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Ku Klux Klan
Forrest was named after a leader of the KKK (Nathan Bedford Forrest). It was a reminder that sometimes some things just won't make any sense. https://youtu.be/5CTG58jIlNA -
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Elvis Presley
Elvis was the king of Rock and Roll. He did some things that were taboo such as shaking his hips while he was dancing. He was very popular in his time and still is today. In the movie Forrest was seen as a kid in their house in Greenbow, Alabama in the room with a guy playing guitar. He then began dancing to the music. In the next scene Elvis was on the Ed Sulivan show doing Forrest's exact dance moves. https://youtu.be/MMmljYkdr-w -
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John Lennon
John Lennon was in the Beatles and was a criticizer of the Vietnam war. His criticism was so harsh that Nixon tried to deport him back to England. He was well known for going against the grain. He was a Hippie so he also did a lot of drugs. Unfortunately he was shot and killed in 1980 in his New York Apartment. He was seen on the Dick Carret show with Forrest Gump. https://youtu.be/A_MjCqQoLLA -
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The Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was one of the most controversial wars up to this date. Many people were against the war because they thought people were just going to die and not to win the war. USA lost this war and had many fatalities. The government also told a lot of lies about this war just so people would enlist. Forrest was seen with an Army recruiter came up to him. He joined the Army and met Bubba on the bus. They went to Vietnam and fought in the front line https://youtu.be/89_3DgW_7mg -
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The Space Race
The space race was when the USSR and USA were in a "race" to get to space the fastest. While the USSR was the first to put a satellite in space, put a living dog in space, and put a human in space, the USA was the first to put a human on the moon. In Forrest Gump they were seen watching the moon landing on T.V when they were in Vietnam. https://youtu.be/MgwWycuvx-0 -
George Wallace stopping African-Americans from going to the University of Alabama
Alabama was beginning to have desegregated schools. George Wallace, the governor of Alabama, did't like that. He stood in front of the entrance and did't move. JFK then sent National Guard troops to escort them inside without interference. Forrest Gump was seen at this "confrontation" and saw that one of the African-Americans dropped their book. He picked it up and handed it to her. https://youtu.be/YgbNc-9Di7k -
Forrest Gump makes the All-American Football team
Forrest Gump was running on a field one time away from a truck and he just so happened that he ran across the field when Alabama was practicing. He got on the team and he did really good. He ended up making the All-American football team which is a very prestigious award. He ended up meeting JFK because of it and he drank a lot of Dr. Pepper -
JFK Shot
JFK was a loved president by many but obviously not by all. He was shot during a parade in Dallas in his car with his wife. In the movie Forrest meets JFK after he was an All-American football player. Later he talks about him getting shot. https://youtu.be/0FCqjClIxuU -
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The Hippie Movement
It began in 1964 as a youth movement. They were modernists who were very social about their views. They were anti-war protesters and they did a lot of drugs. Jenny was involved in these behaviors when Forrest was involved in the Vietnam war. https://youtu.be/uF2tQq-_BfE -
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The Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party was a group of African-American supremacist that had demands. They wanted full employment, decent housing and schooling, black men exempt from the front line of military duties, an immediate end to police brutality, and they wanted to be able to be seen in front of a jury fairly as said in the constitution. Jenny brought Forrest into their "headquarters" on time and Forrest beat up a guy for hitting Jenny in there. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Black-Panther-Party -
Smiley Face T-Shirt Design
This was a popular shirt in the 1970s. It was just a plain shirt normally with a smiley face on it. It was sometimes paired with the saying "Have a nice day!" and became a very popular phrase in the 70s. Forrest was running and someone asked him for a T-Shirt design. He wiped his muddy face on a T-Shirt and it came out as a smiley face. Then came the smiley face design on a T-Shirt -
Ping-pong Diplomacy
This was the trading between USA and Chinese ping-pong players in the 70s. This was a major deal because China was seen as Communist and we didn't "accept" that. In the movie Forrest was seen in front of a Chinese flag playing ping-pong. This was seen as symbolizing the Ping-pong Diplomacy. -
Watergate Scandal
The Watergate Scandal was when Republicans broke into the Democratic National Committee Headquarters. When they were caught they said that President Nixon knew all about it. It went into investigation and it was found that Nixon had tapes of everything ever said in the Oval Office He was asked to turn them over and when he eventually did there was missing parts but still enough to be proven guilty Forrest met Nixon and Nixon sent him to the Watergate hotel to stay at https://youtu.be/IHnmriyXYeg -
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Hurricane Carmen
Hurricane Carmen was a very destructive hurricane. It caused around $162 million in damage. In Forrest Gump, him and Lt. Dan got caught on there shrimp boat in the middle of the hurricane. They were then the only shrimp boat left so they caught many of shrimp. -
Jenny dies of AIDS
Jenny was Forrest's "lover" throughout the movie. She would come and go in different scenes as she got older. She was a hippie and at one time was doing heavy drugs through a needle. It wasn't specified in the movie but the needle most likely gave her AIDS. She then died later on to a disease, most likely AIDS.
