Unlike many of the movies which are played within our home, Forrest Gump has a cherished place in our hearts. That’s because my ten-year-old autistic son understands where Forrest is coming from because like Forrest, my son has a disability.
The movie, Forrest Gump, is a biography of sorts of a man with the same name. As he sits on a bus bench for most of the movie, he reminisces with strangers at the bus stop about all of the things that have happened in his life giving his own unique perspective on each event. Through the telling of his biography, it becomes clear that Forrest has lived a very full life even though he has a disability that makes him a slow learner.
From the very beginning, Forrest’s mother takes extraordinary measures to make sure that Forrest goes to a regular public school instead of one for disabled children so that he will get the best education possible. There he meets a sweet little girl named Jenny who becomes his very best friend and the woman he would like to marry one day.
Unfortunately for Forrest, Jenny’s been part of an abused family and has a very distorted outlook on life. For most of the movie she dismisses Forrest’s love for her and desire to make her life wonderful by telling Forrest that he doesn’t know what love is. Forrest, however, knows exactly what love is and shows unconditional love and acceptance almost everyone he meets throughout his life.
Throughout Forrest’s life, he does amazing things such as playing football for the University of Alabama, meeting several Presidents of the United States, fights in Vietnam to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor and somehow has interaction with almost every major event in United States History for several decades.
His story is most fascinating that such a simple man could make such a dramatic impact on history and so many individuals’ lives. Perhaps it is this factor that has caused my son to literally watch Forrest Gump over and over again until the tape has nearly worn out.
He understands the trials that Forrest has had to go through and knows many of the events of history and is amazed that someone just like “him” could do so many things. It’s because of these factors, that Forrest Gump serves as a great inspirational film for anyone who has a disability or has some kind of situation which makes a future seem less optimistic.
Because each one of us have been in situations that have seemed insurmountable in life, I truly believe that by watching Forrest Gump you’ll receive a gift of inspiration that every one’s has the possibility of doing great and wonderful things, if they only have faith and believe.
Other movies that I have enjoyed that are also inspirational include: Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, It’s a Wonderful Life, and Rudy.
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