<\/p>\n
When Forrest Gump<\/a><\/em> was released on July 6, 1994, the film was immediately embraced by viewers and critics. From the main character\u2019s innocent perspective to the four-decade-spanning political and social commentary, it was hard not to fall in love with Forrest Gump<\/a><\/em>. \u201cIf any criticism might be leveled at the film, it is that its most heart-wrenching moments are too adeptly skirted, but, then again, that\u2019s in keeping with Forrest\u2019s strength,\u201d The Hollywood Reporter<\/a><\/em> wrote at the time.<\/p>\n The film made more than $670<\/a> million worldwide and was nominated for 13 Academy Awards<\/a>. It ended up winning six, including Best Picture and Best Actor, making Tom Hanks<\/strong><\/a> the fifth performer to win back-to-back Oscars<\/a>. The elite group he became part of consisted of Luise Rainer<\/strong>, Spencer Tracy<\/strong>, Katharine Hepburn<\/strong>, and Jason Robards<\/strong>. However, while many still love the film \u2014 it has a 95%<\/a> audience score on Rotten Tomatoes \u2014 its share of detractors has also increased.<\/p>\n One of the biggest criticisms many have taken with Forrest Gump<\/em> in the decades since its release is that Forrest, who is more of a submissive, passive observer in life, seems to have everything go his way. Characters who are more outspoken and interested in changing the world, such as Jenny, struggle and encounter tragedy. <\/p>\n Some have looked at it through a political lens, comparing Forrest to a conservative and Jenny to a progressive. Director Robert Zemeckis<\/strong> has argued that the movie isn\u2019t meant to be political but rather a satire.<\/p>\n \u201cI think modern audiences have lost the understanding of irony because they watch a movie like\u00a0Forrest Gump<\/em>\u00a0in isolation, and they don\u2019t understand the irony of what it was, what it\u2019s all about,\u201d Zemeckis told Time<\/em><\/a>. \u201cThey take it a hundred percent literally,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd filmmakers like me, who find irony in life and in art and in movies<\/a>\u2014that\u2019s getting lost somehow.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Another criticism some have leveled against the film centers around Forrest\u2019s disabilities. Some have felt that his low IQ is used as a tool to elicit laughs<\/a>, while others have thought that an actor with an intellectual disability should\u2019ve portrayed Forrest instead of Hanks. <\/p>\n And then there\u2019s the argument that Pulp Fiction<\/em> or Shawshank Redemption<\/a><\/em>, two other films that Forrest Gump<\/em> was up against for the Best Picture Academy Award, were better. Hanks disagrees.<\/p>\n \u201cThe problem with\u00a0Forrest Gump<\/em>\u00a0is it made a billion dollars,\u201d he told The New York Times<\/a><\/em>. \u201cIf we\u2019d just made a successful movie, Bob (director Robert Zemeckis) and I would have been geniuses. But because we made a wildly successful movie, we were diabolical geniuses. Is it a bad problem to have? No, but there\u2019s books of the greatest movies of all time, and\u00a0Forrest Gump<\/em>\u00a0doesn\u2019t appear because, oh, it\u2019s this sappy nostalgia fest. Every year there\u2019s an article that goes, \u2018The Movie That Should Have Won Best Picture\u2019 and it\u2019s always\u00a0Pulp Fiction<\/a><\/em>.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\nThe Debate Over Passivity vs. Activism<\/h2>\n
Representation and the Portrayal of Disability<\/h2>\n