Forrest Gump

Directed by Robert Zimeckis

1994

Click on the movie poster to watch the theatrical trailer for 1994’s Forrest Gump

This space is set aside for a contextualizing narrative. It is available to either a contributing educator or for a student to submit.

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The initial conversation addresses some of the questions that are used to analyze a primary source, but not all. With your teacher’s guidance, please record your insights on the following, and submit them to the site for publication:

  • Was the intended audience of the movie the same or different than Winston Groom’s novel, Forrest Gump?

  • Why was this movie made?

  • What status had director Robert Zimeckis and star Tom Hanks achieved by the time the movie was made?

  • Forrest navigates his way in and out of real places and events. In what ways is this film descriptive, and in what ways is it prescriptive?

Gallery

A sequel book was written soon after this successful film came out, sparking rumors about a sequel film based on it. Of course a second Forrest Gump movie was never made. However, please supply images and video of how much of this film carries on in popular culture.