Forrest Gump (1994) is the winner of 6 Oscars for Best Picture (Wendy Finerman, Steve Starkey, Steve Tisch), Best Actor in a Leading Role (Tom Hanks), Best Director (Robert Zemeckis), Best Writing-Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published (Eric Roth), Best Film Editing (Arthur Schmidt), Best Effects-Visual Effects (Ken Ralston, George Murphy, Stephen Rosenbaum, Allen Hall). The movie continued to win awards until 2015 when Tom Hanks won the Felix award for Best Actor at the 20/20 Awards in 2015. The film won 50 awards in total. Forrest Gump is based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom and was adapted for the screen by Eric Roth. The film was directed by the innovator of visual effects and the Back to the Future trilogy, Robert Zemeckis. Forrest Gump's popularity puts the movie on the 12th spot on IMDb's Top 250 Films list.
Tom Hanks plays the titular character, Forrest Gump. He is supported by Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson, and Sally Field. The movie shows the life of Forrest Gump, an Alabama man with an IQ of 75, through the presidencies of Kennedy and Johnson, the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal, and other historical events. Filming mainly took place in and around Beaufort, South Carolina, and parts of coastal Virginia and North Carolina. Forrest's low IQ score deemed him inadmissible to Greenbow County's public school; however, Mrs. Gump did everything in her power to make sure that he attended school. Why was it so important to Mrs. Gump that Forrest attended regular public school rather than a specialized school?
Forrest Gump may not be a smart boy, but his mother isn't going to let that get in the way of his education. Thanks to her "intervention," Forrest gets to attend regular school, which leads to a university scholarship. For Mrs. Gump, education is the key to living a typical life, but it's nothing but bullies, football, and classes that don't make sense to Forrest. Nevertheless, Forrest and Mrs. Gump believe that everyone deserves an education, no matter what. When the Principal stated Forrest had an IQ of 75 and the state requires a minimum of 80, he's saying that his hands are tied. However, when he finds out that Mr. Gump is "on vacation," suddenly the rule doesn't apply anymore. When he bends the rule to let Forrest into his school on the condition that Mrs. Gump sleeps with him, the audience sees how arbitrary all of these numbers are. Do five IQ points really make such a difference? Does Forrest deserve an education less than someone born with an IQ of 80 or higher? Public school and public education should not discriminate; otherwise, how is it public? Mrs. Gump is determined to get Forrest into public school because she sees it as a ticket out. Who knows where, but she isn't sending Forrest anywhere without it.
After seeing Forrest's IQ scores, the Principal tells Mrs. Gump that he must attend "special school." Neither party defines what's so "special" about the said school, but they both have a mutual understanding. Mrs. Gump has always insisted that Forrest is special, but in this case, "special school" isn't much of "school." Mrs. Gump knows that the school will be extended babysitting and vocational training for students that the public school system abandoned. Mrs. Gump's fear is that Forrest will be bubble wrapped and unable to find opportunities that children in public school would have otherwise, which is shown when she says, "he's not going to some special school to learn how to retread tires." The question then arises if members of "special schools" are doomed to menial labor for the rest of their lives, or will they have the opportunity to prove what they can do?
After getting a football scholarship, Forrest Gump even attends the University of Alabama. He's come a long way since his mother first brought him into public school and kept him out of special school. A sex act gets Forrest into public school but gets Jenny out of college. When Forrest goes to the army, he finds a picture of Jenny posing nude in a PlayBoy wearing her school sweater. When we look at the two incidents together, we see the hypocrisy of education in America. Jenny's nudity has nothing to do with her school performance, and Mrs. Gump's willingness to have sex shouldn't determine your educational options. The paradox is real.
When watching Forrest Gump, you have to be completely mindful of the situations that all sides involved are going through. Forrest has a low IQ, which gets him denied many opportunities; however, he's white, from the South, fast, and earned a football scholarship. In the movie period, we have to take note of his privileges over his disadvantage, even though his disadvantage affects his whole life. Some people say that Forrest Gump is a movie made for patriotic conservative Americans, and they would be entirely right. But, the audience is made to love Forrest. His demeanor, charisma, and sweet attitude win the hearts of everyone watching. I'd like to believe that's the reason it's so popular.
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