Movie Critique: How Forest Gump Overcomes disabilities and becomes a leader

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Movie Critique: How Forest Gump Overcomes disabilities and becomes a leader
The film “Forrest Gump” tells a compelling story of a man who has physical and intellectual disabilities who nonetheless manages to rise against these challenges to achieve his aspiration way beyond the archetypal American dream. In his lifetime Forrest Gump prevailed over many obstacles and went on to become a national and local icon, as well as a celebrity without even trying to become one. The film succeeds in demonstrating how a person can overcome their odds and be the best that they can be in life, and conveys three key lessons: one being the manifestation of stigma in the society, two, overcoming disability and three the remarkable history of America.
To begin with, stigma is an inherent element of any society, and this is evident in the initial stages of the movie. His mother comes out as his psychological anchor and pivot from the beginning of the movie and constantly as it progresses. When Forrest was a young boy we see his mother informing him that he is just a young boy with braces on his legs but that he is not different from everyone. Her resolute belief in her son is tested over and over through the film, because of the stereotypes and stigma. I think it changes so much having one person who stands with you no matter the circumstances, someone who walks in when the rest of the world walks out on you; and that is what Forrest’s mother is for him. We see her arguing with the school’s principal in her insistent that Forrest should be given the same opportunity to compete with everyone else in the regular education system. It is amazing how people who were expected to offer the moral support failed to do that when situation called, like the principal of his school in this case, the family doctor is not better either. He says to the mother that, “He (Forrest) is as strong as an ox, but his back is as crooked as a politician.” The society is socialized to believe that people with disabilities should be treated differently; indeed they are stereotyped and discriminated against, yet almost every extended family has a person with special needs. The statistics in the U.S stand at 19 percent which an equivalent of 49.7 million of the whole population (Goren, 56).
The second topic that the movie conveys is overcoming disabilities. As Forrest gets older, he prevails over his physical disability, when everyone least expected it. And when he becomes a victim of the bullies who were chasing him on bikes, Forrest gains some strength that he never though he had, and at that point of desperation, he wishes he could be able to run and suddenly, his weakness turns into his strength when he runs, really runs. Years later Forrest finds himself in another nerve shredding moment when the same bully chases him with a pickup; unbeknown to him he was helping Forrest reinforce something he had already done before; running. Th...