marrying her" (Saro-Wiwa 51). The Divorce, shows the aspect of colonialism/postcolonialsim, in which the exploitation of the subject people is displayed, the women of Dukana and aren 't given a fair chance at life; similarly to how in The Only Traffic light Native Americans on reservations aren 't given a fair chance at life, and are