Forrest Gump Analysis

“Run Forrest, Run!

A baby boomer born in the early 1950s would have lived through many monumental, political, and social events throughout American history. One man in particular lived through and experienced almost all of those moments. His name was Forrest Gump, whose fictional life and experiences were captured in an American classic. The film Forest Gump was released in 1994 and touched the hearts of Americans everywhere. The film takes place after World War II and touches on the era following the war and the anti-discrimination movements in the United States and continuing on into the 1980’s. The aspects of the film that make it a true work of art are the music throughout the film, the cinematography, and the setting.

The film Forrest

Robinson” by Simon & Garfunkel, and “On the Road Again” by Willie Nelson. The film is so loaded with songs that they are almost an overkill. While watching the film one may notice how often music is playing and how loud it is throughout the film. Sometimes it takes away from the plot line and the story that Forrest is trying to tell. In the scene when Forrest decides that he feels like running across America for a couple of years, "Running on Empty," "It Keeps You Runnin '," "Go Your Own Way" and "On the Road Again" are all played. That scene demonstrates how often music is playing throughout every scene and how distracting it is. Although the music sometimes seems like a little bit too much it also adds many different aspects to the film. According to Robert Zemeckis, director of the film, “The coming-of-age of a generation and a country. And at the heart of the story is the music, music that lives with us, always there to remind us of the people, the places, and the events of our time.” There was clearly a lot of thought put into the soundtrack and they were not just popular songs chosen at random. All of the music heard in the film was American, Forrest was an American, and the film follows the history of America from post WWII-era all the way through to the rise of Communism. Robert Zemeckis states that he felt as though Forrest would not buy anything but

When the film first starts and the audience sees the pure white feather gently start to float down from a dark grey sky which is raining. The feather gives the audience a very bittersweet feeling, some sort of innocent and sweet feeling mixed with a bit of sadness. The whiteness of the father makes gives one the feel of innocent but the darkness in the sky may make one feel sad. Throughout the film Forrest Gump, Robert Zemeckis uses many point-of-view camera angles to show what Forrest is seeing through his eyes. This lets the audience connect with Forrest and see the world through his eyes. It also makes the story easier to understand and lets the audience feel what is going on. According to cccinematics.blogspot.com, a website known for blogs, “When Forrest is speaking to Jenny’s grave at the end of the film the audience is given a shot of Forrest from a low angle. As Forrest looks down towards Jenny’s grave, the viewer is looking up at Forrest. This allows the viewer to be placed in Jenny’s shoes and feel the true emotion from Forrest himself for Jenny.” This also adds to the emotional appeal of the movie. The tone throughout the entire film is low contrast and high key manner which elevates a mood of happiness ("Forrest Gump: Film Analysis”). The cinematography of the film allows the viewer to become connected to the characters and sets the mood for the entire