Forrest+Gump+Review

Jerry Hamedi Forrest Gump

This movie is about the life of an extremely successful man, named Forrest Gump and his lifelong love, Jenny. The movie takes place at a bus stop, where Forrest politely tells other people about his past experiences. These experiences happen to be the events that the film centers around, especially those historical events of the 1960s-70s. Forrest attends the University of Alabama, where Governor George Wallace is attempting to prevent the integration of the school; however, his efforts were to no avail. After college, Forrest joins the army and gets sent to Vietnam. In Vietnam, he manages to save some of his friends while dealing with a bullet in his buttocks. Due to his heroic actions, he is awarded a medal of honor. Once he is sent home, Forrest attends an anti-war protest in DC, and has a run-in with the Black Panthers. Also, while staying at the Watergate hotel, Forrest witnesses the burglary of the Democratic Party's National Committee offices. Although there are many other historical and fictional events in this movie, I found these the most important.

I learned a lot about Unit 8 by watching this movie. Firstly, I learned about the desegregation of schools, and what most students at the school felt about it. Secondly, I learned a lot about Vietnam; from the lifestyles of the soldiers (to all of the types of rain) to a typical event that could happen there. Thirdly, I learned about opposition to the Vietnam War. Many Americans and American Organizations strongly disapproved of the War and orchestrated many protests. Black Panthers did not think that it was just that African Americans were sent to Vietnam to die for their country, but were treated so poorly at home. Finally, I saw an allusion to the Watergate Scandal, which caused me to look up what happened. The movie gave me a basic idea of life in the late 60s and early 70s.

There was absolutely nothing to hate about this movie. It was funny, interesting and really entertaining. I particularly enjoyed Forrest’s humorous interactions with the various presidents of the time period. However, the scenes of Forrest in Vietnam were some of my favorites, obviously because of the history!