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ElCount
12-27-2007, 05:56 AM
When i first typed the title of this thread I actually wrote "Forrest Chump". Just a lil insight into the type of things that dwell in our subconscious I guess.

There used to be certain movies I favored over Forrest Gump such as The Shawshank Redemption and some others I can't remember. But this has got to be the best film ever shot.

With all the cheesiness that plagues current films with the overdone special effects, green screen, computer generated images, and other animated stuff it's seriously amazing that this film used it at all. I remember the feather shots in the beginning and end of the movie were both placed there with computers, and they green screened several shots during the movie, mainly the ones with Kennedy, Nixon, Lennon etc...and they did an excellent job at blending them all in into one picture. It hardly seemed surreal at all.

As for the film itself I remember Rudra writing about Shawshank displaying very little emotion within the characters and making the watchers feel all the emotions themselves and Gump is one of those movies to a certain degree. Tom Hanks defines acting with his role, hardly displays any underlying feeling and insecurities in the film and makes you feel sorrow, makes you appreciate his determination, makes you love him for his heart.

I loved the duality between him and Jenny since there were so many principles they tried to tackle while making them fall in love.

First of all there's the concept of good parenting and the type of affect it has on a child's life. Forrest grows up without a father figure and Jenny grows up without a mother figure, and both of them develop different kinds of relationships with their parents. On Forrests' side there's a clear picture of good parenting, an overindulging overbearing overloving mother who cares for her son, his success, self esteem, and well being more than anything. Then there's Jenny who's daddy abuses and rapes her and eventually they're separated for life.

People overlook the parenting factor in the film but Forrest grows up to do quite well for himself despite being slow. He makes it to university, plays professional football, joins the army and shows tremendous bravery while serving, becomes a professional ping pong player, becomes a successful entrepreneur in the shrimping business, inspiring others through running, makes millions and donates most of it. Jenny on the other hand leads the most unstable life especially growing up in that era, infested with sex, drugs, diseases, gets kicked out of colege for playboy, sings nude, the whole hippy and civil rights movement, and all the poisons and evils of the fast life.

Also with their duality there's hard work versus smarts. Jenny being a smart chick actually fails, succumbing to social seduction while Forrest being dumb achieves everything through hard work. His story really shows what true determination is, how through hard work he plays football and makes it thru school, makes it thru the army, all of his successes that I mentioned before.

Then there's the everlasting love between these two. It's a bit of twist as Jenny always condones him running with the famous "run forrest run" line, but despite him listening and both of them running all the time, they still end up together in the end. Forrest of course has always been in love with the gurl that's always been there for him, while she wants to go out and be a playgirl (gurls just wanna have fun). It feeds off the irony, how Jenny can be so in love with Forrest over these years but still having to go out there and experience the world and sex with the demons before she can appreciate the beauty of having an angel in her life. And Forrest being her savior as he is must watch her suffer through it as if he's Christ himself, bleeding for other people.

I'll write in here when I think of more.

(--LazerScope-->>
12-27-2007, 05:37 PM
El, you're on point with what you said about the special effects. Surprisingly they hold up to this day.....Forrest is SEEMLESSLY melded into the scenes with JFK, etc.

The film actually tells the story of America, if you look at it that way. We witness all the great events of America's birth and life through very uncritical, unbiased, non-judgmental eyes (Forrest's). He is the vessel through which we experience our history.

Of course, there's a spiritual undertone to the flick as well (as is in all Robert Zemeckis films). The human spirit (or here, the "American" spirit, can conquer all.

harvardpark617
01-01-2008, 10:31 PM
i agree, this movie is amazing and it never gets old.

someone i was talking to in class was telling me how jenny was the embodiment for if you try and change with the times you will die LOL. or something like that. he said it differently more eloquent, but i cant remember exactly. but im sure you can see the point. and i had never really thought about that before.