The Vietnam War

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In the comedy-drama, Forrest Gump, written by Eric Roth and directed by Robert Zemeckis in 1994, a central part of the movie is about the Vietnam War that happened between 1954/1955-1975. During the war, more than 58 000 American soldiers, 250 000 South Vietnamese soldiers, and over one million North Vietnamese soldiers and Vietcong Guerrillas lost their lives.

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After getting his college degree, a military recruiter talked to Forrest Gump, convincing him to join the Army. During his service, Forrest had to participate in the Vietnam War, just like many other young American men.

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As soon as Forrest and Bubba, arrived in Vietnam, the soldiers were optimistic that they will win the war. Realistically, like the popular opinion of real military soldiers at the beginning of the war, that the US will be able to win this war without much resistance. This changed in the film and in reality as the war progressed. Here Bubba is already thinking about local shrimp. 

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Source: Netflix: PARAMOUNT PICTURES CORPORATION, Screenshot own creation 

 

Gump did not know what they were fighting for, he only perceived that they look for somebody they called Charly (which was the Codename for the Vietcong). This is historically realistic to some extent because many soldiers did not know what exactly they were fighting for. At that point in time, the Domino Theory: the idea that if one nation falls to communism, others would follow as well, was highly popular.

The 47th Infantry Regime 9th Division, that Forrest and Bubba belonged to, really existed and was involved in the Second World War, and deployed in Vietnam for around 5 years. Also, their uniforms tend to look like the ones the US infantry in Vietnam used, with the exception that they did not have the sign “US-Army” attached to them.

As soon as Forrest and Bubba arrived at their unit, their Lieutenant Dan told them they should take good care of their feet change their sooks every time the infantry stops. This is a serious concern because many soldiers suffered from “Trench Foot” or immersion foot syndrome, a sickness that results from feet being wet for a long time.

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Source: Netflix: PARAMOUNT PICTURES CORPORATION, Screenshot own creation 

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What follows were 4 months of rain which is realistic and a result of Operation Popeye, a cloud seeding military project used by the US Airforce to change the weather conditions and the combat situation, using the rain as a weapon, as described by the New York Times in 1972. The idea was to make it impossible for enemy supply trucks to cross certain points. The rain does suddenly stop which is also how it might have happened during this time. 

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Source: Netflix: PARAMOUNT PICTURES CORPORATION, Screenshot own creation 

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After the rain stopped, the music in the film (“For What It's Worth" by Stephen Stills) suddenly stops as well and Forrest’s unit is ambushed by the Vietcong. The audience is surprised by this sudden attack and change in pace just like the Infantry Regime. Forrest and his comrades cannot see the enemy soldiers, and this goes as well for the audience. This is just like soldiers serving in the Vietnam War described the sudden ambush attacks by the Vietcong. This scene is praised by some critics for its authenticity. The Vietcong used Guerrilla warfare, a tactic that relied heavily on small, covert attacks and ambushes, using the territory and the knowledge about the landscape to their advantage to beat the much larger and better equipped US Army.

Another realistic aspect depicted in the movie were the many soldiers killed, the casualty rate, and the serious injuries depicted, as shown for example with Lieutenant Dan, whose legs had to be amputated.

During the ambush attack, Forrest was told to run away and he was able to sprint really fast through the vegetation and uneven environment. He is not slowed down by the mortar, artillery fire, and a bullet piercing his bottom. He was even able to carry several wounded comrades to safety, barely slowing him down. This is not realistic, while the average human soldier might have been able to drag wounded soldiers through the mud, they would not have been able to carry a comrade over their shoulder, in full military equipment, while being wounded and under heavy artillery fire.

Forest was able to carry four comrades including Bubba and Lieutenant Dan out of the line of fire without getting exhausted. For this, he receives the medal of honor.

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Source: Netflix: PARAMOUNT PICTURES CORPORATION, Screenshot own creation 

 

Furthermore, he was not even affected by the incoming napalm, which would have caused severe damage and burns from that distance. Another aspect is that mortar fire was not used at that point in time and more towards the end of the war.

(Something left out in the movie was the many casualties among civilians, this might have been because from Forrest's perspective these were not seen). The setting in the movie might look realistic and like the real Vietnam, however, none of the scenes of Forrest Gump were shot in Vietnam, but they were filmed on Fripp Island in a state park in South Carolina.
The events portrayed in Forrest Gump are from a historical point of view mostly accurate. The military unit Forrest was part of really did fight in the Vietnam War, the war was not glorified, the ambush attack depicted in the film seems to be close to what some veterans experienced and described, the severe injuries and deaths were shown, and the environmental and weather conditions were also realistic as they might have been at the time. Some of the scenes were possibly exaggerated, like Forrest's sprint and the rescue of his comrades, as well as the mortar fire, which was not used so intensively during that period of the war. Many details that affected the war were not mentioned. For example, there is no elaboration on who the enemy is that the US is fighting. This is because the audience sees the war only from one soldier´s perspective. A soldier who did not know much about the war and who has made his own, personal experience.

 

Political Homicides

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Besides the Vietnam War, another historical aspect depicted in Forrest Gump is political homicides and assassination attempts. A political homicide or political murder means “to murder a prominent person by surprise attack for political reasons” (the Free Dictionary). In this movie, the focus is not only on one murder or assassination attempt but on several with some being more famous than others.

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To begin with, there are various prominent politicians or presidents shown in Forrest Gump which were victims of murder attempts. For instance, George Wallace who was governor of Alabama and 4-time presidential candidate. He was known for his resistance against black people and tried to block black students from entering the University of Alabama. This event was documented by Forrest Gump himself.  He was shot on May 15 1972 but survived. Then, Gerald Ford, the 38 president of the USA was meant to get shot on the 5 September 1974 but the gun did not go off. Forrest sees this also in the news. Furthermore, another president, namely Ronald Reagan, was shot and received internal injuries but survived. Again, Forrest observes this through the news.

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To continue, the focus will be now on the most famous political homicide in the USA namely that of John F. Kennedy (35th president). John F. Kennedy became president during turbulent times in America for instance the Cold War, nuclear weapons, racial tensions, etc. However, American citizens embraced his vigor as well as his vision and his aims. John F. Kennedy evolved into a popular president and icon. So, when he died, Americans were generally shocked, astonished and in disbelief. Brown (2017) states in his article:

 

“People cried openly in the streets. Teachers interrupted classes with the somber news. Children walked home from school that afternoon to find their mothers weeping and their fathers arriving home from work visibly shaken. Families piled into living rooms to watch television, glued to the news out of Dallas.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            Source: Comment Forrest Gump a traversé l'histoire américaine grâce aux effets                                Source: John F. Kennedy - Biografie des Politikers - [GEOLINO]

            spéciaux bluffants d'ILM | Premiere.fr                                                                                                           

 

In the movie, Forrest meets JFK at the White House as part of the All-American football team of the University of Alabama. At the gathering, Forrest drinks too many Dr. Peppers which leads to a comical scene as he tells the president that he has to pee which makes Kennedy laugh. In reality, this event never occurred as the All-American football team was announced on the 6 December 1963 after John F. Kennedy´s death. So, this meeting was impossible. Furthermore, Forrest sees the murder of JFK through the news and laments his death with the words: “Somebody shot that nice young President when he was in his car”. However, not only John´s death gets depicted in the movie but also the murder of his brother Robert F. Kennedy (1968) is briefly mentioned.

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So, in Forrest Gump, many assassination attempts are mentioned but they are not shown entirely. Forrest sees them mostly in the news. Moreover, some of these events never occurred in reality like the meeting with JFK but it still shows the depth and problem of political homicides in the United States and it being part of American history.

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Watergate

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Besides the Vietnam War and numerous (attempted) political homicides, another historical event depicted in the 1994 film Forrest Gump is the Watergate scandal. The movie portrays the affair in a sequence of three scenes. In the first one Gump meets President Nixon at a ceremony for the United States Table Tennis Team at the White House. On learning which hotel the team is staying at while in Washington, D.C., the president arranges for them to be accommodated in a "much nicer hotel", which he describes as "brand new" and "very modern".

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In the next scene Forrest Gump is at that very hotel, which turns out to be the Watergate Hotel. It is nighttime, and Gump is calling security from his room. He explains to Frank Wills, who has answered the phone, that there are people with flashlights in a part of the complex opposite his window. As these lights are preventing Forrest Gump from sleeping, he asks the guard to deal with the matter which Wills promises to do.

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The last of the film's Watergate scenes is comprised of President Nixon announcing his resignation for the following day and of him leaving the White House moments prior to the resignation becoming effective. Before evaluating how accurate this three-scene depiction of the Watergate affair might be, it seems prudent to take a look at what actually happened.

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Historical facts are that Watergate complex security guard Frank Wills - while on duty during the early morning of 17 June 1972 - noticed that certain door locks in the building had been tampered with. Wills notified the police, and five men were subsequently caught breaking into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee. The intruders, who were bugging phones and stealing information, turned out to be connected with the reelection campaign of (Republican) President Richard Nixon.

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The president desperately tried to cover up the affair - his attempts even including the CIA obstructing the FBI's efforts of shedding light onto what had happened. But two reporters from the Washington Post - Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein - as well as a US Senate investigating committee, and trial judge John J. Sirica were relentless in their pursuit of discovering the truth. Their efforts eventually led to President Nixon's guilt - in (among other things) having lied and  having tried to cover up the affair via illegal means - being proven. His impeachment and subsequent removal from office seemingly an inevitable consequence, the president voluntarily resigned from office on 9 August 1974.

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How do these historical facts tie in with the aforementioned depiction of the Watergate affair in the movie Forrest Gump? As Gump is a fictional character, him meeting Nixon and the president arranging for him and his ping pong team to stay at the Watergate Hotel obviously never occurred. The same holds true for Forrest Gump being portrayed as the one to notice the burglary and to direct Frank Wills's attention to it. As mentioned above, the security guard realized on his own that something was suspicious and alerted the police. The last Watergate scene in the film shows historical footage (from 8 and 9 August 1974) without any additions and is thus historically accurate.

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What might the purpose of the first two scenes being historically inaccurate be? One answer to this question can be found in the movie's audio commentary with director Robert Zemeckis, producer Steve Starkey and production designer Rick Carter. There it is revealed that one objective had been to show how someone staying at the Watergate Hotel that night could have actually witnessed the break-in - without being able to comprehend the full implications of what they were seeing until later. Also, placing Gump at the hotel and having HIM notice the intruders seems consistent with the movie's storyline which has Forrest Gump (often unknowingly) take part in and have an impact on numerous events throughout three decades of US history.

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An explanation for the usage of the unaltered footage of President Nixon in the movie's third Watergate scene might be that - as Sabine Moller points out in her article "Blockbusting History: Forrest Gump as a powerful medium of American cultural memory" - this affair was among the events Americans were consciously aware of during the last two decades of the twentieth century. It appears likely that - after the scene with the burglary in the Watergate building - seeing Nixon first announcing his resignation and then leaving the White House the following day would have been sufficient to evoke a historically accurate memory of the Watergate scandal with the film's audience at the time of the movie's release in 1994.

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Might this also hold true for today's audience - nearly 50 years after the infamous Watergate burglary? Despite there being no national curriculum in the United States that might mandate Watergate being taught at schools, there are several education websites (e. g. The Ohio State University's) which offer lesson plans on  Watergate to help teachers prepare for their classes. So, it appears justified to assume that American students (albeit possibly not all of them) are likely still learning about the affair at school. Additionally, the suffix "-gate" having become common to label huge (political) scandals in the US in the aftermath of the Watergate affair - e. g. "Zippergate"/"Monicagate" in the 1990s - seems to have the potential to convey the historical magnitude of the scandal even to viewers too young to have witnessed the Watergate affair. Thus, it appears this younger generation of Americans could have the knowledge of the historical event - as opposed to the older generation's actual memory of it - enabling them to also understand the Watergate scenes in the Forrest Gump movie appropriately.

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Additionally, watching the film's Watergate scenes could possibly trigger a feeling of odd familiarity in today's audience - regardless of their generation. As Nick Akerman points out in his article "Trump's obstruction parallels Nixon's during Watergate. John Dean's testimony proves it.", President Trump's cover-up attempts concerning Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election bear striking similarities to President Nixon's actions in the Watergate affair - although Trump (unlike Nixon) did manage to survive politically and to remain in office. President Trump's actions might lead today's audience to believe that the movie Forrest Gump's Watergate scenes depict something that was to eventually become bigger than a single important event in US history. Post-Trump, it seems justified to say that the film shows an affair that would become repeated - arguably even up-staged - by another (Republican) US president within the following half-century. And this could possibly lead today's viewers of the movie to the conclusion that this kind of scandal might be common or at least not unusual for America and its history.