“Forrest Gump”
Media Study
Standard Grade English
Mr Jewell
About this unit:
In the first 18 days after its release, ‘Forrest Gump’ took $100 million at the American box office. No other movie in the history of Paramount Pictures had ever grossed so much so fast. And within a fortnight, the movie’s take had doubled to over $200 million.
Did the studio expect ‘Forrest Gump’ to achieve so much? Not according to the film’s scriptwriter, Eric Roth. He’s been quoted as saying that “no one had any idea it was going to do so well”.
So what was the key to the film’s success? That is the question this unit will attempt to answer, by looking at the key aspects of the film.
In this unit we will study:
· The film’s plot
· Background – social and media context
· Film structure
· Characterisation – “the innocent-at-large”
· Forrest Gump and American history
At the end of this unit, we will be ready to write a critical essay (R3) on the film, which can go into the Standard Grade folio.
The film’s plot
After watching the film through once, answer the following questions:
1. What happens in the film?
2. Who is the main character and what is he/she like?
3. Who are the other main characters?
4. Where and when is the film set?
5. What genre would you say the film is? Give reasons for your answer.
Background and context
We can learn a lot about a text – novel, short story, poem, play or film – by looking at the events that led up to the time the text was produced, as well as events that occurred at the actual time of production.
The social context refers to society’s influence on a text. For example, events occurring in society at the time a text is produced can have an effect on the text. Similarly, events in the past may shape the way a text is written or produced.
The media context refers to ways in which the media influence the text.
6. Which historical events could have influenced the film “Forrest Gump?”
7. At the time the film was produced, was anything significant happening in America?
8. In what ways could the media have influenced the film’s content and the way it was produced?
9. What are the film’s themes and how are these raised in the film?
Film Structure
‘. . . I don’t know if we have a destiny or if we’re just floating around accidentally on a breeze. Maybe it’s both at the same time’
(Forrest Gump)
Consider the plots of three popular films from that time:
In ‘Die Hard’, a group of terrorists hold to ransom a high-rise tower block. But unknown to them a tough cop (Bruce Willis) is hiding in the building. Will he ‘take out’ the terrorists and rescue all the hostages before they blow up the building…?
In ‘Dead Calm’, a couple go yachting in the Caribbean. They come across an apparently sinking ship, and take aboard a man who claims to be a sole survivor. But whilst the husband (Sam Neill) makes a tour of the ‘ghost’ ship, the survivor – a psychopath – takes over the yacht and kidnaps the young wife (Nicole Kidman). Can she regain control of the yacht and get back to her husband before he drowns…?
In ‘Jurassic Park’, a ‘mad scientist’ (Richard Attenborough) invites a small group of experts to his private island, where he has accomplished a scientific miracle: he has brought long-extinct dinosaurs back to life. But the security system on the island collapses, and the dinosaurs run rampage. Can our heroes outwit the dinosaurs and escape unscathed…?
10. From a structural point of view (the way the film is put together), what do these three films above have in common?
These films aren’t predictable. Far from it; they are full of twists and turns. But the twists and turns take place within a formula that’s been clearly spelled out in advance by the filmmakers, and which is clearly understood by the audience. If ‘Die Hard’ took a bizarre turning half way through, and Bruce Willis gave up on the terrorists and went Christmas shopping instead, we, (the audience) would feel cheated. If Nicole Kidman, in ‘Dead Calm’, fell in love with the psychopath and set sail for Jamaica, we’d feel cheated. If the cast of ‘Jurassic Park’ had ignored the rampaging dinosaurs and sat down for a game of charades, we’d feel cheated. But to ‘feel cheated’ implies there are rules by which we expect the filmmakers to play...
The philosopher Tzvetan Todorov proposed the following standard narrative structure, which most Hollywood films follow:
Equilibrium: Normality is shown at the start. Characters are shown normally, living their normal lives and with no problems.
Disruption: Something happens to disrupt and upset the characters’ normal lives.
Overcoming disruption: The main character(s) must try hard to fix the problem that has occurred, so they can return to their normal life.
Return to Equilibrium: The characters resume normal life, but there may be some changes to their normal life.
11. “Forrest Gump” does not follow this structure. What is different about it? How would you describe the structure of the film?
‘Forrest Gump’ is an ambitious film. It covers the world, has a cast of thousands, and spans whole decades. It is epic in its breadth. During its two-and-a-half hours duration we’re shown wars, assassinations and scandals. We’re shown Forrest’s childhood, his college days, his career as soldier, shrimper, runner, millionaire, etc.
The film’s director, Robert Zemeckis, has described the film as ‘essentially a picaresque novel for the screen’. The term ‘picaresque’ refers to a type of novel common in the 18th century. Usually these were lengthy prose works of many hundred pages, following the rambling adventures of some heroic (or unheroic) character. These works didn’t build towards a grand conclusion, they simply tacked one self-contained scene after another.
12. How accurate does “picaresque” sound as a description of the film’s structure?
Group task 1: Working in groups, pick an action adventure film you’ve seen that seems to have a fairly simple structure. Write a couple of paragraphs on the structure of the film, including:
· the main characters – Who’s the good guy? Who’s the bad guy?
· the situation – What’s the bad guy trying to do?
· the disruption – What gets the action moving?
· Overcoming the disruption – Does the good guy win? If so, how?
Film title: ______
Structure: ______
Group task 2: Now try the same exercise for ‘Forrest Gump’. How easy is it to pinpoint the film’s narrative structure?
“Forrest Gump”, as this exercise would reveal, is a highly episodic, non-linear film. Its scenes do not drive forwards, they merely follow one another. This structure is truly ‘picaresque’. In traditional Hollywood terms it is unusual and extremely risky. Perhaps this is why the scriptwriter, Eric Roth, had doubts that the film would do well.
13. Forrest Gump is completely different to the standard, expected structure of a Hollywood film. Why then, do you think it was so successful? What else made it so popular?
Characterisation – “The innocent-at-large”
Hollywood movies have always divided people into ‘types’. Often actors are known for the ‘types’ they play. If they find themselves unable to break from this mould, they are said to be ‘typecast’. An example of a Hollywood type is Arnold Schwarzenneger’s “tough-guy hero” character.
Some very simple examples of types from teen films may be:
· The jock – tough, sporty and good-looking male
· The geek – the unpopular, intelligent character
· The popular female – attractive, obsessed with shopping and make-up
· And so on...
14. Working with a partner, use the table below to write down some other common “types” you can think of, similar to the ones above. Think of all the different genres of film you have watched, and the characters that usually make up these films.
Type / Genre of film / Description of typeOne common “type” that has recurred again and again since the early days of the Hollywood movie is the innocent-at-large. He crops up in many ways, but his appeal is always the same. The innocent-at-large is the simple, naive character that leaves home, goes on an adventure and manages to show up the world around him as unpleasant, morally corrupt, and lacking direction.
“Forrest Gump” is a classic example of the ‘innocent at large’, a perfect illustration of this “type”. With his buzz-cut hair and his slow, simple wisdom, he surveys the hectic world around him and sums it up with an awesome good heartedness that takes one's breath away.
Group task 3: Forrest’s character.
In your groups, brainstorm words to describe Forrest’s character. Fill in the table below, answering the following questions:
· Feature of his personality
· Evidence from the film to back this up
· Is this feature a positive or negative feature for a character to have?
Feature / Evidence / Positive or negative?As this exercise might reveal, there is much about Forrest that we would traditionally consider unappealing. Sometimes, for instance, his naivety is almost unpleasant, as when he describes Jenny’s father – a child abuser – as “a very loving man, always kissing and touching Jenny”. Equally, in any other character, his constant love of America and disregard for the problems of war would be annoying. But, as an audience, we seem to mostly like Forrest.
15. Why do you think the character of Forrest is liked and sympathised with so much?
Forrest Gump and American History
16. List all the key events in American history that are featured in the film.
Group task 4: Choose one of the historical events in the film. Your task is to research the event and create a brief powerpoint presentation for the rest of the class including:
· What actually happened?
· Why did it happen?
· When did it happen?
· Who was involved?
· How accurate is the film’s portrayal of the event?
You can use the rest of this page for notes.
Forrest witnesses a huge number of important events in American history. Only a fictional character could have seen so much. Real people may be in the right place at the right time once or twice in a lifetime, but that’s usually all. By showing Forrest in so many “historic” situations, the filmmakers aren’t being silly; rather, they’re taking us to enjoy a narrative ‘game’ where suspending disbelief becomes part of the pleasure.
We are now going to focus on one of the most important events: the Vietnam war. Modern films tend to show the Vietnam war in two ways:
· A positive, patriotic shoot-em-up
· A negative waste of time, money and innocent life
17. Which one of these two portrayals of the war does the film “Forrest Gump” follow? Give reasons for your answer.
For American Society, the war was equally divisive. Many in the establishment believed the war to be ‘right’, a ‘moral crusade’ (against the North Vietnamese Communists), and they condemned all those who opposed the war as unpatriotic. The peace movement resented this; they felt that opposing the war was the truly ‘patriotic’ position, because there was nothing to be proud of in losing lives for a ‘misguided’ cause.
Look at the following quotes from the film:
Forrest to Lieutenant Dan: “Someone from his family had fought and died in every American war. I guess you could say that he had a lot to live up to“
Dan on surviving the war: “Keep your socks dry“
Dan to Forrest: “I was supposed to die in the field with honour. That was my destiny. And you cheated me out of it“
Bubba (dying): “Why did this happen?”
Forrest: “You got shot . . . “
Group task 5: Using the quotations above as a starting point, discuss and decide how each of the following characters react to the war. Give reasons for your answer.
· Forrest
· Dan
· Bubba
· Jenny
So what are the filmmakers saying? That we should admire Forrest’s lack of political convictions? Or rather that we should admire his refusal to take sides? As Forrest Gump himself would say: “Nobody ever got into trouble by keepin’ his mouth shut”. “Forrest Gump” presents us with a world where, to succeed, you should act the simpleton. Those characters in the film that have glorious dreams (Dan’s dream of the noble death, Bubba’s dream of a shrimp boat, Jenny dream of a flight) all find their dreams unachievable. But Forrest, who has so few expectations, succeeds in spite of himself.
Standard Grade English – Media Critical Essay
“Forrest Gump” directed by Robert Zemeckis
We are now ready to write a critical essay on the film “Forrest Gump.” This can be included in the folio as the R3 piece.
Essay task: What features and techniques are used to make “Forrest Gump” such a successful film?
Introduction: The title of the film and director.
What you plan to do in this essay.