Essay on Forrest Gump in American Culture

Eric Roth’s 1994 award-winning film, Forrest Gump explores racism in American society from the 1950s to the 1980s. In ‘Forrest Gump’, it can be seen that African-American people experience severe prejudice through various protests and actions performed by white Americans. The prejudice African-Americans receive was highlighted through Forrest’s good friend Bubba, an organisation called the Black Panthers and protest called ‘Stand in the schoolhouse door’. In Forrest Gump, these events have been portrayed in a way that allows an exploration into American society between the 1950s and 1980s.

In the 1870s the Jim Crow laws were introduced. They were a series of rules that were originally supposed to create an equal but separate society in America; there was supposed to be an African-American society and white American society that were both treated equally. However, this was not the case as the Jim Crow laws made the African-American population inferior as it stopped them from being able to have a job, get an education and participate in many other everyday activities. Many African-Americans challenged the law to gain basic human rights, however, challenging the law resulted in severe violence, a fine, jail time or even death. In 1955, civil rights activist Rosa Parks, challenged the Jim Crow law by refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus. Her actions can be seen as those of pure bravery as she received abuse, criticism and even received death threats for years. In a statement released by Barack Obama in 2015, he states that Rosa’s ‘... grace, dignity, and refusal to tolerate injustice helped spark a Civil Rights Movement that spread across America.” (Obama, 2015). Obama implies that Rosa’s action helped improve the lives of many African-Americans for years to come. A reference to Parks can be seen in Forrest Gump through Forrest’s friend Bubba. Forrest struggles to find a seat on the bus when Bubba tells him that he can sit next to him. This act makes Bubba a “Rosa Parks saviour.” (Farley, 2012). This is because Bubba’s bravery of allowing Forrest to sit with him is continuing to follow Park’s initial intentions of having a black person and a white person share the same seat. To create this reference, the producers had to use cinematic techniques strategically. These techniques include a mid-shot, close-up shot and the overall placement of the mise-en-scene. A mid-shot shows Forrest struggling to find a seat on the bus. The camera then transitions into a close-up shot of Bubba quickly making space for Forrest to sit. It can be presumed that Bubba quickly made room as white people usually had rights to the seat if a black person was sitting there. The use of the close-up shot enables the audience to see that Bubba is surprised that Forrest sat down next to him and even talks to him. This is crucial as it gives a glimpse into American society. However, without careful placement of the mise-en-scene, the full effect would not have been conveyed. For example, when Forest walks on to the bus, white people are sitting next to white people only, and African-American people are sitting by themselves with their luggage next to them so that no one can sit next to them. By doing this, the fact that Bubba lets Forrest sit next to him becomes more evident and the audience gets the idea that Bubba’s actions were pretty brave. Rosa Parks was a crucial part of American society between the 1950s and 1980s. The reference to Parks shows the producers intentions were to give the audience an undertstanding of what society should look like and just because someone has coloured skin does not mean they are any less equal.

Much like Rosa Parks, the Black Panthers fought for civil rights. However, they had two very different approaches. Parks’ was a lot more subtle than the Black Panthers Protests. The Black Panthers were a rebellious group of about 5,000 people that patrolled Black communities in the hope to stop police brutality and promote self-defence. The Black Panthers were something that had never been seen before and white American society were afraid of them and their “...aggressive and assertive form of protest.” (Rhodes, 2016). To create this feeling, the producers have carefully used a variety of cinematic techniques. Low-key lighting is often used to create feelings of mysteriousness or seriousness. In the case of the Black Panthers scene, low key lighting has been used to set the mood by creating a feeling of seriousness and anger. The producers have used costumes to place emphasise the feeling of anger towards racial discrimination and how serious the intentions of the group, to end black brutality, are. The Black Panthers are all wearing uniforms composed of black leather suits, badges and some members have accessories hats and guns. The audience can clearly see this through the use of a mid-shot of Black Panthers. The mid-shot enables the audience to see the way the Panthers are standing and their facial expressions. The mid-shot highlights the idea that the Black Panthers are angry about the racial discrimination they receive, adding to the overall mood of the scene. The strategic use of cinematic techniques creates a feeling of anger. This is important as it enables the producers to show the audience how racism made African-Americans feel, what they were willing to do to stop it and most importantly that society needed to change.

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America saw a large number of protests against African-American people throughout its history. One of the most crucial protests is called ‘Stand in the schoolhouse door’. The ‘Stand in the schoolhouse door’ took place on the 11th of June 1963 when politician George Wallace stood in the doorway of the University of Alabama and delivered his speech about school segregation. His speech aimed to '...exercise the heritage of freedom and liberty under the law.' (Washington, 1963) by stopping the enrollment of Black students at a white people's school. However, his speech did the opposite and can be seen as the start of desegregation in schools.To capture the stand in the schoolhouse door protest, the producers have had to use various cinematic techniques. The scene starts off with a tracking dolly shot showing the crowd attending the protest. The tracking dolly shot sets the mood of the scene. Through the use of a tracking dolly shot, the audience is able to infer that the crowd has gathered to attend something that is important. To add to this feeling, the diegetic noises of people chattering has been included. By including this, the producers reinforce the idea that the crowd had gathered for something important. The contrast between the tracking dolly shot and the diegetic noises has enabled the producers to set a serious mood, expectations about the rest of the scene and an insight to American society in the 1950s to the 1980s. These techniques most importantly display Forrest’s innocence about what the protest is about displaying the message that everyone should be treated equally.

In today's society, there is inter-segregation within American schools. However, it can be seen that a school will be either predominantly white or black. This means that there are still minorities within schools even though there are longer no segregation rules.

Throughout the film, the producers have portrayed Forrest, a man with a low IQ, to be oblivious and carefree towards the significance of sitting next to an African-American man, attending a Black Panther Party and the school segregation protest. In these events, Forrest seems unphased as to what is happening and when looked at closely, a message is revealed; everyone should be treated equally matter the colour of their skin. Their message affects both African-American people and white Americans as it means white people had to change their way of thinking and see African-American people as the same as them and the life of African-American people would get far better by being treated equally.

1994 film ‘Forrest Gump’, written by Eric Roth, displays racism that African-Americans received in American society between the 1950s and the 1980s. Acts of prejudice towards African-Americans were seen on a daily basis from both the public and law enforcement. In the film, racism has been emphasised through Forrest’s Friend Bubba, the Black Panthers organisation and George Wallace’s ‘Stand in the schoolhouse door’ protest. These events in specific enabled the audience to gain an idea about what American society looked like during the 1950s to the 1980s.