In Pursuit of Identity and Survival: Deciphering the Existential Concerns in the Movie Forrest Gump

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Deepa Sehrawat
Dr Silkey Chaudhary

Abstract

Today, the life is full of struggles, negativity, competitions, and failures. We all need to remain motivated either by self or others. The film, "Forrest Gump", deals with finding the true meaning of the life despite facing numerous hurdles. It encourages never to stop and cry over the past experiences. The story is about a man named Forrest Gump. He was born with disabled legs and had a very low IQ of 75. No-one could ever imagine that one day, he will be a billionaire. The film teaches, the importance of life, that it is like a chocolate box, no one knows what will come next. To get rid of all the pains, we have to bury our past and just move forward. The film depicts the importance of hard work without desiring anything out of it. It also teaches that, our destiny is the result of how we used the opportunities and never missed any opportunity. The characters of the film whether Forrest Gump or Lieutenant Dan, all are very inspiring and motivating. The hard work without any desire makes Forrest, a billionaire. He never desired of anything, but got everything in his life. This film is the beautiful portrayal of the life during present scenario. It perfectly fits in today's world and is applicable to inspire the next generations. The film, also touches the aspects of Karma-theory as mentioned in the 'Bhagwat Geeta' that we should do hard work without having any desire and this will lead to the success. Forrest's unconventional love for Jenny melts my heart. Every scene of the film depicts the different colors and shades of life. The film teaches, how to deal with the problems of life, as Forrest said, "Shit Happens". This shows that, we should keep positive attitude towards life. The phrase, "Run Forrest, Run" said by Jenny, holds a deep meaning that we should keep moving forward without looking back. After all, we are intelligent enough and it is on us how much we apply it.

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How to Cite
Deepa Sehrawat, and Dr Silkey Chaudhary. “In Pursuit of Identity and Survival: Deciphering the Existential Concerns in the Movie Forrest Gump”. The Creative Launcher, vol. 6, no. 5, Dec. 2021, pp. 80-89, doi:10.53032/tcl.2021.6.5.10.
Section
Research Articles

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