Forrest Gump

US (1994) Paramount Pictures

About the film

Director: Robert Zemeckis Cast: Forrest Gump Tom Hanks Lt. Dan Gary Sinise Jenny Robin Wright Directed by Robert Zemeckis

Awards---Oscar

Best Picture Best Actor Best Director Best Film Editing Best Visual Effects Best Adapted Screenplay

Questions

Does Forrest love Jenny? What is always in his mind?

Does Forrest have a dream? What leads Forrest to success? What personality does Forrest have? Why does Forrest run? What is Forrest’s dream?

How is the American dream represented and symbolized in the film?

Forrest Gump is regarded as a contemporary American cultural classic. what major political and cultural events in contemporary American history has Forrest experienced?

What does the film negate? What virtues does the film advocate?

How do American people look at the Vietnam War? What are their attitudes towards it? What impact does it leave upon people’s mind?

Make a comment on the racial relationship between Forrest and Bubba. What does it reflect and imply?

The movie offers a remedy for the spiritual disease of modern age and fulfills people’s yearning to go back to nature. Give some examples from the film to illustrate.

Why are Forrest Gump and the film about Helen Keller so popular among the Americans?

Movie Quotes

Forrest Gump: Mama always said life was like a box a

chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.

Mama always said, dying was a part of life.

Mama said stupid is what (as) stupid does.

Hello. My name’s Forrest, Forrest Gump. You want a chocolate?

My Mama always said you’ve got to put the past behind you before you can move on.

Mama always had a way of explaining things so I could understand them.

Mrs. Gump

You have to do the best with what God gave you.

Remember what I told you, Forrest. You’re no different than anybody else is. Did you hear what I said, Forrest? You’re the same as everybody else. You are no different.

Vacation’s when you go somewhere... and you don’t ever come back.

Lieutenant Daniel Taylor: I never thanked you for saving my life.

Forrest Gump: What’s my destiny, Mama? Mrs. Gump: You’re gonna have to figure

that out for yourself. Jenny Curran: Why are you so good to me? Forrest Gump: You’re my girl! Jenny Curran: I’ll always be your girl.

History Events

Forrest Gump is regarded as a contemporary American cultural classic. Through three turbulent decades of his life, what major political and cultural events and celebrities in contemporary American history has Forrest experienced and met?

Timeline of Historical Events and celebrities:

1. Ku Klux Klan (first organized in 1866 )2. Elvis Presley (The King or The King of

Rock’n’Roll/The Hillbilly Cat )3. Desegregation of the University of

Alabama/ George Wallace (Civil Rights

Movement/Negro Revolution)4. President Kennedy /Assassination of

JFKAssassination of RFK

5. Bob Dylan /Blowing in the Wind 6. Vietnam War

7. Lieutenant Dan’s Family Background

(American Revolution/American Civil War/World War I/World War II)

8. President Johnson 9. Black Panthers10. The Landing of Apollo 11 on the

moon

11. Ping Pong Diplomacy12. John Lennon 13. The Watergate Scandal/President

Nixon 14. Apple Computer Inc. (Gump’s

Investment)15.Assassination of President Reagan16.AIDS

Ku Klux Klan (“Ku Klux” from Greek “KuKloo” ，意为集会 ; Klan 意为种族 )

a secret terrorist society of white Southerners founded during Reconstruction after the Civil

War

wear white hoods( 头巾 ) and robes burn a wooden cross outside the house of someone whom they wish to threaten

resist the emancipation (setting free) of slavesdedicated to the supremacy( 至上 ) of white peopleopposed to equal rights for black peopleoften engaged in violence against blacks

costume&tactic

its objective

KKK

Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977; A cultural icon, he is commonly known simply as "The King of Rock 'n' Roll" or "The King".

In 1954, Presley began his career as one of the first performers of rockabilly( 乡村摇滚乐 ), an uptempo ( 节奏雷厉紧凑 )fusion of country and rhythm and blues with a strong back beat. His novel( 新颖的 ) versions of existing songs, mixing "black" and "white" sounds, made him popular—and controversial—as did his uninhibited stage and television performances.

In the 1960s, Presley made the majority of his 31 movies—mainly poorly reviewed, but financially successful, musicals. In 1968, he returned to live music in a television special, and performed across the U.S., notably in Las Vegas. He is one of the best-selling and most influential artists in the history of music. Health problems, drug dependency and other factors led to his death at age 42.

Elvis Presley: Rock 'n' roll began with him in mid-50s. He

defined its genre and gave its power. "it was Elvis who made rock 'n' roll the

international language of pop." "an American music giant of the 20th century

who single-handedly changed the course of music and culture in the mid-1950s."

"Before Elvis, there was nothing.“ -----------John

Lennon

Elvis Presley

George Wallace

On June 11, 1963, George Wallace, blocked the door to the school’s registration building to keep the new black students from registering, and finally compromised.

George Wallace is famous for his strongly fighting against the Desegregation. He was on the position of the Governor of Alabama for four terms. And he was involved in the election for presidency from 1964 to 1972 and ended up with four failures

(August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998), the 45th Governor of Alabama, serving four terms: 1963–1967, 1971–1979 and 1983–1987. "The most influential loser" in 20th-century U.S. politics

Civil Rights Movement--- a challenge to segregation

Black Freedom Movement / Negro Revolution / Second Reconstruction

political, legal, and social struggle

purpose

activities

protest marchesboycottsrefusal to abide by segregation laws

to gain full citizenship rights to achieve racial equality

Beginning---- the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955Ending---- the Voting Rights Act of 1965

John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November

22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963.

He was the second-youngest President (after Theodore Roosevelt), and the youngest elected to the office, at the age of 43. Kennedy is also the only president to have won a Pulitzer Prize.

Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas. Lee Harvey Oswald was charged with the crime but was murdered two days later by Jack Ruby before he could be put on trial. Today, Kennedy continues to rank highly in public opinion ratings of former U.S. presidents.

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (born

Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter, author, poet, and painter, who has been a major figure in popular music for five decades.

Throughout his career, Dylan has won many awards for his songwriting, performing, and recording. His records have earned Grammy, Golden Globe, and Academy Awards.In 2008, a "Cultural Pathway" was named in Dylan's honor in his birthplace, Duluth. In 2008, he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize Special Citation for his "profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power."

Vietnam War (from 1959 to April 30, 1975 )---America's Longest War

North Vietnamese &National Liberation Front (NLF)

United States forces &South Vietnamese army VS

Vietnamese Communists non-Communist Vietnamese

War

Fear of spread of Communism

defeated by North VietnameseVietnam was reunified

in 1975

Anti-Vietnam War movement(1965–73)

3.2 million Vietnamese 58,000 Americans more than 2 million American veterans over $150 billion dollars demonstrations and marches by college

students, elected politicians, clergy, ect.

Vietnam War

Soldiers carry a wounded comrade through a swampy area

amid the dense jungles of South Vietnam.

Anti-war protest

The 'March on the Pentagon' in October 1967 drew over 50,000 protestors and marked the beginning of large-scale anti-war protests.

songs

Lyndon Baines Johnson

(August 27, 1908 – January 22, 1973), often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States (1963–1969) and 35th Vice President of the United States (1961–1963).

Johnson, a Democrat, succeeded to the presidency following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, completed Kennedy's term and was elected President in his own right in a landslide victory in the 1964 Presidential election.

Johnson died after suffering his third heart attack, on January 22, 1973.

The Black Panther Party

(originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense) was an African-American organization established to promote Black Power and self-defense through acts of social agitation( 鼓动 , 煽动 ). It was active in the United States from the mid-1960s into the 1970s.

Wesley: the president of Berkeley of SDS （ Students for a Democratic Society ）

Berkeley: American youth culture movement center in 1960s

The Apollo 11 mission was the first manned mission to land on the Moon. It was the fifth human spaceflight of Project Apollo and the third human voyage to the Moon. It was also the second all-veteran crew in manned spaceflight history.

Ping Pong Diplomacy (Chinese: 乒乓外交 ) refers to the exchange of ping pong players of the United States and People's Republic of China (PRC) in the 1970s. The event marked a thaw( 融化 , 解冻 ) in U.S.–China relations that paved the way to a visit to Beijing by President Richard Nixon.

 Premier Zhou said: "By visiting our country you have opened the gate for the exchanges between the people of the two nations. We believe that a friendly exchange will win approval and support from both the Chinese and American peoples."

Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the 37th President of the United States (1969–1974) and the only president to resign the office. He was also the 36th Vice President of the United States (1953–1961).

John Winston Lennon (later John Ono Lennon): (Oct 9, 1940– Dec 8, 1980)

He was best known as a singer, songwriter, and guitarist for The Beatles. His creative career also included the roles of solo musician, political activist, artist, actor and author.

He is recognized as one of the musical icons of the 20th century.

In 2002, the BBC conducted a vote to discover the 100 Greatest Britons of all time, and the British public voted Lennon into 8th place.

John Lennon

Watergate Scandal

In the 1972, Nixon sought a re-election for presidency against his Democratic challenger. A group of burglars working for the Committee to Re-elect the President broke into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate office-apartment complex in Washington, D.C., apparently in search of political intelligence. Nixon’s own White House tape recordings revealed that the president and his assistants had engaged in an obstruction of justice. On Aug. 9, 1974, Nixon resigned his office.

Watergate Scandal

The Watergate Scandal: the name given to illegal activities designed to

help President Nixon win re-election in nineteen seventy -two.

suffix -gate : scandals associated with the government.

zippergate( 拉练门 )Irangate( 伊朗门 )Informationgate （情报门）

Watergate Scandal

Break in ---In June of 1972, 5 young men break into the Watergate Hotel trying to bug( 装窃听器 ) telephones

Deep Throat: the informant( 告密者 ) who gave Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein information that helped to expose the Nixon administration's role in the Watergate Scandal.

American dream

The land of freedom, equality and fraternity, where everyone has the right to live up to his full potentiality. It offers Americans the possibility of happiness and success.

It reconfirmation of honesty, good-will, hard work, chastity, love, family, the traditional moral virtues, which enhance the American Dream.

Natural Philosophy

This movie offers a remedy for the spiritual disease of modern age and fulfills people’s yearning to go back to nature.

Coexistence

One black, one white, they represent coexistence and it is the brotherly friendship that supports them and suggests they could cross the racial line in American society. Forrest Gump provides a mutually beneficial racial relationship.

“ New American Idea”

Gump accumulates all the widely accepted virtues of different periods. In this movie, Gump is obviously purified and idealized. He becomes the symbol of those reconfirmed virtues, “the last good soul at the end of the century.”