FORREST GUMP

[maikuu]

[Miyoung]

I was feeling blue. That's it...

This movie is very famous because the actor is Hanks. Hanks won his second Academy Award for this movie.

Just for what it's worth, the one thing is I don't like Jenny but I can't hate her.

Of course she was terrible wrong to Forrest because she used him in her life. On the other hand, because she experienced horrible things from her father in life, she was physically and psychologically corrupted by her father.

And I think Gump is closest to Bubba. As you can see [in] the movie, Gump doesn't want to lose him. Also Gump tries to abide by the Bubba's promise. (If I have a free time, I want to go to Bubba Gump Shrimp because I like shrimp, too. )

The important thing is if this movie is real story, if I were Jenny or his mother, what would I do in their life?

Teacher's note: The first author to post about "Forrest Gump" makes an excellent point about the dichotomy of Jenny's character. She is, on one hand, a "terrible" person, yet on the other, who can blame Jenny for her bad choices given the anger she is forced to carry through her life and her pitiful fate, which is a direct consequence of her bad choices?

When I taught English at UCLA, I used to take my students on field trips to Bubba Gump Shrimp on the Santa Monica Pier. I haven't been there in several years, so I wonder if it's still there. Thank you for posting.

--mike http://www.moviesgrowenglish.com

[Miyu]

I saw this movie first time and I like this movie. In this movie there were many Forrest Gump stories. I like every adventures. However, my favorite his adventure is when he was high school student because there were interested parts in this story. First he was teased even after becoming the high school because his IQ was low. However, he was faster than car. Forrest's running was super fast and funny. Second, at this time American football teams' couch saw him and he could join the university. In the university, he tried to run fast and fast. I like this scene because after game he could get very high scores and meet president. When he met with president, he drank a lot of drinks so he wanted to go restroom. This scene was also funny. For these reasons I like this adventure.

I thought every persons were important and close to him because all people had a big influence on his life. Then I thought that once in a lifetime encounter is very important for our life.

This movie is very famous because of the his life story. He was not smart and intelligent but he had a pure and innocent heart and the cooperation of neighboring people gained many success, so this movie is very popular.

[chihyi]

This is Chih-Yi Lu(Michelle).

I had been watched Forrest Gump several times, but I never watched it without Chinese subtitles. When I concentrated on the English subtitles and dialogues, it is plain and clear .
Forrest Gump is a simple man that makes the complicated things perfectly pure in his life. He fell in love with Jenny and had on tolerance for someone who hurt Jenny; however, he never asked anything in return. He just loved her and protected her all the time. To Bubba, he kept his words, no matter what happened. To ping pong, he never blinked his eyes and persisted throughout the time. Therefore, he deserved the fruits and achieved what truly matter.

The most impressive and favorite adventure is that he started to run and ran extensively after Jenny left abruptly. It is so aimless that remind me of stepping outside of the comfort zone. To tell the truth, I always look for a lot of reasons so that I could make up my mind; nevertheless, you only know how strong you are if starting the adventure. Go with the flow and then make everything worthwhile. Overthinking means nothing to those who keep on going.

The memorable quote from Forrest Gump is that” life was like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.” It associated with making the best of today and seize the moment. We cannot do it over. This never grows old!

[xunpengwu]

Forrest himself was the one he was closest to, because he always listened his own will.

In the scene when Forrest was in Jenny's dorm, Jenny asked Forrest whether he had given any thought to his future. Forrest said:"Shouldn't I just be myself?" Jenny explained that she would be a folk singer, but Forrest insisted on the answer of being himself.

This scene was simple but impressive. Although Forrest was stupid, he knew what he really wanted. Success, fame and fortune were not important to his life because he only wanted to be Forrest, Forrest Gump, and give all of his love to Jenny. His every adventure was simple and followed his own desire: "When I got tired,I slept.When I got hungry,I ate.When I had to go,you know, I went."

Forrest was never overcautious in making any desicions. Better than lots of people, he was brave, persistent, faithful to his promise and responsible to his love. He was stupid but I think Forrest's "stupid is as wisdom does".

-- J.T. Xunpeng Wu

Teacher's note: I'd like to respond to two excellent points made by this author. I have never thought of the possibility that Gump is actually his own best friend, more so than a "normal" person. The evidence is that he has wisely determined that the person he is deep down inside is infinitely more valid that anything he could possibly make of himself. And he is so matter-of-fact about his insistence of this point.

The second point addresses one reason why "Forrest Gump" is such a brilliant story. Audiences are served a portrait of a guy whom everyone calls the "village idiot," and yet he visits the US President three times and changes the course of history several times, all without breaking a sweat. That sounds more like a genius to me. And it gives me hope. If a dummy can do all that, maybe I can do one tenth of all that.

In the film "Tropic Thunder," which I also show in my film class, there is a dialog about "going full retard" in Hollywood movies. One of the characters makes a good point in that audiences can accept a "special needs" character in a movie as long as this person has some kind of redeeming wisdom. "Forrest Gump" sure seems to bear this out. That's all I have to say about that. Thanks for a great post.

--mike http://www.moviesgrowenglish.com:idea:

[YihanLiu]

"Don't call him stupid", Lieutenant Dan Taylor yelled at the hookers. That was the most impressive scene for me in the movie <Forrest Gump>.

At first I didn't understand why he said so. Later, Forrest Gump explained that scene in his aside for the whole movie that "Lieutenant Dan Taylor don't want to be called as lump, like I don't want to be called as stupid. " People feel miserable for those who happened to have the same situation with themselves. When hearing the word stupid and seeing Gump, Lieutenant Dan saw himself from the mirror inside of his soul.

There were several relationships in the movie that were worth discussing. The relationship between Gump and Jenny without doubt, the relationship between Gump and his mother, the relationship between Gump and Bubba and so on. Well, I would like to talk about the relationship between Gump and Lieutenant Dan. Lieutenant Dan was a proud officer in the military. Gump saved his life in Vietnam war but he lost his legs forever. He hated Gump because at first he thought he'd rather die with pride than live with disgrace. He was also jealous of Gump because Gump won the honor he dreamt of. However, that scene I mention above, in my opinion, was the turning point. An empathetic feeling connected Lieutenant Dan with Gump. After that he admitted the fact that he was a lump, just as Gump did not pay much attention to others' comments. Finally, he succeeded as well.

We should just live in this way.

[Joshua]

Hi! I'm Joshua.
The adventure I like most is the voyage of Jenny. He didn't do it for himself like the jogging trip all around the US, instead, he did it for his promise. He is a man of his word. And Lieutenant Dan is another man who keep his promise, too. I love this journey, it is full of personal royalty, which is the supreme attitude we are pursuing in Chinese culture. and Lieutenant Dan finally find his destiny or his place during the voyage. I like it a lot. It is my favorite.

I think the person who are the closest to Forest Gump is Lieutenant Dan. Although Lieutenant Dan was quite mad at him when he saved him in the battlefield while he wanted to die in battlefield in honor. The reason why I chose Lieutenant Dan not Jenny, Bubba, or hos mother is because they all were in the army, in the battlefield. They share their lives together, they help with each other when facing a problem. Furthermore, they not only joined the army together, they also catch the shrimp together and established the Bubba Shrimp company, which later made a fortune. Lieutenant Dan also attended the wedding with his prosthetic and fiancee. Another reason is that when Forest was called " Stupid! " Lieutenant Dan said "Don't call him stupid" He said so is because he don't want to be called lump,either. They shared their lives, moneys, felling and even experiences with each other. How close they are.

I think "the message" of Forrest Gump that makes it so popular is "life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." I have heard it since I was little.

[lirongjia]

I am totally obsessed by this one of the most classic movies. I've watched it once before, and i found myself remembering every single detail of the movie when watching it again in the class, and i think it's because the stories Forest Gump have are too interesting and impressing for me to forget.

Personally, i love the war adventure the most, because most of his great achievements and experiences started here. He got the medal and see the president by saving people in the war here and he met his best friends Bubba and Lieutenant Dan who influenced his life a lot here.

I think Gump is closet to his mom. As we can see, Gump talked about his mother all the time by quoting her aphorism, such as 'Stupid is as stupid does.' and 'Life is like a box of chocolate, you never know what you're gonna get next.' which is my favorite sentence and is the theme of the movie. Although in the end of the movie Gump said he didn't know if Lieutenant was right by saying everyone has a destiny, or if his mother was right by saying the chocolate box, i think his mother was the right one, since Gump's life is so fantastic and unpredictable. Also i think it is his mother's education that made Gump such a successful man even though his IQ is 75.

Moreover, this movie is like a pony edition of American history. Many important events were involved, such as landing the moon, Watergate affair and some famous assassinations. There were many great companies talked about as well. All of these happened on one person, which led the whole interesting life of Gump. What i learn from this is that being simple is a great quality for success in the complicated world.

I can also tell the producer is against racism and for peace in the world. Gump and Bubba of different color became best friends. Lieutenant Dan married an asian woman. these few things show the producer's attitudes.

[Jaeheungahn]

Very sad story about a "simple man".

It's my second time to watch this movie. Sometimes I felt rather awkward with Jenny's choices but Gump's mind to understand the life makes me feel batter.
For me, joining the army was a favorite Gump's adventure because it was the first adventure which he chose by himself not suggested by his mother or someone. Due to this reason, It is my favorite Gump's adventure.

I think Bubba is closest to Gump. When Gump had a hard time for missing Jenny, Bubba was there nest to him. Even though it was a kind of mandatory situation, I'm sure Bubba gave him lots of energy. When someone are in struggle, they finally can find a person who really thinks about them. I envy their friendship a lot.

I believe that "the message" of Forrest Gump that makes it so popular is "see everything we encounter in our lives as a box of chocolates". I thinks there is no big differences between his and my life except our physical amount of assets. He sometimes had a good time, happy time, sad time, hard time and desperate time. We can undergo these kinds of feelings in our lifetime too. Only the difference is the sight how we accept our lives with what kinds of sights. As for me, I will try to see my life with Gump's sight which helps me how to deal with my difficult times. When someone accept their situation as the most terrible time, I will try to accept my situation like "Oh... I chose a little bit bitter one in a box of chocolates".

I love it. Of course there is some awkward scenes but I agree with that there are so many impressive scenes too.

[siyu1012]

I was deeply impressed by the scene of a white feather floating through the air and its background music. It fully illustrated the classic line—“I don’t know if we each have a destiny or if we’re all just floating around accidentally, like on the breeze.” I think the life of Gump was like a pure white feather floating on the breeze with its own destiny.

I think Jenny was always the closet and the most important one to Gump. Though Gump went through most of his life without her company, Jenny significantly influenced his whole life. She was his first friend. She told him to run. She and their son completed his life. In my opinion, relationship between Gump and Jenny was beyond love; their souls accompanied and supported each other forever.

I smiled when I watched Gump doing his shrimp business. By shrimping, he kept his promise with Bubba and helped Lieutenant Dan find his faith back. The business was poor initially, but Gump never gave up. Then the hurricane made Gump’s shrimping business become easy. People may say it was just luck, but I believe that Gump would get success sooner or later. I was glad to see that the shrimp business did stop Gump to move on. In other people’s eyes, the shrimp business meant a lot of money; while in Gump’s eyes, it was just a promise to his friend. Gump lived with a pure heart. That’s the reason why his life was so simple and meaningful.

“Life was like a box of chocolate, you never know what you’re going to get.” Many people have heard about this famous line, which is the message this movie tries to tell us. God was not generous to Gump, since what Gump got was quite limited, but he did it to the best. Unlike Gump, we were born and live with much better things, so why couldn’t we create a lifetime of meaningful memories? Forrest Gump is a heart-warming movie. It makes me reflect on the life I have led and gives me hope to the rest of my life.