...wealthy businessman who ironically became involved in almost every major event in American history. The movie “Forrest Gump” is said to be a movie that makes you laugh, cry and think. In 1995, Robert Zemeckis, director of Forrest Gump won the Oscar for best achievement in directing and in his acceptance speech he thanks the “motion picture fans” by saying “In historic numbers you have embraced a film that at its heart offers a human life affirming hopeful story” as I agree that this movie has made a social impact on us all that have seen the movie. “Telling the story out of chronological order, jumping back and forth between the present and the past is in Non-linear order” (Goodykoontz, 2011). The movie begins with Forrest Gump played by Tom Hanks is sitting on a bench waiting for a bus. We don’t know why he’s sitting there but as he’s sitting, he is telling his life story to people who are waiting for the bus as well going from the time he was a young boy to an adult and he eventually gets to why he is waiting for the bus. Young Forrest played by Michael Conner Humphreys is stricken as a different child because he has an IQ of 75 and braces on his legs. Forrest’s mother Mrs. Gump played by Sally Field, is initially his backbone encouraging him to not think about how people feel about him as she...
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...John Doe * Ms. Smith * English IV Honors * 12 December 2010 * The Guide to Survival * Daniel Defoe’s novel depicts a young Englishman who is shipwrecked on his journey from Brazil. Crusoe becomes joyful after years on the island, calling himself “the king.” Saving the life of a man that the cannibals have come to feast upon, he finds companionship. Naming him Friday, Crusoe takes responsibility for him, educates him but still considers him as a slave. Despite being accustomed to living on a plantation, he adapts to island life. When Crusoe returns later to the island, he finds that the island is an imperial colony governed by Spaniards. When mental toughness is challenged, adaptation to the environment with courage and happiness are the key to survival. * In Robinson Crusoe, Crusoe says “And now I have Difficulties to struggle with, too great for even Nature itself to support, and no Assistance, no Help, no Comfort, no Advice; then I cry’d out, Lord be my help, for I am in great Distress” (91). After Crusoe makes this statement, he becomes independent and figures out the ways of survival by surveying the island as he becomes healthier and starts to mark the days that he has been stranded. He learns that he cannot give up if he wants to see the light of another day. When people are put into a different environment then they are used to, they do not learn to adapt which leads them to an unsuccessful survival point. Change of life styles is the...
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...realize that there are many people among us that were born with various defects. That fact makes me think how fortunate I am to be totally healthy. The movie contains also a love story. It's a dramatic plot because Forrest loves a girl who doesn't think of him as a serious partner because of his defect. However they eventually get married. Although she passes away due to a fatal disease. Moreover we see love between mother and son where Forest's mom even slept with the school principal in order to give the son a chance of going to a normal school. All those things make me think of this movie as of a very moving story. We see very good performance by Tom Hanks and many other actors and actresses. The movie was awarded with eleven Academy Awards, which is a very good proof that it's a fabulous movie. As a result I consider Tom Hanks one of the best actors. As we've seen I have many reasons to think that this movie is the one I like the most. Great humor, moving scenes and a great performance by the actors and actresses are my main arguments....
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...Disney Movies are more than entertainment; they are a piece of pop culture that generations of children will remember forever. It all started in 1937 when Disney released its first feature length film, Snow White. To date, Disney has released more than 300 films. Each generation will have its own memory of their favorite Disney movies. For instance, any child born in the last 15 years will remember Toy Story. It was released in 1995 and followed by Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3. Disney really made an impact on kids with Toy Story. It was a wonderful story about a boy and the friendship between his two toys, a lovable, stuffed cowboy named Woody (voice by Tom Hanks), and an astronaut toy named Buzz Light-year (voice by Tim Allen). Today, Toy Story and the characters are a big part of Disneyland Amusement Parks. There are Toy Story rides that excite kids of all ages. It seems with every Disney movie launch there are mass toy sales and fast food restaurants selling “Happy Meals’ with Disney movie character toys. It is almost impossible to avoid the media and advertising explosion after a Disney movie release. What is nice about Disney movies is that parents can feel good about their kids watching them because Disney represents “wholesome.” A parent can be assured that the content of the movie will be age appropriate for their child. Disney movies are an icon in American pop culture. What Disney movie do you remember the...
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...Concert Review # 2 The second concert I attended conducted by Sidney Harth on February 21st was at the Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland and was actually my first time at the music hall because the first concert was cancelled and I am from the Buffalo, NY area. I can definitely say that it is one of the most beautiful buildings that I have ever seen in my life. As you walk up the stairs and begin through the large chambered doors you get the feeling an old castle were kings, queens and the royal family came to be entertained. The inside was just as fascinating as the outside it embodied a place in which no expense was spared and even gives you the subconscious feeling that you are too royalty. Furthermore on the concerts, I felt this particular concert represented music that I was not accustomed to and therefore was annoyed with at first. Yet as I began to open my mind a bit and realize that with every different note it reflected a different emotion that the original conductor was feeling, it made me curious of what else was about to come. Aaron Copland’s “Quiet City” was without a doubt my favorite piece played at this concert. It began with a quiet and slow noises of violins that made me envision a dark night when one is looking into the clearing. A dark tonight then transitions into an early morning battle or conflict as the trumpets begin to blare all throughout. Not just the title itself, but the style of the music makes me think of New York City and how lonely...
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...In the movie “Castaway” Tom Hanks plays the role of Chuck Noland who at the beginning of the movie is at the top of Maslow’s hierarchy. Throughout the movie he goes through chains of events that are linked to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Abraham Maslow claimed that each need in the hierarchy had to be fulfilled before the next one could be addressed. Chuck had every one of these needs met until his life took a drastic and terrifying turn. Chuck, a FedEx employee, boards an airplane on Christmas Eve leaving his girlfriend behind which takes away from his social needs. When he wakes from his nap he finds the plane going through an awful storm which threatens his safety. Chuck opened up the pocket watch his girlfriend gave to him with the...
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...Saving Private Ryan 1998, dir. Steven Spielberg, Sound Designer Gary Rydstrom War movies often rely on the visual to communicate the events and emotion of each scene. This works up to a point, but viewers cannot fully relive battle in this way. Background music and limited sound effects make war movies generic, predictable, and sometimes historically inaccurate. In contrast, Gary Rydstrom uses sound to communicate emotion and portray realistic battle scenes in a way that makes the viewers feel as though they are actually part of Saving Private Ryan. One unique aspect of this movie, as opposed to other war movies, is that there is no background music in the battle scenes. Music in movies tends to make viewers realize they are watching the movie, but without it, the experience is so much more authentic. The battle scenes are shot with a handheld camera, giving them a shaky and chaotic feel. Because of this, the viewer does not really get the chance to experience the full breadth of the battle through the shot. Humans experience sound at all angles, as opposed to the one angle at which we experience sight. The dynamic sound effects of the battle scenes can completely engulf the viewer, helping them to have the full experience of trauma. Rydstrom paid particularly close attention to certain sound effects in these battle scenes to help them be as historically correct as possible. A variety of gunshot noises appear in each battle scene, each one corresponding to a different weapon...
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...What quotes is meaningful: Forrest Gump: Will you marry me? Forrest Gump: I'd make a good husband, Jenny. Jenny Curran: You would, Forrest. Forrest Gump: But you won't marry me. Jenny Curran: You don't wanna marry me. Forrest Gump: Why don't you love me, Jenny? I'm not a smart man, but I know what love is. Forrest Gump: My momma always said, "Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." By chance he was a college football star. By chance he was a ping pong champion, a Vietnam War hero, a shrimp boat Captain phenom because a hurricane took out every other boat in the area. This made for an amazing adventure through the life of someone who was so pure, so innocent, he couldn't hurt a fly. * It's the ultimate underdog story. Here we have this simple-minded character who was born with this inescapable handicap of sorts, and he manages to get the cute (but troubled) girl, become an All Star college athlete, attain medals of valor, become an international ping pong star of all things, turn a dream into a multimillion dollar business, become a pop culture icon by simply just running, and then he meets his child who happens to be the smartest boy in his class. Wow. * It's a story of Americana. The film is a virtual history lesson of our country, at least in the broad strokes. We see our country evolve through the eyes of this character. We are implanted into historical and pop culture moments through the eyes of this character...
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...ship, by the name Maerks Alabama. The movie stars Tom Hanks as Richard Phillip (IMDb). It is a hard pounding thriller that exhibits the creativity of its director Paul Green Grass. According to Ryan McNeil (2013) the movie reflects on the primary effects of globalization, by showing the relationship between the ship's commanding officer and the Somali captain who forcefully held him (McNeil). Richard Phillips meets with Muse; the Somali captain, when Phillips ship goes on a wrong course (IMDb). Both captains find themselves at the mercy of forces, which are beyond their control. The movie is recommended for audience above the age of thirteen years. It contains an intense sequence of menace, and violence associated with bloody images (IMDb). The script The script of the movie was primarily based on a book called A Captains Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy Seals and Dangerous Days at Sea, which was written by Richard Phillips (IMDb). The script narrates a very compelling story, which keeps the audience on the seat's edge. It moves the audience in the world of the ship’s crew, leaving the audience with a close experience of the dangers associated with cargo ships (McNeil). Acting Tom Hanks is considered as the highest box office star currently (Whitfield). According to IMDb, he was “outstanding as always” in this movie. However critics have argued that in this movie Barkhad Abdi steals the show (Torres). This does not imply that, Tom Hanks failed to live up to his expectation. Abdumali Muse...
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...became a commercial success as the top grossing film in North America released that year. Today, 20 years later, the film is still very popular and has become a classic, almost everyone knows who Forrest is, and knows his amazing life story, and there is sure a reason for that. The movie follows the amazing story about Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks), who has a low IQ compared to the people around him. His mother tries to protect Forrest from the world around him, and when people call him stupid she tells Forrest that “stupid is as stupid does”. On his old days, he is sitting by a bus stop with a box of chocolate, and is sharing his life stories with some lucky people passing by. He is telling his story with every unique detail – the love of his life, his time in war and his fortunate position in almost every important event in his lifetime. The film is in that way a touching story, that keeps you stick to the screen just from the beginning to the end. Tom Hanks performance as Forrest Gump is truly some of the best acting I have ever seen. His empathy in this charming, fantastic and fascinated personality couldn’t have been portrayed better. Tom Hanks is really one of the best actors of this time, and in this movie, he really gets to show off his amazing talent. There is no doubt that this amazing actor has played a huge role in the success of this movie. I think one of the most fascinating things is to see the story about the sympathetic man who doesn’t seem...
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...The movie “Forrest Gump” is not only just a classic film; it also has an extraordinary historical significance. This movie incorporated titanic times in history in to an enjoyable film based on a boy named Forrest Gump who grew up with autism and achieves many things in a very exciting, yet humble life. Some historical times or occasions that are mentioned throughout this movie are World War 2, The hippie years, Elvis Presley, Assassinations of President Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, and John Lennon. This movie also talked about Martin Luther King and his work towards the treatment of African Americans. The first historical occasion in this movie that I’d like to talk about is World War 2. Like many other men in this time, Forrest is drafted into war. Before being drafted, Forrest had never been formally taught how to fight in combat yet surprisingly he excels over all his peers in this area. For example, there is a scene where Forrest finishes assembling his gun far quicker than anyone else. Including this time into the movie really made it into such a classic mainly because it shows the hardship and loss of fighting and very clearly depicts the strong bond that most of the men have together when being so far away from home and really only having each other. Forrest met his best friend Bubba in war and throughout this hard time in their lives they used each other for support. Bubba and Forrest planned on after the war was over going and creating a shrimping company together. But unfortunately...
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...As the rain fell on a dark night, a light was shinning down on the car where Jenny and a strange man sat grappling each other and yelling. All Forrest could hear was Jenny yelling that it hurt, and as a man and friend of Jenny he had to put a stop to it. Jenny’s safety was all up to him. With that in mind he proceeded to open the door and beat the strange man, until he releases Jenny and leaves the scene. Forrest had saved Jenny from this danger. Forrest Gump, directed by Robert Zemeckis is a timeless classic that deals with the struggles of a young white woman, and the achievements and perseverance of a young white man. From the beginning of this film we meet this female character, Jenny and a boy named Forrest Gump. Jenny a farmer’s daughter who since the the beginning struggles to live a happy meaningful life due to her drunk, violent father. It is not until she meats Forrest, a young boy who helps give meaning to her life and give her a purpose. This friendship would go on for years until they reach college. From there things start to get rattled up, and they begin to drift apart. Although Forrest tries to help her beloved friend Jenny from abusive boyfriends, and any other situation a woman isn’t fit to deal with on her own. As they drift apart, they each go their own way in pursue of their own dreams. But Jenny, unlike Forrest never has a string male figure to lead her the right way in life so her life becomes a true mess. While Forrest will continue with his achievements...
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...that follows the stories of several World War two soldiers who are on a mission to find one man who is fighting somewhere else in Europe. Private James Francis Ryan, who is played by Matt Damon and Harrison Young as his elderly version has three brothers who have all been killed at different locations around the world. This situation is brought to the attention of General George Marshall and orders an immediate search. The film opens up with the prologue of elderly Private Ryan and his family visiting an American cemetery in Normandy, France. The time then quickly shifts to June of 1944 and American troops landing on Omaha Beach also known as D-Day. Once the orders of General George Marshall reach captain John Miller, who is played by Tom Hanks assembles a squad of men and starts their journey to find Private Ryan. Along their way on their journey comes obstacles they start to set out to town. There is various battles which leads to one of Miller soldiers getting injured there is no medical aid around so later on the man dies which begins...
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...made in 1999, starring Tom Hanks (Paul Edgecomb) and Michael Clarke Duncan (John Coffey). Edgecomb is a guard working in a prison that is filled with convicted murderers and rapists that are sent to 'The Green Mile' to wait for the day of their execution. The prison is turned upside down when Coffey comes there. He is a huge man that everyone fears, although he would never hurt a fly. He was sent to prison for a crime he did not commit: murder and rape of two young girls. Everyone avoids him because they are scared of him, but they soon realize that he is a very special man who possesses the ability to cure dead and dying people and animals by taking away their sickness and transforming it into his own. He is very simple and kind which we can deduce from his request addressed to Edgecomb: ‘’ Do you leave a light on after bedtime? Because I get a little scared in the dark sometimes. If it's a strange place.'' We immediately realize that he could never hurt anyone, which is exactly the opposite of the first impression we get when we first meet this giant. The choice of actors was done brilliantly; no other actor I can think of would have made such a strong effect on the audience. The film is an adaptation of one of Stephen King’s books and having read some of them, I know that sometimes King’s characters are strange and very hard to come by in real life or mimic, but here the perfect actor was chosen. Also the role of Edgecomb was filled perfectly, Hanks is great for the part. He...
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...Castaway The films castaway was directed by Robert Zemeckis. The film is about an Express Systems Analyst who lives and dies by the clock’. He is very obsessed with his job and time even he has put his relationship in the second place but when the plane crushes in the Pacific Ocean, he finds himself strands on a small isolated island. He has all the time to figure out how to survive. In the film we can see the use of visual techniques in showing changes of the main character. Camera shots are used to demonstrate different aspects of character. A wide shot is used after the plane crushes, When chuck was struggling on the yellow life raft floating alone in the big ocean and at that time the weather was bad, heavily raining. This is shows us how small and how powerless he is. The director also uses a when shot when Chuck first arrive the island to show a empty place with no life, no ship and no technology so this means he has to finds water, food shelter and a way to prevent himself from being destroyed by loneliness. Another camera shot that the director uses is close up shots. The close up shots are focusing on his face and hand when he was making a fire to show us that it is huge progress from him because we can see he bites his lip, grills his teeth and there are some sweat on his face. He is concentrating very hard. There are other close up focused on his hand when he used his finger to draw eyes, nose and mouth and gives it a name ‘Wilson’ He shares his feelings with it...
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