The Forest Gump Essay

We were assigned to watch the movie Forest Gump and write an essay about the most important events that appeared that took place during the 1960's and 1970's. Originally written : September 18, 2006.

Life in the 60s

(How it changed the American Way of Living)

By: Paulina Ortega

A great deal of the Forrest Gump story takes place during the 60s, a decade when a lot of important events that changed the American culture, took place. In the movie we can see there was still racism, (especially against black people); we can also see Forrest meets President John F. Kennedy before his assassination, the American soldiers that enlisted the army and fought in the Viet Nam War in contrast with the “hippies” who protested against the war.

When Forest Gump was in College, he met President John F. Kennedy in a party. A lot of people admired this president because he did a lot for his people and he wanted to do more. Unfortunately he was murdered and this was scandals that lead to the instability of the United States. People no longer trusted the government blindly.

In a part of the movie, when Forest Gump was in College I heard a comment against African-Americans, and the truth is that in those times white-bred people didn’t get along very much with them. These African Americans had many prohibitions and were isolated from society. During those decades, they were fighting for their rights as American Citizens. In the movie it is said that they were going to accept some African-Americans into the army for the Viet Nam war. Thanks to their constant fight for their rights the African-Americans achieved their goal to be considered equals and have the same rights and privileges as the “White” people. It’s true that the laws have changed from then, they say all men are equal no matter their color, their religion or status, yet I I think there is still quite a lot of racism in the United States. By law people are no longer secluded from society.

What I think was more emphasized during the movie was the two position of the Viet Nam war. A lot of young men were recruited and trained to fight in the Viet Nam War, while others decided to rebel and protest against this war.

Forrest Gump was one of the young men who faced the horrors of the Viet Nam War. The battles were bloody and lots of soldiers died, while others who lived were traumatized by the horrible things they had to see and live at the battlefield. Forrest’s best friend, Bubba died fighting and the lieutenant lost both of his legs. Forrest’s role in that war was more likely of a true hero than a fighter. He was the one who took care of the Lieutenant’s and made sure he was safe, although the lieutenant wanted to die, because he wanted to die “with honor” fighting until the end, and not live to be “useless” like he thought. The feeling of frustration caused a lot of people to become mentally insane or even commit suicide. I think it became more common to hear about mental institutions and the suicide rate has increased.

Now on the other hand, when Forrest goes to the White House for his medals, he finds his childhood best friend Jenny, who was protesting against the war. She was one in thousands of young men and women who didn’t want there to be a war. It was a national movement called “hippies”. Unfortunately, hippies stood up for their beliefs in a way that is not exactly the best way to do things. They marched carrying posters while singing songs against war, (which is the positive side). However, they also got together in concerts where they had all kinds of negative excesses. I believe their protests seemed to be more like an excuse to consume all kinds of drugs and practice some immoral acts, which really hadn’t much to do with their anti-war position. Instead of being positive, the hippies forgot their true initial ideals and let themselves be corrupted by drug abuse and other excesses. Among the hippies, there were really intelligent and creative people who just wasted away their lives with drugs. I think that this where the times were drug abuse got stronger in the United States, and we can also mention that the illegal trading of these harmful substances became more common. I don’t remember if it’s mentioned in the movie, but this is when more cases of AIDS appeared because of the sharing of needles and the orgies the hippies did back then. Sadly the use of drugs has increased, the suicidal rates, and people do protests that alter the peace and order in a certain place. It is important to mention, that thanks to the hippies people felt more free to express their disagreement about political and social issues that affected them. If people do not agree with the decisions made by the government or the people with power they protest, they try to make a difference, and they do not just cross their arms and watch injustice pass before their eyes.


To conclude, the 60s were a decade of revolution and evolution in the American way of life. African Americans earned their rights, people finally stood up for their beliefs even if it was against the government, and drug abuse and trading became more common. Before the 60s people used to believe in the government, but they finally opened their eyes and saw for themselves that the government doesn’t always tell the truth and the people who work there abuse their power and sometimes do not make the best decisions for a country, like war for instance.