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Klu Klux Klan appearance
Forrest mother explains that he got his name from a klansmen. The movie goes into a scene of presenting the founder, General Nathan Bedford Forrest. This is significant because the KKK was a racist group of white southerns who wanted traditionalist values for everyone.
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Vietnam War
During the movie, Forrest fought in the Vietnam War and that's where he met Bubba. The Vietnam war was between North Vietnam and the United states. The reason that war started is because America wanted to contain the spread of communism. Even though this was a 20 year war, America retreated leading to the victory of war for Vietnam.
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Elvis Presley stays at Forrest Gump's house
During this part of the movie, Forrest witnesses a famous pop singer named Elvis Presley who later on steals Forrest dance moves while he was younger. Elvis always asked Forrest to dance for him as he was playing his guitar and Forrest loved it. This is significantly important because Elvis became one of the world's most popular entertainers ever through music and dance.
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John Lennon
John Lennon was famous songwriter who co-founded the Beatles. In the movie he meets Forrest on the Dick Cavett show and they began talking about the war. This scene is important because the Beatles was the best British singing group in the world. Also John Lennon was shot at the end of the talk show scene.
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Hippie Movement
During the Hippie movement, many people were against the war and attended many protests events. In the movie, Jenny joined the hippie movement and experienced drugs for the first time and it was a big part of the movement. Also the hippie movement was a big part of cultural change and it increased dramatically in the early 1960's with the invention of the counterculture.
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The invention of the Smiley Face
In the movie Forrest is seen running past a guy in a yellow shirt. He offers him the shirt and Forrest wipes his face on it and then the guy sparks an idea of how to use his t-shirt. This is important because the smiley face is used to represent emotion and emoticons in texting format. -
Assassination of President Kennedy
Forrest actually meets President Kennedy because he was on the all American football team. Kennedy was a good president because he focused on helping people in need with government assistance. Also he accomplished many things in his lifetime including beating the Soviet Union in the Cold War.
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Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party was a group of violent black protesters who wanted education, good living conditions, and to remove blacks from the war. The scene shows a Black Panther explaining to Forrest the principals of their organization, but Forrest is too focused on Berkeley arguing with Jenny. In the movie everyone also looks at Forrest a weird way because he's seen wearing his Vietnam War uniform and they were against the Vietnam War.
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Robert Kennedy's assassination
Robert Kennedy, JFK's younger brother later died after JFK's assassination. In the movie, Forrest describes both of their deaths while he is talking to the lady on the bus bench. Kennedy also served as an American politician and a lawyer for the US Senate. His wife was Ethel Kennedy. -
United States Moon Landing
The United States finishes the space with an astounding victory of coming out in first place by sending astronaut Neil Armstrong to the moon. This was very important because it proved to Russia that we had the most powerful technology and we were the most powerful country. This was also seen in the movie on the television but people were distracted because they were too busy watching Forrest play ping-pong. -
Ping Pong Diplomacy
The Ping Pong Diplomacy was an exchange table tennis match between the US and China. Forrest is seen playing a Chinese man because the military decided to place him on the All American Ping Pong Team. This is important because the United States wanted to gain world peace with China and this was the way to do it.
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President Richard Nixon's Watergate Scandal
President Richard Nixon was caught in a terrible scandal named Watergate. It was when he secretly sent people to collect private documents who were later caught and arrested. During the movie Forrest is seen in the hotel across the street on the phone reporting the burglars saying that their flashlights is keeping him awake. This is important because Nixon knew he was going to get impeached because of his plan so he resigned to keep from being fired.
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Hurricane Carmen
Hurricane Carmen was a massive and terrible storm that led the lower part of Alabama in complete turmoil, especially in the shrimping business. In the movie, all of the boats were already destroyed but Forrest's boat was the only one remaining, and that's how they ended up catching most of the shrimp. This storm left most people with nothing left of their belongings and leaving everyone having to start all over from scratch with their lives.
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Lt. Dan invests in the Apple Company
Lt. Dan later on in the movie invests in this technology company called Apple. He later on gave the returns to Forrest because he promised him he would pay him back for being on the boat with him. Apple is one of the most advanced technology companies in the world. It advances in technology by creating the world famous Iphones, Imac computer, Ipods, and many more. It will continue to flourish because of its loving products that are remade in a different model every year. -
Jenny gets diagnosed with AIDS
AIDS is a disease that infects the immune systems ability to fight off infections later on leading in death with no possible cure. AIDS can be contracted from being sexually active, sharing needles, or any type of contact with that can be issued into the body. During the movie Jenny is seen sharing needles, doing bad drugs, and having sex with lots of people she doesn't know.This was also during the hippie movement and this was the time that diseases started to increase dramatically.
