Forrest Gump Political Analysis

Forrest Gump is an American classic. Released in 1994, the movie won 6 Academy Awards and was the fourth highest grossing movie at the time. The movie follows Forrest, a Protestant born in 1945 with an IQ of 75, as he grows up in the deep south during a tumultuous period of American history. Mysteriously, Forrest finds himself at the center of dozens of major events of the 60’s and 70’s. He was present during the forced integration of the University of Alabama, he was one of the players in so called “Ping Pong Diplomacy,” and his call to the front desk of his hotel created the Watergate scandal. He is a Vietnam War hero, plays all American football with Bear Bryant and makes a fortune investing in Apple. Forrest lived his life as a slow, trusting, Protestant, always loyal to Jenny, his mother, …show more content…
Gump could have lived his entire life never leaving Greenbow, Alabama, but either his fate or his willingness to run allowed him to open up his mind, and the minds of his audience. At the time of the movie’s release, many Republican politicians identified with the conservative ideals present in Forrest’s life, but many others, with different backgrounds, saw the movie as simply a feel-good movie, taking us through history in the eyes of a curiously lucky guy who did not even know how lucky he was. As for a producer’s take on the movie, Steve Tisch was quoted as saying “[a]ll over the political map, people have been calling Forrest their own. But, Forrest Gump is not about politics or conservative values. It 's about humanity, it 's about respect, tolerance and unconditional love” (Byers 419). Regardless, Forrest Gump teaches Americans what is so great about this country, and that many different ideals can come together and somehow make the country