Forrest Gump Analysis: Research

Forrest Gump opening scene (1994)

Institutional Information


Forrest Gump is a 1994 comedy, drama starring popular actor: Tom Hanks. This phenomenal film is directed by Robert Zemeckis with screenplay written by Eric Roth, and is based off of a novel written by Winston Groom. Other roles in Forrest Gump were performed by Robin Wright, Sally Field and Mykelti Williamson. There were multiple different settings for this movie. All filming locations were located in the USA, despite the representation of some of the scenes being in other countries.


Target Audience


I believe that the target audience for this movie would be anybody aged 15 and above because of the inclusion of swearing, violence, graphic scenes and slight nudity. Perhaps the director intended for an older audience, however considering these elements and the extent to which each is portrait, I don't think that the movie would be inappropriate for this aged audience. Additionally, the film could be viewed by either a male or female audience as there is no more of a portrayal of women than there is men. The representation of characters within the film is evenly distributed over the two genders. Although it's important to note that we do see a bolder representation of disabled people, given that the main character- Forrest Gump - is mentally challenged.


Analysis

In this scene, we see a white feather gently falling from the sky. The feather falls from the middle of the shot, and gradually moves towards the camera. The background is darker and so the white feather contrast with this, making it stand out. This helps to focus the audiences attention towards the subject matter. The contrast between the two could have been used by the director to foreshadow the separation between Forrest Gump and the rest of society. Later on in the film, we see a differentiation between Forrest and the other characters because of his mental disability. Considering this, it would be an interesting technique to have incorporated this idea within the opening scene of the movie.

Non-diegetic piano plays in the background of this opening scene. The delicate sound compliments the imagery of a feather, boasting the idea that this movie will be some what emotional. The camera then pans down to some buildings in a city/town setting. Again, there is contrast in the sound and imagery shown here. Cities are often busy and so the soft, slow music contradicts the assumption that we have of this scene.

The feather then circles around the title of the movie, which in itself is simplistic and reminiscent of the character of Forrest Gump. This could have been used to bring focus to the title. Additionally, the white text can be seen clearly set against the darker background. However the text is not too dominant and as a result, our attention still stays predominantly with the feather which is the only moving object on the screen. The focal point stays with the feather that falls gently down the screen.

The camera pans up gradually with the feather as it moves slightly upwards. The camera then falls back down slowly and continues moving to the left. The upwards movement could have been used to keep the audiences attention as it adds dimension and movement to the shot. The continuation of the leftward movement may have been used to not disorientate the audience. Likewise, the camera doesn't face directly upwards or downwards, which would have made the viewer feel uneasy.

A tracking shot has been used here, alongside a high angle. This helps to establish a setting as the
audience can see a location. Moreover, the high angled shot has been used to show how insignificant and small the feather is when compared to the buildings, the people and the rest of the mise en scene. This representation works in unison with the later characterisation Forrest Gumps segregation from the rest of the poplation. Including and recognising this visual, emphasises the narrative of the film.

Then, the same feather can be seen interacting with characters but they don't acknowledge it. The director may have incorporated this detail to signify the lack of attention that people pay to the smaller details. Later, this idea is increasingly relevant as it is shown through the lack of inclusion Forrest faces.

This is also a wide shot, helping to emphasise the scale between the feather and the rest of the objects within the shot. Again, the insignificance of the feather is shown as it brushes over the large cars and people. Here, we can see a visual comparison between the different sized objects. Also, we see full body shots of the passers by as well as a shot of the mans role body, enabling us to see his posture and physical behaviour. This begins to characterise him before we learn more about him from his dialogue.

There's a close up shot of the mans feet, wearing dirty shoes. Here we can see a contrast between the white, pure and clean feather and the dirt on the shoes. The feather lands on his shoe and therefore stands out. This direct contact with Forrest Gump is what first introduces the audience to him. Perhaps the choice of soft sounds and delicate imagery is used to portray the character of Forrest as a innocent figure. Also, the dirty shoes could be suggestive of his lack of social awareness, considering his willingness to wear these in public. They may also be representative of his previous adventures- suggesting that he has experienced a variation of different things.

Another shot that we see is where Forrest picks up the feather from off of his shoe. Unlike the people that we'd seen previously, he acknowledges the feather by picking it up. This boasts the idea that he isn't like the rest of society, as he goes against what we see the others do. A pedestal movement has been used to take the positioning of the camera from his feet to his face. Instead of tilting the lens up, we see that the camera moves upwards at the same angle. This helps to establish a clear image of the characters appearance, untainted by obscure eagles.

Here we can see a mid shot. This captures Forrests' suit, which is clean- unlike his shoes. Including this in the mise en scene, creates ambiguity. The audience may be surprised that the same man who can wear the dirty shoes, can also wear such a clean, smart suit. It makes us question how he came to have such a contrasting outfit. The camera then moves vertically and slightly downwards to meet a suitcase. After opening it, we see that the contents are very neat. Again, this could be a representation of how Forrest is a very ordered individual. We begin to develop an idea of what his behaviour and character may be like.

There is then a cut from this continuous take, to a long shot of a bus pulling into the shot. From this, we can see a comparison between the size of Forrest and the bus. The interruption that the bus causes to the scene could be symbolic of the disruption we see later in the film. This shot largely contrasts with the detailed, delicate and soft shots that have been used to establish the movie.