Forrest Gump Historical Review
Title: Forrest Gump
Year: 1994
Producer: Wendy Finerman, Steve Tisch, and Steve Starkey
Accessed: Amazon Prime Video
Source Types: The film is fictional, but spliced with primary source videos and speeches from historical figures, which help ground the film in the eras in which it is set.
Forrest Gump is a dramatic, and at times comedic, film that captures the life and memories of a fictional man named Forrest Gump, who grew up with a low IQ in rural Alabama. But through sheer luck or force of will, he changed American history by becoming a star football player, a medal of honor recipient during the Vietnam War, international ping-pong star, a piece of the Watergate scandal, household name, shrimp boat captain, cross country runner, and loving husband and father. If one were to describe the themes of Forrest Gump, one might say that life is worth living, and that even a normal person can make a positive impact on the world.
Forrest Gump doesn’t position itself as a retelling of a singular historical event. Instead, it places historical events as the backdrop to the life of the titular character, sometimes bending history around the character to make Gump seem larger than life. Such as an early story in the movie where Elvis Presley is inspired by the dancing of a young Forrest wearing leg braces for Presley’s own famous dance moves. Since the movie places Forrest within these historical events, they are immediatly made innacurate, but many of the details remain surprisingly the same. There are a few instances in which details are left out, but as the movie doesn’t situate itself as a documentary, one does not typically mind these commissions, such as the absence of the national guard at George Wallace’s Stand in at the Schoolhouse (more on that later).
To pick out major historical events from the story is difficult, not because they are few, but because they are many. Almost every scene references 20th century American history. If I had to pick the most impactful for education, I would likely say one includes Forrest’s impromptu speech at a Peace rally (“March on the Pentagon”) as a Vietnam Vet. (1:04:54-1:07:44) One of the most important parts of this section is that it helps to show both sides of American opinion on the Vietnam war, Forrest, still wearing a formal uniform and his medal of honor (given to him in the scene before this by the president) is juxtaposed against a crowd of protesters and other vets, wearing more informal and politically themed clothing (altered and distressed uniforms for some of the Vets as major examples), and the scene takes place on the national mall, filled with signs that all call for the end of the war, peace, and to bring the troops home. Due to interference from what appears to be another Veteran wearing a formal army uniform like Forrest’s, the sound system breaks just as Forrest begins his speech about his opinions on the war, and is only enabled at the point where Forrest lets the crowd know that he has nothing more to say. The scene ends with Jenny calling out Forrest’s name, and the two run to embrace each other in the reflecting pool. To some this might bring to mind the iconic “V-J Day Kiss” image where a WWII veteran is reunited and shares a kiss with his sweetheart following the end of WWII in the Pacific. As for what Forrest’s speech means, we don’t actually know what Forrest says, and we don’t need to. The event itself and the reactions from the crowd show us the vitriol of the protestors for the war, and how it affected the political climate of this period.
Another would include the scene where Forrest witnesses the integration of the University of Alabama (22:27-24:15), also known as “George Walalce’s Stand in the Schoolhouse Door.” In this scene, Forrest is confused by a mob of people standing outside of one of the buildings on campus. He asks a classmate who uses slurs to say how black students are integrating the school. Forrest doesn’t really seem to react much to the blatant racism, but he does decide to get a closer look. When Vivian Malone drops a notebook, Forrest picks it up and calls after her to give it back. This puts Forrest apart from his other classmates, who would rather the school be segregated, as Forrest instead shows his typical kindness in interacting with Malone.
Personally, I think Forrest Gump is an interesting pick to accompany an American history class. With my current understanding of American history, the film makes few egregious mistakes of historical inaccuracy, and Forrest finds ways to simplify historical events to give context or explanation for events that might otherwise slip past some viewers. I would not necessarily use this as the primary teaching tool for these events, as they are just the backdrop in Forrest’s life, but they would make a fine secondary or tertiary learning tool, that helps to bring a human element to the events, as long as students are able to imagine the scenes without Forrest’s presence.
I think I might introduce the film to students by saying something along the lines of: This film follows the life of a fictional man named Forrest Gump, as he experiences both his life and American history from approximately the early 1950s until the early 1980s. This movie covers some mature themes, such as racism, child abuse, drug-use, war, sex, and other offensive language, including language aimed at black people and intellectually disabled people. When watching, I want you to look for scenes that appear to be primary sources (such as film from historical events), and ask questions of what is included or omitted from these scenes using your knowledge of American history. Do you think there are any major events that should be included by are not? Another activity to remember is to list major events in Forrest Gump’s life and categorize them based on whether they are historical events, or fabricated for the movie.
I really enjoyed this opportunity to rewatch Forrest Gump with a bit more history experience under my belt. While it is not strictly historical, it has a unique way of engaging with this history, and it never feels out of place.
