Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of

Movie Analysis

Inner Theatre – An Encounter with Self

Submitted to -
Professor Kirti Sharda
Associate Ms. Ranna Bhatt

Submitted by -
Shivani Munot
Roll No. 19443 | PGP 2019-21

Submitted on -
11th January 2020
INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, AHMEDABAD
Introduction

I recently watched the cult classic movie – Forrest Gump in an endeavor to experience the
greatest movies of all times. I pleasantly marveled at Forrest Gump’s simplicity and kind nature
portrayed effortlessly by Tom Hanks. Forrest’s narration to strangers while sitting on a bus stop
takes us through his life journey set in the backdrop of major happenings during the latter half of
the 20th century America like the Vietnamese War. The story beautifully depicts the idea that life
is unpredictable, and anything can happen. Hence, there is no point in worrying about what is
going to happen.

Plot Overview

The story begins with Forrest reminiscing about his early childhood when he got leg braces due
to his crooked spine. He lived with him mother in their ancestral home in Alabama. They run a
boarding house, renting out the extra rooms in their house, to manage their household finances.
Many travelers reside in their abode including a young Elvis Presley who plays the guitar for
Forrest and adopts Forrest’s weird dance movements in his performances.

When it is time to enroll Forrest in a school, it is found that he is slow-witted and has an IQ of
75. However, minimum IQ required to enroll in the Central Albanian School was above 80. His
supportive mother fights for him and gives into the demands of the Principal to provide Forrest a
normal upbringing. Forrest’s mother is a loving, supportive and strong lady who raises him as a
single parent. Due to his mother’s teachings and care, Forrest never feels or thinks of himself as
disadvantaged.

On the first day of school when Forrest gets on the school bus, no one wants him to sit next to
him except Jenny Curran who becomes Forrest’s best friend and later, the love of his life. She
teaches him to read and he amuses her with his antics. Forrest was regularly bullied by his
classmates due to his physical appearance and mental disability. Jenny asks Forrest to not be
brave but run away when in trouble which stems from her own experience of running away to
safety from her abusive father. In a similar instance while running away from bullies, Forrest’s
leg braces break off and Forrest is revealed to be a very fast runner. By the time they enter high
school, Forrest is not only fast runner but also tall and muscular which makes him a star on the
School Football Team. He earns a football scholarship, gets enlisted into All-States Team and is
coached by legendary Bear Bryant. He also plays in the All-American Team and gets an
opportunity to meet the then President, John F. Kennedy in The White House.

Post-graduation, Forrest enlists into the US Army. He is sent to fight in the Vietnam war and
finds a mate in a fellow soldier nicknamed “Bubba”. Bubba’s family was engaged in the
shrimping business and he asks Forrest to join him in this endeavor once they complete their
term with the US Army. However, Bubba is killed in one of the attacks. Forrest tries to save
Bubba but in vain. Instead, Forrest saves Lieutenant Dan Taylor who is left crippled with both
his legs crushed in the attack. He wanted to die a martyr but since Forrest saves him, he holds a
love-hate relationship with Forrest. Forrest is felicitated for his bravery and awarded the
prestigious Medal of Honor.

During his term with the US Army, Forrest goes to meet Jenny and sees her performing nude in
front of her audience who tease her. Forrest picks her up and takes her away to which Jenny
retorts and asks him how many times he will be able to rescue her. She asks him to stay away
from her and reiterates to run away when in trouble. He leaves but his life keeps taking
unexpected turns as his unique skills and talents take him places. While recovering from his war
injuries in a hospital, he takes up playing ping-pong to while away time. He discovers his
impeccable skills and becomes a ping-pong champion by accident. He becomes so successful as
a ping pong player that he gets a chance to be interviewed by John Lennon. He eventually goes
back to America and again meets Jenny who is dealing with an abusive boyfriend but in vain as
Jenny leaves him again. Forrest then goes to meet Lt. Dan who is bound to a wheelchair due to
his crippled legs. When Forrest reveals his plans to start a successful shrimping business in
memory of Bubba, Lt. Dan is impressed and promises to help out Forrest in this endeavor. It
turns out that Forrest’s fortune worked wonders in this venture as well as a hurricane destroys all
the other shrimping boats except theirs. They start minting money in the shrimping business.

After a while, Forrest gets to know that his mother is sick and goes back to Greenbow, Alabama
to spend time with her. While at his mother’s place, Jenny comes to meet Forrest and starts
living with him. Forrest proposes Jenny but instead of accepting, Jenny runs away. This inspires
Forrest to take up running, He starts running mindlessly without any agenda for three years and
becomes an inspiration for the entire nation.

After three years, he comes back home to a letter from Jenny asking him to come and meet her.
Forrest, who was narrating the story, was actually sitting on a bus bench to reach Jenny’s house.
Somebody tells him that Jenny’s home is only a few blocks away which puts Forrest into a
sprinting mode again. He reaches Jenny’s house and discovers that Jenny is sick and also meets
their child who is names Forrest too. The only thing Forrest wanted to inquire about was whether
his son is low-witted as him. Jenny assures Forrest that their son is one of the brightest students
in school and asks Forrest to marry him. Forrest and Jenny finally get married, shift to their
hometown and Jenny passes away shortly after. Forrest takes care of Forrest Jr. and the film
closes with Forrest seeing off his son on the first day of his school.

Character Analysis

Forrest Gump: The central character - Forrest has an endearing personality. He is supposedly
mentally challenged and disabled but goes onto achieve miraculous and extraordinary successes
in various endeavors that would require a lot of motivation and focus for an ordinary or a normal
person to achieve. He is kind and caring as taught by his mother. He is simple, has child-like
innocence and is effortlessly talented. He displays love, care and devotion towards people close
to him and this personality trait helps him to sail through many life-changing situations. He is
unaffected by people’s perception of himself. In my opinion, Forrest has a MBTI personality of
ISXP. He is definitely an introvert given his social awkwardness. He is unable to comprehend
the complexity of situation and does not think much about socially acceptable behaviors. In the
film, when Forrest meets President Kennedy, he asks him where the toilet is! Similarly, being an
introvert, he only has a few people who become very close to him and he holds them very close
to his heart. He senses information that is provided to him and looks for facts rather than relying
on intuition. He keeps recalling what his Mumma or Jenny said to him. Thus, he takes whatever
is told to him at face value like he believed his mother when she told him that his father had gone
on a vacation. I am not sure about whether he is a thinking or a feeling person. Lastly, he is a
perceiver as he prefers to go with the flow and takes life as it comes, one thing at a time.
Jenny Curran: Jenny has had a rough childhood due to his abusive father which molds her
personality of being an escapist. She always wants to run away from all the troubles and years to
live a hippie, carefree life. In this pursuit, she rejects Forrest many times and gets herself into
various troubles. However, Jenny knows that she loves Forrest however he is which eventually
forces her to return to him. Jenny plays an important role in shaping Forrest.

Jenny must be an ENTP. She is a character in the movie who really needed therapy and
consultation. She is constantly on the run due to her abusive childhood. In my opinion, she was
introverted and guarded about her moods. She was very unpredictable due her moody attitude.
She felt loving towards Forrest at one instance and runs away from him at the very next instance.
Her high need for inclusion and affection (stemming from the neglect and abuse during her
childhood) makes her display high extraversion. She has a strong desire to break free and live
carefree, but her inner demons keep coming back to haunt her. She yearns for freedom and
commits many mistakes on the path that eventually destroy her (leading to her death). Jenny is
an ambitious girl who wanted to achiever her dream of being a superstar singer at any cost. She
does not mind sitting naked in front of a pervert audience just to realize her dream. Her
characteristic traits lead to her behavior of trying out new experiences, leading a hippie life and
suicidal tendencies. In the pursuit of finding herself, she keeps losing more of herself.

Forrest’s Mother: Forrest’s mother is a smart and caring lady who brings love in Forrest’s life.
She protects him at all costs and never makes him feel like an outcast. She is a source of constant
motivation for Forrest and should be given some credit for Forrest’s unexpected successes.

Mrs. Gump is most likely an ENFJ. She was a very social person and enjoyed hosting her guests.
She was warm, empathetic and responsible. The way she takes care of Forrest and makes him
feel included and wanted speaks at length about her character. She knew her child had potential
and always taught him to never consider himself to be unworthy or lowly. She was the catalyst
for growth in Forrest’s life.

Bubba: Bubba plays an important role in Forrest’s life. Bubba belonging to the black
community has endured years of racial abuse along with his family leading them to live in
poverty. They have served the whites since generations and Bubba aspires to break that cycle and
become rich and successful. However, Bubba dies while fighting and following the commands of
his white superiors, thus bringing his life to a full circle. Bubba maybe displaying a ENFP
personality type. He was enthusiastic and imaginative. He viewed his life to be full of possibility
and had huge plans for life after serving in the army.

Lt. Dan: Lt. Dan was a fierce leader and knew that his fate will be to die on the battlefield as a
martyr. This had been a tradition for generations in his family. However, when Forrest rescued
him, he felt disoriented and angry for not being able to live up to his family name. He did not
want to live life as a cripple. He shows this bitterness and blames Forrest for his condition.
However, Forrest’s simplicity and child-like innocence wins Lt. Dan over and they become
buddies for life, helping each other at various stages of their lives. Lt. Dan displays a strong
ESTJ personality. He is a practical and realistic leader and helped Forrest to succeed in his
business endeavors.

Relationships and Defense Mechanisms

The relationship of Forrest and Jenny shows their bond to be like peas and carrots. Both fulfil
each other in their own ways. Forrest provides Jenny a chance to escape her reality and Jenny
helps Forrest gain acceptance in the society. She is the only person in Forrest’s childhood (apart
from Mumma) who did not judge Forrest for his mental abilities but stuck by her as a true friend.

On the other hand, the story also depicts various defense mechanisms that each character
displays that takes the story ahead. For instance, in case of Jenny, she has suffered from deep
trauma due to sexual and physical abuse by her father. She seeks to escape to a safer space and
exhibits “escapism”. She also displays this behavior numerous times throughout the film while
running away from boyfriends, drugs and even Forrest when he proposes her. Forrest also
displays various defense mechanisms time and again, especially in his treatment of Jenny during
their adulthood. Jenny constantly behaves rudely with Forrest and avoids him but instead of
turning bitter against her, Forrest chooses to only see her positive side, thus displaying “selective
perception”. He cares so much for Jenny that he cannot see her destroyed side. When Jenny
rejects his marriage proposal, he starts running in denial and adopts Jenny’s escapism
mechanism.
Key Takeaways

The story of Forrest Gump touches one’s heart and makes one believe in the power of destiny
only if one continues to go with the flow. The movie reiterates the fact that great things can
happen to perceivably low-witted people. In the movie, majority of the characters like Jenny,
Bubba and Lt. Dan had some dreams and were running towards fulfilling them. But Forrest was
different. He just focused on one thing at a time and excelled at it. He was most probably gifted
but he did not even know to utilize his gifts. He just accidently utilizes them and becomes a
stalwart in almost everything he undertakes. His life is full of chances that he takes.

My key takeaway from the film is to just go with the flow like Forrest and good things will
happen to you. Forrest’s simplicity wins over my heart each time I watch the film. He deeply
cares and loves people but do not expect too much from them. He is objective in his outlook,
maybe unable to feel a lot of emotion due to his mental condition. In my opinion, this actually
acts as a boon for simple Forrest as he takes on life.