When Life wasn't just about IQ

Kamis, Januari 22, 2009

"Life is like a box of chocolate. You never know what you're going to get." This is a famous phrase from the movie called "Forrest Gump." The phrase shows the theme of this movie. The intended message is that happiness is acquired through the process of accepting and experiencing the challenges of life.

There are many other phrases in this movie such as, "You make your own destiny. You have to do the best with what god gave you." "Dying is a part of our lives." "You go to put the past behind you before you move on." The phrases are very ordinary and there's nothing very special. However, they are very understandable and we can nod at each word. That's why these phrases attract people and make people feel warm.

The movie reminds me of many important things in my life that I have forgotten. Moreover, the whole story is filled with love. Many kinds of love, such as love between a man and a woman, a mother and a child, and friends are described. Watching the movie, I become very comfortable thinking about our loving people who we don't realize how much we love, and how much we are loved. I like this movie, because it tries to define life and make us think about our own lives.

The main character in the story, Forrest Gump, is a man who doesn't have enough IQ but have lots of love in his heart. He is pure, innocent, warm-hearted, and never betrays or looks down on people. The visual imagery which surrounds Forrest is rather simple; however, it still succeeds in reinforcing his characterization as an unintelligent, yet caring and compassionate man. Forrest's clothing is light-colored and very tidy, which sends positive messages about his personality to the audience.

The main plot of this story is flash back and the sub plot is linear. The story begins with a man (Forrest Gump) sitting at a bus stop, tells the story of his life of his mother to a woman seated next to him. The exposition starts with the introduction of main character (Forrest Gump) Born in Greenbow, Alabama in the early 50ies. Forrest Gump has a difficult childhood. His low intelligence and disabled feet give people the reason for teasing the boy. Only his mother, a proud single woman, believes in Forrest and wants her son to live a normal life. The story moves to the rising action, since his first day at school Forrest has known Jenny Curan, a cute little girl, but she also suffers from terrible childhood experiences that mark her for life. In his teens, Forrest Gump successfully plays for a football team after surmounting his physical handicap. And jenny went to a girl’s college. The climax is when Forrest graduated college, and got into the army. In the army he meets his best friend Bubba, a young black soldier, who inspirited Forrest and his future life. Forrest surprised by the rudeness that met him in the army. But Forrest was never afraid of anything that might scare him. When he met jenny, Forrest told her that he love her. But jenny thought that he didn’t know what love was, just because he wasn’t as quick as others. Because of Forrest skills as soldier, he was sent to Vietnam War. The falling action is after being sent to Vietnam; Forrest starts a shrimp business at the Golf Coast in order to keep Bubba spirit alive who did not survive the Vietnam War. Helped by his former Vietnam superior Lieutenant Dan, Forrest Gump accidentally earns a lot of money from his shrimp business. But nevertheless, Forrest tries to live a simple life and all he wants is to meet Jenny again. He met her several times before, but they always separated for some reasons. The resolution follows the life of Forrest that gives an inspiration for many people although he himself does not realize the impact he leaves. Finally, Forrest meets Jenny again who surprisingly has got a child with Forrest. Only a little time after their marriage Jenny dies and for Forrest, a totally new stage of life starts: the roll of a single father.

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