‘Forrest Gump’ is an American drama-comedy movie written by Eric Roth and directed by Robert Zemeckis that focuses on the character Tom Hanks, who shares the same name as the movie. The movie rotates on the life history of Tom (Gump), a simple man with a low IQ of 75, short and wears braces on his legs. Despite his disability, his mother sees him through his life and allows him to choose his destiny. She makes him believe that he’s not different from other people (Davis, 2018). Through this help, he believes that good things will happen to him and he struggles to achieve his goals. Gump is able to overcome the societal challenges around him, for example, after he takes off his braces, he discovers he can run faster than anyone, a factor that enables him not only to escape his childhood bullies but also to win scholarships through football. Additionally, Gump is kind hearted and loving friend to Jenny Curran (Wulandari, 2010).
Jenny Curran is Gump’s friend, a pretty girl with a complicated background. She’s kind to Gump and advises him to keep off the bullies at school. Jenny suffers sexual abuse from her father, however, she’s determined to go after her dream of becoming a folk singer (Robles, 2019). Jenny later becomes a hippie singer and a druggie dancer, and succumbs to an unknown virus. Bubba is also Gump’s best friend since his military life. He’s a black man from bayou whose dream is to buy a shrimping boat. Bubba dies while in the military at Vietnam and Gump honors his memory by deciding to buy a shrimping boat. Lieutenant Dan on the other hand is Gump’s superior in Vietnam, a smooth and confident man who cares about his family’s legacy. Dan loses his limps while in war at Vietnam and he becomes depressed. However, his friend Forrest saves him and urges him to start over. The two team up to start a business that eventually renders Dan a wealthy man.
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According to the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) of 1990, people with disability are allowed to access equal employment opportunities (Calvasina et al., 2017). For instance, Forrest, despite his low IQ and his physical disability, was able to access education services as other normal American kids. He was also allowed to participate freely in the military services of the US government. His friend Bubba, was black, but he served in the US Army at Vietnam.
The movie ‘Forrest Gump’ is an intriguing and educative film. The movie cultivates an urge of constant review on the reader. It addresses various characters as well as their disabilities, strengths and how they overcome these challenges to live a happy life after. Zemeckis points out that no-one has control over their destiny therefore, to live a grand life one has to accept life the way it is (Davis, 2018). For instance, Jenny suffers sexual abuse from her dad, but her focus to become a known singer motivates her to thrive towards it. On the other hand, Forrest has a low thinking capacity compared to a normal person. He’s also bullied by his schoolmates but his dream to serve as a militia keeps him on the track towards his dreams. The movie addresses the need to recognize and support the challenged people, an action that is well exhibited by Gump’s mother (Wulandari, 2010). Her endearments towards her son saw him achieve his dreams and helped motivate many others. Forrest also never thought of himself has disadvantaged, this optimism inspires people up to date.
Conclusion
The movie is based on proving that disability is not inability. The main character, Gump, depicts full ability despite the fact that he’s disabled. Moreover, Gump never at any time thought of himself as less able. Through this positivity and the warm support from his steely mother, Gump is able to accomplish his goals. Zemeckis, director of the film uses Gump to portray that no one has control of their own destiny and people have to embrace their life the way it is. The movie conveys a picture of hope and challenge to all those who feel less fortunate, informing them that to accomplish their goals, they have to acknowledge who they are.
References
- WULANDARI, E. N. (2010). COPING BEHAVIOR OF FORREST GUMP IN ROBERT ZEMECKIS’FORREST GUMP: INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH (Doctoral dissertation, Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta).
- Davis, G. E. (2018, January). Forrest Gump Lives, or How the George Wright Society Helped Me Learn to Overcome Existential Career Adversity. In The George Wright Forum (Vol. 35, No. 3, pp. 289-295). George Wright Society.
- Robles, N. A. (2019). Film Analysis of ‘Forrest Gump’. Angelo State University Social Sciences Research Journal.
- Calvasina, G. E., Calvasina, R. V., & Calvasina, E. J. (2017). Americans with Disability Act (ADA) and Associational Discrimination: Policy and Practice Issues for Employers. Journal of Organizational Psychology, 17(1), 9-17.
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