JOIN USThe permanence of ‘Forrest Gump’
Back when I was in college, one of my upwardly mobile friends was proudly showcasing to me a bouquet of cable television channels on his brand-new Gründig Colour TV. It was 1994, and the channel-hopping carousel came to a stop at the newest channel on the block — Star Movies.
They were airing the behind-the-scenes footage of a new movie with spanking new visual effects. Our staple diet of cheesy super-imposition — both homemade and imported — ensured that we had our eyes glued and our jaws agape by the magical way special effects were weaved in. We saw glimpses of the now-iconic feather, the furious ping-pong game and the travails of a double amputee war veteran, and the visibly proud filmmakers reinforcing the point that all of that was CGI.
After months of persevered pestering, the neighbourhood video centre finally called us to let us know that they had the video cassette of the movie, and after a little over two hours, we were spell-bound as we realised that ‘Forrest Gump’ was much more than the unobtrusive special effects sprinkled throughout the movie.
A few years later, after I had moved State-side, we watched a rerun of the movie with friends after dinner. Once they suspended their disbelief around the convenience of Gump’s presence at each of those historical moments, the middle-aged group found the movie to be a brilliant snapshot of their wonder years.
Some were invested in Mrs Gump’s tenacity and sacrifices that made Forrest a Momma’s boy for eternity. Jenny’s heart-rending journey through child abuse, hippiedom, motherhood, and mortality kept them glued. Then again, it had genuine moments of laughter, sincere depictions of serious topics, and nuanced relationships, all interwoven into a lip-smacking love story.
Many people saw it as one of the best war movies ever made, at par with ‘Apocalypse Now’ and ‘Full Metal Jacket’. Everyone agreed that it accurately represented the American Dream. It didn’t hurt that the movie had an incredible soundtrack to boot. ‘Forrest Gump’ had something for everyone.
Almost 30 years since its release, the aura around the movie has not faded, and rightfully so. Through the post-Trump era lens, the movie is essentially conservative, replete with flashes of the Klan and the housemaids in Alabama; Bubba is right up there with Lieutenant Dan but that is most likely because Gump is colourblind; war and nationalism are accentuated; pop culture references are peppered throughout.
True, they make it a point to show the liberal anti-war throngs as well, but one gets the feeling that they are depicted as distant from reality and are there largely for symbolism and art. Had the movie been released today, it would have been interesting to watch the polarised opinions about it on CNN and Fox News.
That notwithstanding, irrespective of colour, political affiliation, or sex, the US today agrees that the movie is as relevant today as it was all those years ago. The general consensus is that it is a fun history lesson about the 60s, the 70s, and the 80s. If it conjured up vivid memories of those decades among the middle-aged folks that watched it at the time it was released, the movie itself is a refreshing flashback to the 90s for us that have gotten to that age today.
(The writer is a Program Manager by day and a compulsive binge-watcher by night. He lives in St Louis, Missouri.)