Question 1Learning the United States history from 1950s to the present time helps the learner to see how the trends in a variety of social movements whose origin is the United States have essentially been affecting the entire globe in various radical ways. The individual concerns or social issues that are discussed in this movie make it a perfect source for introducing the American culture and history in a motivating way. Albeit the issues in this movie are somehow universal, the American nature of various staged settings help the non-American students to comprehend a wider range of the American feature films where same issues arise. In fact, this movie enhances a person’s understanding of the American history. In Forrest Gump, there are pictures of Forrest meeting the three American presidents, Richard M. Nixon, Lyndon Baines, and John F. Kennedy. The presence of these pictures reminds the viewers the historical events that these three public figures brought in America. Historically, all these presidents suffered tragic endings to their leadership. For instance, we learn through the movie that John F. Kennedy was shot. Lyndon Johnson on his part was forced not to rerun for the presidency in the 1968 after Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. called into question the Vietnam War. We also learn that these two men faced tragic deaths through assassination in the year 1968. We also understand that Richard M. Nixon 1n 1968 was in fact forced to resign. Thus, this movie enhances my understanding about the historical painful memories that the United States went through. The other people who are famous and Forrest Gump meet in this film are George Wallace, Abbey Hoffman, John Lennon, and Elvis Presley. These four are also the historical figures that this movie enhances in my understanding about what they did to this nation. Gump teaches Elvis how to dance. He also helps the black students at Alabama University even as George Wallace, who is Alabama governor, opposed the entrance of these students in this university in early 1960s. Gump in addition sits together with John Lennon on a legendary talk. It is at this talk where Lennon after being inspired by Gump’s sharing of his ping-pong experience writes the song titled “Imagine.” We also understand that Forrest meets the Black Panthers leaders, Veterans who are against the War, the SDS, and Abbey Hoffman who is a radical at Lincoln Memorial, which is a location where Luther King, Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech some years before. In addition, we understand that George Wallace was shot in 1972 despite the fact that he was running for office. The movie also makes us understand that Lennon was actually assassinated in 1980 by an admirer who was insane. Therefore, this movie makes the viewer understand better the historical events that were taking place during these periods. It is worth noting that we understand that Forrest is among the secret “ping- pong diplomatic negotiations” that were between China and USA in early 1970s. The movie helps us in understanding that these negotiations are in fact part of the modern history in China. However, in contrast, the majority of the Americans fail to recall that “Ping-Pong diplomacy” in their modern historical studies. Eric Foner in his book “Give Me Liberty,” offer a similar interpretation of the American history. This is because his description about the American history is threaded through chronological narrative just as how we observe in the movie. He brings out the theme of freedom in the history of America through this narration. In addition, his presentation of the significant conflicts in various economic and social groups throughout the history of America is similar to the one presented in the movie. This textbook places the American history fully in a global context. Question 2 Hollywood does not inaccurately depict or take shortcuts in the historical reality. This is because basing my argument on “Forrest Gump,” we realize that it offers a chronological narration about the American history. The movie is an example of American Dream where Forrest rises above oppressor and actually makes something of him where in the end we find him achieving everything that he wished to achieve. This is just an example of the movies that address the issue of historical events of various countries. The movie gives a deeper explanation about the historical figures in America and the events that were taking place during that period. Hollywood gives a proper account about the historical reality. This is because the American cinema has actually been in dominance in the cinema world over many decades and the reason for this dominance is that Hollywood movies are recognized or known in accurately depicting the historical reality throughout the world. Therefore, because of competition in the cinema world, Hollywood does not take shortcuts in depicting the historical realities. It offers a chronological narration about the events that happen in the country. Additionally, they offer a deep explanation about the social happenings that happen in the society and this is the reason why the American cinema is dominating throughout the world.
References
Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty! An American History. New York: W.W. Norton, 2006
Hanks, Tom, Robin Wright, Gary Sinese, Robert Zemeckis, and Winston Groom. Forrest Gump. Paramount, 2009
Turner, Frederick Jackson. The Frontier in American History. New York: H. Holt and Co, 2000
