Stupid is as stupid does.

Forrest Gump is one of the most memorable movies of the 20th century. It tells the story of a half-witted young man growing up in alabama during the 50's. The video is the trailer for the movie for it's release in 1994. Although the movie is not based around the southern identity, it does depict many different images of the south during the time.

Forrest Gump use southern stereotypes to add humor to the movie. The dialect plays a very important role because it really adds to the character's personalities and plays on the southern characteristics. the main character, Forrest, lives on a 40 acre lot in a plantation house. Forrest's summer evenings were occupied by sitting in an old oak covered in spanish moss. which portrays the south as secluded and slower than the northern industrial cites. There is also a period of the movie where Forrest opens a "shrimpping" business off the coast of Mobile in memory of his war buddy, Bubba. this was a typical industry for mobile and plays continues to portray common images of the south. The movie portrays the south as having a really simple lifestyle but also a place that is not always willing to accept people who are not of the norm.

For the time period I feel as if the film exaggerates the southern identity. It pushes the stereotypes to the extreme for humor purposes, but I still thinks it does a good job or portraying these aspects.

~ thuy