Forrest Gump: The Myth of America
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.ย. 2024
- The story of Forrest Gump is a myth of 20th-century America. Like any good myth, it filters historical facts through allegory, creating a symbolic journey that helps us make sense of a complicated era. So, what does Forrest Gump has to say about us -- and our national identity? If you like this video, subscribe to our channel or support us on Patreon: / thetake
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What‘s your take on the lovable bad guy so popular in american comedies? With so many questionable characters finding success in the real world nowadays, is it appropriate for tv and film to continue to popularize such a character?
@@janusquiamco7128 that would be a great vid.
Tom Kershaw thats the best horror movie of all time unless you do Psycho maybe that one is. There is a tie lol. This movie is corny as well putting nice
Dive into THE TALENTED MR RIPLEY. OR THE GOOD WILL HUNTING.
Please make a video about the new HBO drama EUPHORIA. It's a mindblowing story and I would like to hear what you guys have to say about it!
“I’m not a smart man, but I know what love is.” Idk why but that line made me cry
no it didn't. too many people say X made me cry. I've never once seen someone weeping during some powerful scene. they say the did to get internet points that mean nothing.
@@joshmciver4847 Jesus, who pissed in your corn flakes?
Than he banged her ... XDD
Josh McIver damn who hurt you 😂
Imight Realperson a manly man? Yeah sureeee
It was so sad that the very first question Forrest asked about his son is whether he is smart. It just shows how insecure and scarred he was for being called "stupid" throughout his life.
I think it was more fear that his son would be bullied and picked on and if anything shows 1) even though he never brings it up, it must have been very painful for him to go through as a child and 2) his was already being a great father from the second he found out he was a Dad.
I think it was more that he was scared that little Forest would be bullied the same way that he was. If anything it shows us 1) that even though he never talks about it, being bullied was obviously a very painful thing for him as a child, and 2) that he was being a good father from the second he found out he was a Dad. It was probably at that moment that Jenny decided that he was quite capable of taking care of little Forest.
StrosB4Hos exactly how do we know Jenny wasn’t trying to take advantage of a gullible millionaire. Oh yea the uh millionaire is definitely the father...
So once she found out forest was rich she suddenly decided to tell forest about his kid?
YEARS after kid was born
Sick Jenny finds out simple minded forest is rich and tricks him into believing hes the father of her kid so foret will care for him after she died
Forest was never good enough for her, for her entire life
Its shown over n ovsr again that jenny is a whore
She fucked countless guys in the time of free love
Was with random guys in drug dens, got aids
So all that experience with sex, and she gets pregnant by accident with one encounter with forest... the guy she never wanted to be with
And didnt get an abortion
Unless we are to believe the theories that jenny loved forest but didnt think she was good enough for him
And none of what she did was her fault, n she never actually had sex with anyone else
I'm rambling, you get the point
Jenny used forest over n over
At least little forest Jr got a good father and a good life
Shows that he (like all humans) have insecurity
Forrest at Jenny’s grave “...and he’s so smart, Jenny...” just kills me every time.
Oh yes! First time I watched that scene I sobbed!
Him talking to Jenny's grave makes me WEEP.
Instant tears 😭
The child is smart because he's not Forrest's son.
Jenny tricked a rich simpleton into raising her child once she realised she had a terminal illness.
Why else would she keep a child away from it's supposed father for so long?
I know...that line...😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
When an English teacher asks what the author meant by "the sky is blue", this is the kind of response and detail they're looking for.
what i learned:
1. core things are important (simplicity, focus); few things really matter
2. journey is the destiny
3. down to earth (egalitarianism) everyone is the same and equal on a deeper level
4. to love no matter what
5. accept that adversity exists but it is solvable (optimism)
6. never let the darkness take over you
LET THE DARKNESS CONSUME YOU!
Hello darkness my old friend........
"Bubba was going to be a shrimping boat captain, but instead, he died right there by that river in Vietnam." that line kills me every time
Same
I did become a shrimping boat captain.
Bubba wasn't talking about shrimp but that white powder😂😂😂
@Young Totodile 👀👀😮
I wanna go home...Jesus that war..
A lesser movie would've come off as cheesy or preachy but Forrest Gump just comes off as optimistic and having a heart of gold, truly remarkable movie. Definitely a modern classic, almost wanna rewatch it again just cause of how funny a lot of it was.
Tom hanks made it that way. Imho
It is kinda preachy though but in a good way
Its cheesy as hell, but it is endearingly cheesy
Film is nearly 30 years old bud, it's just a classic lol
He uses the same voice as Mr. Rogers.
I never realised that it's the same lady driving the school bus when both young Forrest and his son hop on the bus 30 years apart! Wonderful detail that I've missed all this while
She reminds me of ms Crabtree from South Park...
The actress's name is Siobhan Fallon and she is amazing. If you want to see her in a more dramatic role watch Dancer in the Dark. She plays a prison guard and does one hell of a job. She also played in a few other movies by the same director but her stand out role is most definitely that one.
Shes also chewing gum instead of smoking, i guess hinting at a progressing society, maybe im looking too far into it
I always felt like they should have made her look a little aged over the years. She looks the same exact age when Forrest was little to when she drives little Forrest. She never aged.
B Toombs No, that’s definitely intentional. You could still smoke in a lot of public places in the ‘80s but a school bus was not one of them. Lol. And in the ‘50s they just didn’t care (or at least, they didn’t know how harmful cigarettes were).
"Sometimes when people go to Vietnam, they go home to their mommas without any legs. Sometimes they don't go home at all. That's a bad thing. That's all I have to say about that."
That is what Forest says and pretty accurate, and I dig the hippie telling him right on...
That hippie played Abbie Hoffman
The actual words (as found in an outtake from the movie) are, "In Vietnam, your best good friend could get shot. That's all I have to say about that."
Forest Gump is like the feather that he catches in the beginning of the movie. He doesn't make any plans he simply floats from place to place.
Wow.. You're right
Forrest Gump: optimism and resilience
Jenny: historical trauma
Bubba: entrepreneurial spirit
Dan: military tradition
Mother: family values and egalitarianism
Forrests child: the promise(or pioneering spirit) of a new generation.
An almost encyclopedic look at America's underlying spirit
@john son whatboutism, great....... You do realize that we are no more warmongering than any other nation right?
Ian Cassidy but you are no less. Just because your warmongering spirit isn’t particularly large does not mean it’s not there.
@@cool-zd3ev he whom is without sin may cast the first stone. Being anti-american by invoking warmongering is the stupidest form of it possible.
Ian Cassidy I’m not American and I’m not trying to be anti American. I learnt a long time ago that trying to get an American to accept that other countries may be somewhere near as important as their own is futile. My point is that in the video their point isn’t that Americans are specifically warmongering, instead that the country is a country and so to an extent, warmongering.
@@cool-zd3ev So since you cannot handle the fact that the U.S. has a singular belief that compels our society that you think is incorrect; you resort to petty insults where you know Americans will congregate. If you wish to break the "myth" american exceptionalism, this ia not the way to do so.
Bubbas death still makes me sad 😥
Rick Newman Not me I still laugh my ass off when he's holding his mangled shot up soon to be corpse and he says! HEY BUBBA!!!
The rejections on the buses made me mad. Kids are cruel and they grow up to be cruel people. What we do is early on we judge whether someone is worthy of life and acceptance. Who are we to think we should do this?
@@jonmacdonald5345 Dude, I think you might be a psychopath
He represents all our lost dreams. Your comment makes sense to me.
Jack Xiao Thank you!
“I didn’t know it, but I was destined to be your mama. I did the best I could.” - Mrs. Gump 😢😭
Sally Field doesn't get enough credit
And I guess she was also destined to give up the Ass to the principal 😅😅😅 god show does work in mysterious ways
@@metatronblack she probably dated the prinicpal cause duh she's lonely and so forrest wouldn't fail.
I couldn't not cry at this line by Mrs. Gump because it reminds me of our parents' best efforts to raise us to be kind and empathetic.
The scene where young Forrest Jr. says “You’re Dorothy Harris, and I’m Forrest Gump.” Always hits me. Such a good kid with the best of both of his parents: Jenny’s intelligence and Forrest’s emotional knowledge
Although I love this, I see Bubba's story a bit different. Bubba has an entrepreneurial spirit, but serving a country that has disenfranchised and enslaved him, he dies literally and figuratively, unable to fulfill his dream. Forest, representing America, must make amends and fix all the injustice by evening the playing field for Bubba's family through a honest act like giving Bubba's mother his share.✊
Rachel oh that’s a great interpretation. Yes so true
Bubba was no more enslaved and enslaved than many a european immigrant. Ironically, many a black man living in the “ghetto”of segregation lived a more fulfilling life than those of his grandchildren who suffer from a crippling envy.
@@JRobbySh I think you are forgetting the time period it was set in were colour segregation was still prevalent and even schools. So a good education was beyond most of them so for him to have this dream to help his big family showed grit and determination.
@@JRobbySh Nobody here claimed immigrants have it easy. Two different groups can both experience hardship. But...do try to think for a minute about how black people were treated in his time period.
@Rachel , Love that interpretation!
“In some kind of fruit company”
But in 1994 wasnt apple computers going bankrupt. Now it's one of the biggest companies.
Warren Rose they had to get Steve Jobs back
Now they are the first company to reach a trillion
Gosh darn banana conpanies
@@noneofyours16 probably not its unknown but it's likely the dutch VOC, they were literally a company and country.
The drill sergeant is such a memorable performance, proving again the saying that there are no small parts, only small actors. He should have won an award.
Even Tex, Cleveland, and Dallas all had brief but memorable parts in the movie.
Yes that drill sergeant is always one of my fav parts xD Like, he's the only one who ever doesn't call Forest an idiot but a genius! Love it!
Aww the best christmas pageant ever
I can attest from personal experience drill sergeants are like that.
Stephen Powdexter I always thought the scene was great because DS would talk EXACTLY like a DS but it’s juxtaposed with him praising Forrest. Which almost never happens.
First time it happened to a group of us and it was a compliment disguised as an insult we looked at each other like “did that just happen?”
Character of Jenny really stuck in my head after watching this film. She’s so mired in past trauma that even the unwavering love from Forrest could not bring her around. The only peace she got was before her death, knowing her days were numbered. She got no energy to escape into vice that’d mask her pain.
I don’t know anyone in real life that resembles Jenny and I wish I’d never know such a person. It pains me to watch her making her life an inevitable downward spiral.
Forrest deserved better than her
Jenny had a terrible life as a child so do many people these days but there's one thing that most people don't try GO TO A FUCKING THERAPIST
Redeemed at last by love.
I dunno know, to me, Jenny was more symbolic of the hippie movement as a "degenerancy", as stupidity and failure. I used to love how they showed the dark side of it, but thinking of the dichtemony they create with Forest, it makes for a more difficult reading. As more the hippies trying to break what was true, and being mired in hipocracy. Something the "myth of America" is itself very guilty off.
@@smulGIANT as someone who was abused as a kid, I internalized an intense self hatred to make sense of the things that were done to me. When people were good to me, I pushed them away because I didn't believe I deserved it. Like Jenny. It took me forever to understand that those thoughts and beliefs were wrong. It's still hard to think about the things that have happened. I find my mind reverting back to that time and am trapped in that pain. For people like me and Jenny, being put in a situation that triggers those memories or emotions makes you vulnerable. She just couldn't shake her trauma and chased after whatever made the pain go away.
Forrest Gump is as close to the perfect "American" film is we're likely to ever get, and is another one of those films that probably couldn't be made today.
Especially with the major backlash it would get for “rewriting history” for entertainment.
Nelson Smith they can make any film they want...they just choose to make average films to keep us hooked without spending too much money or energy, and they throw us a piece of rib eye every now and then.
@@jasoneaton4520 you couldn't make this movie twice, just like you can't keep up the story that you are stupid.
@@khupmung7600 I don't know if that's true. The rewritten history in Forrest Gump was mainly there, like you said, for entertainment and comedic purpose, that's fine. Rewriting history in fictional movies in other ways is fine too; the thing that people have a problem with is rewriting history in a way that is more flattering to America, essentially turning movies into propaganda, like minimizing the suffering of slaves or the human cost of unnecessary wars. Forrest Gump didn't do that. So that would still be fine today. Not that the movie doesn't have its problems from a modern viewpoint that would be more heavily scrutinized today but I think your assessment is a bit too general.
It wouldn't fly today. Even though Forest is the protagonist, over half the humor was rooted in his disability. I think most people would still love it, but the loudest group would be shaming everyone for laughing at such a "disgusting and degrading" movie and the company wouldn't want the backlash.
All hypothetical of course, but my opinion
It surprised me when I first realized there were people who disliked Jenny so much. I personally empathize with her greatly. Not because I had similar experiences but knowing her story you can see how she would turn out that way. Yeah, she constantly rejects Forrest and his love for her but, she's also rejecting herself and denying herself of any love and happiness. She thinks happiness is wherever she isn't but realizes all too late it was exactly where she was running away from the whole time. Her death always gets me. 1 because of Forrest and him losing the love of his life and Forrest Jr losing his mother but also because I always wish she got to experience the life that everyone deserves for a little bit longer. This video was extraordinary! Has me as emotional as watching the masterpiece of a film itself.
They just can't it.
People disliked Jenny because Forrest was nice to her, while she used him.
Well, while I can empathize with Jenny, I was immensely frustrated at her for not listening to Forrest. He did everything he could to keep her safe, to help her heal. And every time, she’d jump right back in and do something eccentrically self harming. She’d hang around assholes, creeps, people like her dad. She just kept going back. And it didn’t make a lick of sense to me.
Because that wasn’t love. Even Forrest understood that, but not her.
And he as a result kept getting dragged along for 3 decades worth of her crumbling world. Caught Aids somewhere along the way (and as a result probably gave it to Forrest tho the story never notes that, so either she cheated on Forrest or wound up giving on a disease that would pass on silently to poison the next generation possibly Forrest JR. )
Which means her actions had consequences for innocent people.
Anyway, that’s why I didn’t really like Jenny. She wasn’t good to Forrest until literally the very end. When he had his life together, his shit together, was a business owner, a war hero, and a superstar over multiple fields of interest (sports, his run across America, ping pong in China, and having attended or been at multiple world changing events). The fact no one recognizes him is astounding in some cases. Since the man shoulda made national news multiple times.
And it took Jenny from 1960 to 19-fucking 80 to realize Forrest loved her in a meaningful way.
And I have similar frustrations with the other Characters. So she’s not alone in this regard.
The only one I am not frustrated by was Bubba. Bubba was a good guy.
@@davidthorp01 r.i.p to Bubba, the could've been shrimp king! I loved that his family got to enjoy the success he never got to. Forrest is a real one.
When Forest tells Jenny "I'm not a smart man, but I know what love is." It is a contrast to her own knowledge of love. She is smart, but she doesn't know what love is, because she was abused by a parent, the very person who was supposed to teach her love. That is why, she has so much trouble accepting Forest's love: she doesn't understand it and she doesn't think she deserves it.
It is only through the unconditional love of her own child that she comes to understand love, and can accept love from Forrest.
My wife loves to yell across the supermarket to me " Lt Dan I got ice cream"
keep her
hahahaha that is brilliant!
That's a good wife
I love when a woman can quote movies in real life situations haha
I do Forrest Gump all the time in the store, "Jehn-ay, we need some peas."
Well, time to watch Forrest Gump for the 576th time
Only 576th? Those are rookie numbers.
😂
omg right?
@@kambermusic /two thumbs up!!
Damn 1994 was a strong year for movies, Forrest Gump is my favourite movie, Pulp Fiction has some of the best dialogue ever, we all know about Shawshank Redemption and Lion King might be the best animated film ever
And that was just a few of the many great films of 1994
TeamRainbow holy shit, I never realized this
justin krichbaum Crazy
I misread this and thought "There was an animated version of Shawshank Redemption??" (x
nobbie01 Wouldnt surprise me if it would happen tbh, I mean when live-action remakes of animated classics are dead then the next thing might be animated remakes of classic live-action films
Wow i didn’t realized that! I think the O.J Simpson trial distracted me that year lol! Plus I was heading off to college.
Forest: is he smart?
Jenny: he is so smart...he can see and talk to dead people.
In a few years he will.....pay it forward!!
It's cuz he's just a manifestation of A.I. (Artificial Intelligence)
@Shannen T Not necessairily.
lmao
He’s so smart, he’s a key blade weilder
One time I was running across the highway before the traffic lights changed, and someone stuck their head out of the car window and yelled at me 'RUN FOREST RUN!'
Then I went home, told my mum about it, and it came up that I had never seen Forest Gump before. So I watched it for the first time later that night.
True story.
That happened to me when I ran my first 10k
Funny you have a story like that; one time back in middle school I was on a school-sponsored trip with a bunch of other kids. There weren't a lot of places to eat lunch, so we stopped by a sort of run-down strip mall with a grocery store and a few other places nearby. There was a guy sleeping on a bench outside a bar, but we didn't pay him too much thought. So we went to the grocery store and bought food- things like Lunchables- and then headed back to the bus. While we were waiting for everyone to board, two girls headed onto the bus, saying that as they passed the bench outside the bar, the guy had woken up, and yelled, "RUN, FORREST, RUN!" It was all anyone talked about the rest of the way.
@@sophiatalksmusic3588 So he yelled it because he heard those girls saying it as he was waking up?
Ha!! We (teachers) yell that to students running in the yard! They never get the reference!! 🤣
Should have mentioned the fact that LT Dan married a Asian.......kinda a coming of terms and forgiving the enemy....
Isn't it ironic? Don't you think?
Who forgive whom ?
He didn't really care who he was fighting. He wanted "glory"
@@SuperKannan1976 Both. We fought against Asians in Vietnam, the war that is such an integral part of Forrest Gump. Though Lt Dan is in it for glory rather than because he as any problems with communism or Asians or anything like that, he is still representative of the american fighting spirit and military tradition. So by having him, the military tradition, marry and Asian woman, who could represent a former enemy, it shows Americas ability to forgive for past events and move onto the future towards peace. Also its fairly apt considering that much of why nations have militaries is to protect themselves, and as a deterrent against enemies, to keep peace going. So its equally symbolic that the image for american forgiveness is done with the character who represents the american military tradition.
@@Tr4sh_can34 True, Lt Dan as a character wanted glory rather than caring about who or why he was fighting. But its what his character represents, the American military tradition, that makes this symbolic. By having the character who represents the military marry and Asian woman, who in this context could represent a former enemy, makes the symbolism one of America's ability to forgive and move on into the future, with former enemies as future allies.
I can understand what Jenny went through. I was running away from my problems just like my mother did and now I’m trying to heal so I can move on from my past. I can also relate to Bubba especially as a black woman. I started my own business and my entire life I worked hard to succeed. I was the first in my family to graduate from college. I was always driven and committed to what I do.
TheLeah2344 that’s awesome you started your own business. I am also in a healing journey. The book CPTSD by Pete Walker and a book called The Journey from Abandonment to Healing have really helped. Best wishes to you
TheLeah2344
I’m proud of you but I wouldn’t sympathize with Jenny or try to relate to her at all
She was written to be a bad person
Well done! Keep striving and achieving! You are living an (not The, there is no 'The') American Dream, YOUR American Dream. And for the dark things you are healing from, we dream at night when darkness surrounds us. Dreams are not required in the light. You've made your Dreams a Reality, and I wish you the best in putting the Darkness behind you!
The Realest of the American dream and ambition
Lmao what. "I relate to a black man, who's passion is shrimp as a black woman"
10:04
Forest isn’t just a dummy,
he’s just dude who has his priorities straight with no room to stray from them.
man I would love to be like forrest gump! focused and always completing his tasks. Something I struggle with from time to time. Ok a lot of times 😬
“The characters in this story who think they’re special, smart, important or entitled to a special life end up suffering due to that thinking”
I’m sure why Bubba is depicted in the scene describing that.
He was ambitious and even generous with his knowledge and entrepreneurship with Forrest. I don’t personally see what he did to deserve any suffering in the context of this metaphor.
But great video overall
Bubba and Forrest were drawn to each other because of their simplicity.
Because Bubba represents the wasted potential and the what ,"could of been " if it weren't for the war
when Forrest asks Jenny if their son is smart, I break down
Whole scene is very emotional. Like how they watch Burt & Ernie the same way..touching.
Same. 😭
This is one of the best movies ever made. I won’t lie this video made me tear up a bit. Thank you so much for making this video.
Me too, brother.
Same here
It really touches the depths of the human soul, including the trials and tribulations of life like no other.
I tell you its was the onions that made me tear up !
Me too.
And I am Indian.
My favorite scenes are his interactions with the drill Sargent. The fact that he could just calmly respond to him🗣☠🤣
being calm under pressure, the perfect trait of an fighting man
Sergeant
His face every time he's with Forrest is actually priceless.😂
*Forrest Gump was one of the first movies*
that taught me about American History more than other Historical Films
Maybe you should read a history book, because Forest Gump is nothing more than revisionist propaganda.
Keyser94 how? It legitimately outlines all the major historical events that occurred after WWII to the end of the 80s in as about a non political way as possible. Heck, if you dig deeper into Forrest Gump, you will find more historical examples, such as how Gump was a Tunnel Rat during the Vietnam War.
It’s very difficult to think of a major historical event or pop culture reference during this time period set in Forrest Gump that isn’t in Forrest Gump.
@@howardbaxter2514 Because it outshine counter culture and make it look as bad, even that counter culture was one of greatest hits of those decades and did great political and social changes, but they are framed as "sinful", if you actually fight against the system you would end dead, even that her death is also pure revisionism, aids affected mostly gay man in the 80', only later heterosexual couples began to feel the affects of HIV and AIDS.
@@TheKeyser94 IV Drug users, though, which was implied that Jenny maybe tried.
@@molassio1989 yah, thats right I thought they showed her shooting up
“I’m not a smart man, but I know what love is.” Such a meaningful quote
“Jinnaaay”
This is a great video. I could not have said it better. SInce I first saw it, I have always regard Forrest Gump as the one film I would show people from other countries if they wanted to know everything important about America. In this film, we find America's good heart and its sad, wounded soul; its greatest virtues and its darkest sins. It is a great film.
It would actually be a pretty bad movie to show other people. The point is it’s a myth, not reality. In real America, most of these things wouldn’t have happened. There is also the fact that this takes place after WWII when America was prosperous and in the American South buffered with old time sweetness.
Femme Futile I think I understand your point, but I was not talking about actual histoy. For that there are probably thosands of better choices, many, if not most of them documentaries. No, I was referring to understanding our psychology, our outlook, our character. Fiction is MUCH better at capturing the zeitgeist than than a recitation of facts (although there are some excellent documentaries that manage to do that, also, they tend to be the exception rather than the rule). Forrest Gump has the power of metaphor. I'm not hesitant to say that it certainly captures my view of America. I grew up in the era that it takes place in. To me, at least, it reflects the spirit of those times beautifully.
Not sure that was your actual point, but it's how I understood it. :-)
Wing Flanagan Makes sense. In agreement.
If they remade Forrest Gump for this generation I wonder what cultural events he would be influencing...
- Runs into Kurt Cobain gives him the idea for Smells Like Teen Spirit because he tells him something about his body odor.
- Meets Mark Zuckerberg tells him that he wishes there was some way he could see pictures of Jenny and what shes been up to so that he would know if she was ok.
- Instead of ping pong champion becomes video game champion.
- Meets George W Bush...."Momma tells me to appreciate my smarts because theres always someone who has less."
- Witnesses 9/11 and all our mass shootings..."Folks sure was awful angry during those times."
Yes they should remake the movie for this last decade
I love this list but we had video games in the 90s
enemyhelicopters BASED !
It would suck because it be so convoluted with SJW bullshit
@@metatronblack lol ok
This take just brought tears to my eyes. Beautiful and spot on analysis.
One little detail I love about this movie is that Lt Dan married a Vietnamese woman. The place where he was supposed to die actually gave him the love of his life
I love how the Drill Sergeant was complimenting him on his responses, yet made it sound like he was telling him off.
"Why are you so good to me, Forrest?" (before Forrest answers I think about my wife and say to myself, "You're my girl") Forrest says, "You're my girl". (I'm crying in .0001 seconds).
My friend whom I've loved for over 20 years calls me his "Jenny". I call him "Forest". But we've been apart for years.
Because he doesnt understand that Jenny doesn't deserve the amount of devotion he gives her. You should never put your time, effort, and feelings towards somebody who does not value or respect you.
@John Nichols SWEET! THANKS ...
@@docd-monik4380 That's one of the criticisms of this movie, but that's also the beauty of Forrest as a character. He's undeterred by how long he has to wait for Jenny because he truly believes the strength of his love for her would bring her to him in the end. Obviously, this is not something anyone should believe in reality, but in a movie? Man, does it make for a great story!
I love the little smirk and sense of pride at 8:22 when he says, "I can run like the wind blows". Very raw and true. Something he really feels proud of.
The one scene that always gets me is the one where Forrest learns that his son won't go through life the way he did. Forrest's son won't live confused and vulnerable. It's super heart warming
This is one of your best videos. I did not think of this movie that way
Bubba The Entrepreneur Spirit 🙌🏽
The one main character of color in the movie, has the most capitalist drive. To live a better life than my ancestors had. This clip touched me in more ways than one. I'm healing & this triggered some healing.
Thank you!
@SARA Yeah very beautiful. And fictional. Written by white people and papering over the racism that still exists. Super cute how working hard for generations got her family nowhere because the system was set up against her, but it's fine now because she became wealthy by a windfall. Fun fact, the average black household has 1/16th the wealth of the average white family.
@@ProfessorEGadd Well said.
@@ProfessorEGadd That was the point, Babba’s family had served for generations and in the end, they were being served it sticks to the theme of the movie!
In a nutshell: Forrest Gump is the innocence & determination of the American Dream, Jenny is the dark side ,their marriage is the reconciliation of both & their child represents hope for it's future..
This video makes me feel patriotic about a country I'm not a part of
same here
Victoria we all livin In America -Rammstein
Mark Schantz you are a sign of the times. I’m sorry for you.
Lmao same😂 i discovered the existence of the Vietnam war watching forrest gump (true fact)
🤣
Please do Fresh Prince of Bel Air. So much commentary on colourism and how black America often struggle to support one another
Crippycooke that show kept bringing up racism for absolutely no reason.
It's a great show but brought up non-existing problems or problems faced by blacks, caused by blacks.
@@harrywarden7675 what did you think was non-existing? Curious to hear your thoughts
TPAB GKMC the show was made and set in an age where blacks aren't suppressed and people aren't being prejudiced against them on a scale no bigger than an extremely small portion of what it was over 50 years ago.
And yet the show kept bringing such things into the mix as if it was running rampant. It is non-existent in the sense that it wasn't a real problem but they felt the need to blow it out of proportion.
Harry Warden Are you one of these people who thinks the end of Jim Crow laws meant the end of racism in the US?
Crippycooke no, I am not. I am simply stating the fact that racism towards blacks isn't even noticeable in the US.
Instead racism towards us whites is at an all time high, but you don't hear us talking about it all the time.
Every black show set within the last 40 years constantly brings up racism as if it's happening to every black person ALL the time when it's actually not.
And the actor who played him is now playeing... Mister Rogers. You can not make up that sweet irony. What does this reveal about Tom Hanks?
Derek Roberts Tom Hanks is a god
I don't think it's ironic. It'd be more ironic if Tom Hanks was a terrible person playing these wholesome souls, but Tom Hanks himself is a great dude
@@psychomanatee3459 I think "fitting" is an excellent word to describe Tom Hanks playing such a wonderful man as Mr. Rogers. I was pumped when Mr. Hanks was cast for that role.
@@vincelestrade3758 yeah, definitely
I don’t think you know what irony means....
I can’t even watch these clips without crying! 😩
Same
I can.
I wish we all had hearts like Forrest.
I didn’t think it was possible to love this movie more, but alas.
The “is he smart or is he... like..” gets me everything because he points to himself 😭
Forrest Gump is the best historical-fictional anime I've ever watched.
You best believe it
Fax
Also, you forgot how Forrest was sitting the entire time for his bus to arrive only to find out his destination was a few blocks away, which I think it symbolizes how people take a long time to get where they are supposed to be in life if they are with the right company to guide them.
When I was in high school we had a Vietnamese for exchange student. Something I learned from him just by being around him is that the Vietnam war to them is a distant memory but to us it still impacts our culture to this day. The country has been in a slow decay ever since JFK was assassinated it seems to me
The choosing to go to space because its hard, and the ein Berliner speech are such powerful words imo
That was pretty much the moment when the US golden era was coming to an end, althrough officialy it ended in 1973 and i think 1973 is a much more official end of the US golden era since a lot and i mean A LOT bad things happened to the US that year, oil crisis, defeat in Vietnam + Hippies were at the peak of thier power.
I'll never look at this movie the same way again after this video essay. Thanks for sharing
Another great thing about Lt. Dan is that Vietnam wasn’t technically a war, cause Congress never approved it. So he never really failed his ancestors.
that's not the definition of a war. the actions taken by the respective countries dictate whether it's a war or not. both sides fought a war.
@@CamJames yeah, politicians would prefer the legal definition rather than the real deal
@@CamJames yes and the USA was never at war with North Vietnam, or today there'd be no North Vietnam! We'd have wiped out every last one of them yellow and red dink bastards. As it was we only killed the ones that came south. Which in the long run wasn't nearly enough. But for the time we were doing it was.
Paul Frederick holy shit you can’t say those about people anymore
@@1pcfred yikes
Love this movie, LOVE THE SOUND TRACK, love the underdog story, love the innocence ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
His mom in the movie is one of the strongest female leads ive ever seen, not the fake ones they talk about today.
Sally Field is a phenomenal actress. I grew up watching her in the Flying Nun.
YES!!!
I like how the other characters that represent many aspects of the American spirit, and as Forrest interacts with them he becomes who he is, they show the good and the bad from what they embody
Jenny: The 60s attempt to change America and end its troubled past, but her trauma was just too much, and she became worse and worse.
Bubba: entrepreneurial spirit, but he died before achieving his dream. Some times, you just have very bad luck and cannot realize your entrepreneurial dreams.
Dan: Honorary military tradition, but pointless bad wars can live you crippled, dishonored and no purpose.
Mother: Family values and the importance of growing in a loving home, but she and her son were abandoned by the Dad.
All of those aspects make America, they made Forrest, but only through optimism and determination, he absorbed the best of their qualities and became the ideal America.
E
This was a perfect summary. Thank you.
Forrest basicly survived the world, being a disabled boy from a single parent household and no family support. This is allmost the worst start into live. Its just missing migrant background and that would be "insane" difficulty.
And thats why i really like the movie, because he is against all odds.
This movie, along with Saving Private Ryan, were two of my favourite movies as a kid. While watching this I felt tears come to my eyes...you added a whole other dimension to Forrest Gump and it is beautiful. This is probably my favourite video of yours, so far!
Me: Needs Sleep
TH-cam: There’s a New The Take video.
Me: On what?
TH-cam: Forrest Gump.
Me: Who needs sleep.
We need a new movie like this for this era. Great video!
America is too fractured to have a movie like this in 2019. There's no monoculture, they're very few things that we all agree on. If Forrest Gump came out today, half the country would love it and the other half would talk about how Jenny was made to be so bitchy and unlikable simply because she's a woman who just wanted to go off and live her own life. How the movie implies that Capitalism is the solution to our problems and not the root cause. That's just two things off the top of my head, I'm sure there'd be much more to pick out, for this reason, we're not gonna have a movie set in our reality that'll ever be as universally beloved as Forrest Gump.
Agreed a film like this would never get green lit today... everything changed after 9/11. Including Hollywood.
I think it's Fight Club.
@@unearnedopinion I wish we had a Time Machine we should had stayed in the 90's repeat instead of the new millennium. Which is awful and very divisive pop culture sucks Hollywood looking heroes so there's superhero flicks everywhere.Music is crap Bruno mars is no MJ or Prince Cardi B no Aretha Franklin Nicki Minaj is no Whitney wtf happened to us.
What would a sequel of this film look like?? There are many things that I missed seeing or understanding all those years ago like that Forrest was illegitimate or the legacy that he carries of his father being a clan member, His mother prostituting herself for the sake of Forrest's education or the principal taking advantage of their situation. And then there is the inspiration of the unique moves of a crippled boy on the career of a rock star.
I always yell "I GOTTA SAVE BUBBA!!" at random times
Matt Montegomery lmao
Same! But it's "find" not save.
I sometimes yell "RUN FOREST RUN!!" instead 😂😂
@@michanghyun 😂😂
"I could only think of one name the most beautiful name in the whole world."
I absolutely love the drill sergeant. His voice cracks me up
Some of these clips are making me cry. Omg I love this movie.
in my mind forest is still running somewhere trying to find Jenny
Her Reel Review but jenny dead lady, she dead already
@@carlosdureza1282 you are correct, but to clean up your comment... "but Jenny's dead, lady, she already died."
lol I can speak and write English appropriately, I did that on purpose with the intent of emulating Forest's manner of speaking. Thank you for the polite correction.
Nah Jenny isn't worth it
Josh McIver r/wooosh
I'm really still grappling with the question if this is a reactionary tale or not. What the filmmaker tries to rejetct, the notion that it stands for conservative values, that doubting too much, being too different, questioning authority will lead to a "Jenny life", while joy and fulfilment lies in not being too politically outspoken...and of course, the very nonchalant treatment of the subject of racism. The implication that it was the simple, apolitical, everyman folk of alabama like Forrest, with which almost every white southener can identify, that brought down Jim Crow, against a minority of bad racists. Those are the points that i feel uneasy with watching this undoubtly great movie.
That's a really interesting thought. I think there is worth in the idea that there is goodness and contentment in simplicity, but too much of it is going to benefit the wrong people. You need to be able to analyse the world around you with a sharp eye and mind, but sometimes cast off all the burdens on your mind and let it heal a little.
The movie shows scenes that clearly white wash racism in America on multiple fronts. It gets away with it by putting the American Spirit in a lovable character that is essentially automatically forgiven for his ignorance. And of course he is because who could be upset with someone of his caliber not understanding institutional racism or the military industrial complex. He's shown as devoid of ideology and pure, but the movie's scenes leave a lot out as they paint this picture. They don't show the fact that Forrest may have had to watch his platoon force South Vietnamese from their homes and into "Strategic hamlets" for their protection maybe even a massacre at some point. They take the Vietnam was a mistake "why are we here?" implying there is no reason and it was a valiant effort, but a mistake, route. Same thing with racism and black Americans. He never fully understands the institutional racism that held his friends family back, but of course is just giving his mother the money because he can empathize with the immediate situation at hand. This is fine for him personally, but once again it is protected by this idea that Gump/America can simply forget about why things like this have happened and never think about it again while everyone else struggles to their bitter end and forgives him simply for being this adorable likable character that can't empathize on this level for obvious reasons. If Gump learned from these mistakes I've listed it would be solid, but the message is that all these radicals should learn from him because he represents the true pure American spirit of goodness. One that simply doesn't think about or get into any situations that actually challenge his mother's one liners and one that never really challenges America's "mistakes" by simply viewing them through a white, male, capitalist that we have to forgive for his ignorance or be forced to reckon with the question of how cruel we are to those who might be mentally challenged. Was it intended to be written this way? Well, when Forrest Gump 2 comes out and we see Gump himself working on it i think we'll have the same questions all over again i guess.
@@myroc1 You've entirely missed the point. It wasn't teaching that the radicals should learn from him because He represents the true pure American Spirit, but rather that the various other's were driven by motives and some of those motives were passed onto Forest (like Buba's Entrepreneurial spirit), and other's had motives that destroyed their lives (
Take for example Jenny. Jenny's inability to put the past behind her destroyed her entire life, and her final relent to sorrowfully accept her fate and FINALLY make the best of the future is what allowed her to have the grace of a nice end of life. It was the vain attempt at righting past wrongs, and the inevitable fleeing that came when one does something so vain that destroyed Jenny's life. She couldn't move past the beliefs she formed about herself because of her past trauma and she did the exact same evil to Forest. Forest became a living monument to how wrong she was about everything in her life, and that's one of the major reasons she couldn't allow herself to be with him. He was too forgiving and loving and she lacked the capacity to understand how such things could be applicable to her.
While I did enjoy the film, there is a creepy undercurrent about innocence that really goes so overboard it is fair to call it idolatry.
Once he gets past his childhood disability, which he just magically shrugs off by trying hard, everything always goes right for him, by continuing to try hard. Thinking is not necessary. Just *be* a good boy and luck (divine intervention) will protect you. There is a lot of carnage around him, but his innocence always makes him a winner.
Frankly, Forrest never had to overcome any real obstacle, because his mother, Jenny, luck, luck, and luck always protected him from the consequences of every dangerous situation and poor decision. In today's parlance, Gump is a Mary Sue whose superpower is infinitely thick plot armor.
@@ComradeOgilvy1984 I think your oversimplifying His character struggle. He definitely struggled a lot, and while I agree that there is a sense everything goes right for him, there is also a lot that doesn't go right for him amd it mostly springs from the suffering of others. His characters innocence stemmed from his significantly low IQ, and the point of his character was in many ways to show how the failures of others caused him to be victimized. Gump had a ton of things happen in his life that having a higher IQ could have led him to ruminate upon and end up like Jenny or Lieutenant Dan. As a result of his low intellect, he was always putting the painful parts of his past behind him and moving forward. In this sense, His main flaw was his biggest thorn and his biggest blessing. It wasn't that because of his dullness that divine intervention made it all work out. It was his capacity to persevere through suffering, which that low IQ actually facilitated.
This is one of my favorite film breakdowns. We can treat each other with respect and love despite our differences.
I can never not cry everytime i see the bubba death scene
“That’s what they call it the American Dream, because you have to be asleep to believe it”-
George Carlin
Oh stfu
@@TheKnoxvicious NO U
@@MLBlue30
UR MOM
Haha,he was a clever guy.
what truly defines "americanism" is Jeffery Epstein.... a billionaire that ran a pedophile ring right under the nose of every federal agency, and in the end was killed by the elites that were associated with him before he could testify to cover it all up. America is a land of insane brutality, social inequality, and Lawless corruption where the most evil and despicable people at the top can literally get away with murder while the impoverished serfs at the bottom have no rights or freedoms to the point they aren't even allowed to injest a particular plant that grows in the ground.
The only people who use "single minded" as an insult are those who haven't accomplished a damn thing.
true
17:34 "She discovered a way to expand her mind and live in harmony", lmao I love Gump's reactions to Jenny taking acid
Bruh I'm not watching the movie right but even the breakdown has me in tears
And Forrest gump is what made me a fan of Tom Hanks
I find that Forrest Gump also acts as a strengthening of the American myth in an insidious way as well. If you can get everything you want if you try hard enough like Forrest, then if you don't succeed it's your own damn fault. In reality, Forrest and many successful Americans got some incredible luck in achieving what they did.
One of the most recognizable lines of the film“...life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get” expresses the uncertainty of life and fate. If the movie were just pushing the American Dream, the expression would have been something about hard work or never giving up. Instead the line she says is more about accepting what life gives you. It is an acknowledgment of the fact that, ultimately, life surprises us all no matter what we say or do.
K B Except you know what you’ll get. If you’re family are wealthy you’ll be wealthy, of your family is poor you’ll end up poor.
@@rust44 that is wrong, USA is the easiest or was the easiest to get out of poverty.
That is so true. In reality sons and daughters of millionaires and billionaires are praised as "self made" when they had all the right connections, training, best education, money etc from a very young age. Forrest gump is nothing more than appealing to the optimisum bias people have.
RedShirtSmith yes, its a bit like, if you work really hard and your heart is pure.. the american dream will come to those who deserve it.
Growing up this was my favorite movie and I never really understood why. Thank You for perfectly capturing the why
When Forrest ask if his son is smart is freaking amazing because you know forrest is asking if he’s like his dad. Forrest is aware he’s not as fast as everyone else but doesnt care. Hes too busy caring about others.
“Cus you’re my girl.” Gives me chills every time and I want to cry 😭 😭😭❤️❤️❤️
2021,
Hollywood reboots forest Gump, because they have no new ideas and this time it’s 1980s to 2020s
And Forrest is now Forresta.. A lesbian simple mind
@@tubbalcain Should I call her mista ?
@@vladmarius9181yeah, it's fine by me 😁
@@vladmarius9181 Why are you gae?
I had to stop this video at 10 minutes. You made me realize that I HAVE to watch this movie. I'll return after I track it down and finish it.
This movie is the one movie I’ve seen that I can honestly say every single scene makes me cry in one way or another. The greatest movie ever made
“I used to run to get where I was going. Didn’t think it’d take me anywhere “ 😂
Who still watches forest Gump in 2020...?🖐️my all time favorite movie
"My momma said you could always tell about someone by their shoes."
Yeah I'm broke😂😂😂
That's true
Angela Fernandes-Blevins Actually thats True!
For me it is..
Thank you for summarising why I have loved this film since I saw it when I was 14. I couldn't quite figure it out since growing up and others telling me it's cheesy/emotionally manipulatuve. I just thought Forest was so human that he did the right thing despite the world going crazy around him, and he does it not for any financial or political or religious reason, which I believe in. You sum it all up so well.
😭😭😭 ahhh you had to play that part "I gotta find Bubba!!!" 😭😭😭
Hit me right in the feels
I felt the tears start coming up
I think it's also worth noting that it's very specifically about the coming of age and the maturing of the baby boomer generation. Also, acknowledging all it's flaws while at the same time letting itself off the hook? "Lots of crazy crap happened...but we meant well!"
It pretty much perfectly captures the classic boomer life transitions up to that point: 1. a childhood in a wholesome but morally questionable background, 2. as part of the counter culture movement, 3. the breakdown of that movement, 4. searching for personal autonomy and entrepreneurship, 5. mentoring and finding hope in their children.
Making tons of money off a tech boom they didn't really understand.
"Also, acknowledging all its flaws while at the same time letting itself off the hook? 'Lots of crazy crap happened...but we meant well!'"
I was going to say the same thing. As much as I love this film, I'd be lying if I said I couldn't see how it could be viewed as baby boomers trying to excuse themselves for a lot of the shadier things that happened during their generation. And funnily enough, now lots of them yell at my generation (millennials) for not conforming to the '50s idea of the American dream or wanting to clean up the messes they passed off as inheritance to us.
@@AliciaNyblade every generation has its own challenge, tho, most civilians dont really have any power ti change the tide.
dont blame them, and dint blame yourselves either
@@Spider-Too-Too I disagree. Plenty of movements throughout history have been led by the common people, and it's often they who are the first ones to call for change rather than their political representatives. Women's suffrage, Civil Rights, the environmentalist movement of the '70s, etc. People do have the power to change things, or at the very least make their voices heard. No, no generation is perfect, but imperfection isn't an excuse for inaction in the face of blatant political or societal injustice (not that you were saying it was).
It really always bugged me how no one in the Army salutes Forrest. He’s a medal of Honor Recipient, every guardsman in Washington should have saluted as he walked by.
Forrest is a savior figure who redeems the world through his purity. He is a cinematic representation of Christian morality expressed through American exceptionalism.
"Christian morality" & "American exceptionalism" never existed. Unless your a far right chimp who shares the values of The Unibomber.
Except on the back of a box of chocolates it tells you exactly what you're going to get.
Well, nowadays they do. They also have labels that tell you not to eat the box.
@@maelstrom2313 I read comments, it's what I do. I do it to find gems like this one.
No when I was younger.....no lables...
[404: User Not Found] lol
@A K and each wrappers says " do not eat"
Zen and the art of Forrest Gump. Unencumbered by the thought process (quote from Car Talk)
Thumbs up for the car talk reference
My first thought of this movie was "how is it possible to make a stroy without those old ancient rule of climax and anti climax set"
my little sister still doesnt get why we yell "jennay" at her all the time. bahahaha. amazing movie.
I always cry at this movie, no matter how many times I watch it, I can never keep it together
For Forrest, he was named after an evil man. But he grew up a good man. And his son will hopefully be a good man, too. We make our names mean what we want them to mean.
Beautiful take on this movie. I grew up loving it. As a kid it was just a good movie, but when I watched it as an adult, as a mom, I cried several times. There are so many lessons to take away from it. I've never seen it picked apart and analyzed so perfectly. Do the two of you do all of the research and writing for this channel? You both deserve to have millions of subscribers. I have no doubt that you eventually will. One of the absolute best channels on this platform. 🖤
Just found this channel because I watch a lot of video essays. I like your style and I'm glad you make these.
Thank you,
Alex
I love watching this movie. It captures the times and the music with amazing accuracy. You are right about it being a confusing and tumultuous time! My cousin was a paratrooper in Vietnam, and I was in 7th grade when Bobby Kennedy was killed. It was a class assignment to watch the convention that night, so I saw the confusion and heard the first announcement that he had been shot. It was heart wrenching. He was so well liked by so many.