-
Forrest goes to his first day of elementary school
Even with Forest's low IQ, he was able to attend a regular school but was picked on a lot by the other students -
Elvis becomes King of Rock
Forrest Gump made history by giving the signature dance moves to Elvis Presley's song "Hound dog". -
Forrest meets his best friend, Jenny
Things seem quite well until we come across Jenny's father. Southern U.S culture got lots of parents into bad conditions, resulting in child abuse. It is cases like this that got the temperance movement to start in the first place. -
Forrest and the All-American team meet JFK
Forrest Gump became a local legend by being the fastest runner for his college football team, The University of Alabama. Forrest Gump not only just played football, but was coached by "Bear" Bryant, who today is revered by some as the best college football coach in America. Forrest one day got his leg braces broken by running away from some bullies. He was such a fast runner that he earned a football scholarship at the University of Alabama. -
Desegration at the University of Alabama
the University of Alabama In the Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, it was ruled that laws relating to segregated facilities were unconstitutional. The University of Alabama then had to initiate desegregation, causing an uproar by thousands of whites and Forest went and helped out the blacks not knowing what was happening -
Gump enters the Army and is deployed in Vietnam
Forrest Gump once again participates in history by joining the Armed Forces and fighting off communistic forces in Vietnam. The war in Vietnam molded American foreign policy and set the tone for 60's and 70's culture in America. Not many people knew why Americans were fighting in Vietnam. -
Forrest wins Medal of Honor, Armstrong and Aldrin land on the moon
Forrest Gump receives the medal of honor for his heroic deeds at the war. At the same year, America achieves the milestone of being the first nation to send astronauts to the moon. This created a turn in events and accomplished the American goal of showing that capitalism is a better system than Communism. -
Forrest goes to China as a part of the All-American ping pong team
Not only did Forrest Gump simply join the Ping Pong team because he was naturally good, but it was an effort by the U.S government to start better diplomatic relations with communistic China. Nixon termed it as "Ping-Pong Diplomacy", where a mutual sport can achieve mutual respect. -
The Watergate Scandal
The scandal led to Nixon's resignation, the presidency of Gerald Ford, and the changing ideals of Executive privilege. The scandal also brought hate towards the Republican party, most probably causing the election of Jimmy Carter about 5 years later. And then, all of a sudden, Forrest felt like taking a little run -
Forrest invests in Apple Computers
Well, Forrest doesn't invest it himself. Lieutenant Dan was the one that really did it. Forrest Gump didn't need to worry about money anymore! The whole point of this scene was to further demonstrate the changing times in the 70's, where the soon to be popular Apple macintosh was made. The making of this computer further lead to today's computer technology, such as the internet, video, pictures, and video games. -
Forrest Runs across the country
Twice Forrest Gump very well demonstrates how taking a run can change things. He made history with his "I just felt ike running" quote. This initiated the jogging craze of 1978-79. Running for awareness was also quite popular during such times -
Outbreak of HIV/AIDS
Jenny ends up getting the horrible HIV retrovirus, resulting in AIDS. The outbreak of the disease during the 80's caused much catastrophe. It was thought to be as contagious as the common cold. The outbreak of AIDS can be related to how the Swine Flu scare was around, however, AIDS still is around today, but thankfully efforts are being taken to prevent it.
