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KKK
Forrest was named after the first "Grand Wizard" of the Ku Klux Klan, Nathan Bedford Forrest. The KKK were a secret hate group in the southern U.S., active for several years after the Civil War, which aimed to suppress the newly acquired rights of black people and to oppose carpetbaggers from the North, and which was responsible for many lawless and violent proceedings. -
Elvis Presley
In the movie "Forrest Gump," Forrest meets Elvis after he stays in his home. He teaches him how to dance. This is important because Elvis presley was a very influental person from the 50s to the 70s.
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The Vietnam War
The Vietnam war was a long, costly armed conflict that pitted the communist north Vietnam and its southern allies, known as the Vietcong, against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United states.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoXySB-WlZE https://www.google.com/search?q=vietnam+war&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj8jZq0m43bAhUF3FMKHW33ALUQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1366&bih=629&safe=active&ssui=on#imgrc=Pib--ni2UvfrnM: -
Racial integration at University of Alabama
In the movie, Forrest witnesses the racial integration of the University of Alabama. When African American students attempted to desegregate the University of Alabama, Alabama’s new governor literally blocked the door of the enrollment office. Facing federalized Alabama National Guard troops, Alabama Governor George Wallace ended his blockade of the University of Alabama and admitted two African American students
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Assassination of President Kennedy
On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy and his wife, along with John Connally and his wife, were on a 10 mile motorcade down the streets of dallas. As their vehicle passed the Texas School Book Depository Building at 12:30 p.m., Lee Harvey Oswald allegedly fired three shots from the sixth floor, fatally wounding President Kennedy and seriously injuring Governor Connally. Kennedy was pronounced dead 30 minutes later at Dallas’ Parkland Hospital. He was 46. -
Vietnam War Protest
When Forrest returns from the war, He meets Abbie Hoffman and gets caught up in a group protesting the Vietnam War. The protests were part of a movement in opposition to the Vietnam War and took place mainly in the United States.
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Black Panthers
Jenny takes Forrest to the black panthers headquarters. The Black Panthers was a political organization founded to challenge police brutality against the African American community. The Black Panthers organized armed patrols of U.S. cities. At its peak, it had nearly 2,000 members. The organization later declined as a result of internal tensions and FBI counterintelligence activities aimed at weakening the organization.
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Hippies
Jenny joins the hippie movement in the movie. Hippies were part of a countercultural movement that rejected the mores of mainstream American life. The movement originated on college campuses in the United States, although it spread to other countries, including Canada and Britain. They brought peace, drugs, and love across the United States.
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Moon Landing
On July 20, 1969, American astronauts Neil Armstrong (1930-2012) and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin (1930-) became the first humans ever to land on the moon. About six-and-a-half hours later, Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon. As he set took his first step, Armstrong famously said, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
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Ping Pong Diplomacy
After Forrest gets home from the war, he finds that he is very good at ping pong. He is chosen to go to china to compete. Ping Pong diplomacy is defined as the exchange of table tennis (ping-pong) players between the United States and People's Republic of China (PRC) in the early 1970s. The event marked a thaw in Sino-American relations that paved the way to a visit to Beijing by President Richard Nixon.
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The Watergate Scandal
The Watergate scandal began early in the morning of June 17, 1972, when several burglars were arrested in the office of the Democratic National Committee, located in the Watergate complex of buildings in Washington, D.C. The burglars were connected to president Richard Nixon's reelection campaign. Nixon took steps to cover up the crime afterward and in august 1974, his role was revealed.
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Hurricane Carmen
Forrest and Lt. Dan encounter Hurricane Carmen on their shrimp boat in the movie. In 1974, the hurricane Carmen hits the southern USA, including Bayou La Batre. Hurricane Carmen was the most intense tropical cyclone of the 1974 Atlantic hurricane season.The storm moved through the Caribbean Sea, and in an environment conducive to intensification, it quickly strengthened to its initial peak intensity as a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale. -
Apple
In the movie, Lt. Dan invests in Apple. Apple is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and online services. It has grown ever since it was founded in 1976. it is now a multi-billion dollar company.
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Aids
In the movie, Jenny starts to feel really tired and sick all the time. Though it does not say so in the movie, we can infer that she had the aids virus. This virus had just been discover and there was no cure. She died from this virus. Aids is a disease in which there is a severe loss of the body's cellular immunity, greatly lowering the resistance to infection and malignancy. This disease was prominent in the 80s. -
Murder of John Lennon
Forrest meets John Lennon. He later talks about John Lennon's murder in december of 1980, exactly 9 years after meeting Forrest.
John lennon was an English singer, songwriter, and peace activist who co-founded the Beatles, the most commercially successful band in the history of popular music. He and fellow member Paul McCartney formed a much-celebrated songwriting partnership. He was murdered on December 8, 1980.
