Forrest Gump, released by Paramount Communications Company (派拉蒙影业公司) in 1994, is adapted from the novel of the same title. The original work is full of ironic absurd stories, but the film modifies and beautifies them, and gives the audience a kind of tender feeling, which undoubtedly suits the audience’s taste, but the rebel spirit in the original work is gone, so that the film becomes an idealized ethical symbol.

The story follows the life of low I.Q. Forrest Gump. The film chronicles (将某事物载入编年史) his accidental experiences with some of the most important people and events in America from the late 1950's through the 1970's, including encounters with Elvis Presley, JFK, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon,and experiences of fighting in Vietnam, etc. Forrest is representative of the baby boomer generation and proves that determination, courage, and love are more important than ability.

 Some of the most important people and events in America from the late 1950's through the 1970's：

▲John Fitzgerald Kennedy (约翰·菲茨杰拉德·肯尼迪) (May 29, 1917—November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States (in office from 1961 to 1963). To date he was the second-youngest President (after Theodore Roosevelt西奥多·罗斯福),and the youngest elected to the office (at the age of 43). Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas.

▲Lyndon Baines Johnson (林登·贝恩斯·约翰逊)(August 27, 1908—January 22, 1973), often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States (1963—1969). Johnson, succeeded to the presidency following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, completed Kennedy's term and was elected President in his own right in a landslide victory in the 1964 presidential election. Johnson escalated the American involvement in the Vietnam War from 16,000 American soldiers in 1963 to 500,000 in early 1968. Then in 1968 he withdrew from the reelection race to concentrate on peacemaking. 

▲Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913—April 22, 1994) was the 37th President of the United  States (1969–1974). The most immediate task facing President Nixon was the Vietnam War. His foreign policy was largely successful; he opened relations with the People’s Republic of China. Ping Pong Diplomacy (乒乓外交) refers to the exchange of ping pong players of the United States and China in the 1970s. The event marked a thaw in U.S.—China relations and paved the way for President Richard Nixon’s visit to Beijing.

He was reelected by a landslide in 1972. In the face of likely impeachment for his role in the Watergate scandal (水门事件), Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974. The Watergate scandals began with the arrest of five men for breaking and entering into the Democratic National Committee headquarters (民主党全国委员会总部) at the Watergate Office complex (水门大厦) in Washington, D.C. on June 17, 1972. Investigations revealed that this burglary was one of many illegal activities authorized and carried out by Nixon's staff (尼克松班底). Nixon was the only president to ever resign the office. 

▲Vietnam War (越南战争) was started by President Dwight David Eisenhower (德怀特·戴维·艾森豪威尔), the 34th President of the United States (1953—1961), and was continued by Kennedy and Johnson. Nixon withdrew American troops and successfully negotiated a ceasefire with North Vietnam,effectively ending American involvement in the war. By April 1973 the last American left Vietnam and the long-lasting Vietnam War (1954—1973) ended, in which 58,159 American soldiers got killed and more than 300,000 wounded.

▲Civil Rights Revolution is also known as “Black Power Movement” (民权革命或黑人权利运动). Martin Luther King (January 15, 1929—April 4, 1968) turned out to be a great leader, who led the people to challenge segregation and discrimination through nonviolent mass protest (非暴力大规模抗议活动) until he got murdered by a white in Memphis, Tennessee (田纳西州孟菲斯市) on April 4, 1968. Black Panther Party (黑豹党), a black nationalist organization in the United States joined the struggle for “Black Power”, which meant working together to build political and economic power in the black community. Congress passed the Civil Rights Act (民权法案) of 1957, 1960, and 1964, which outlawed segregation in all public places like schools and buses, and banned discrimination in employment on the basis of race, religion, sex or nationality.

▲Elvis Aaron Presley (埃尔维斯·亚伦·普雷斯利) (January 8, 1935—August 16, 1977) is commonly referred to as “The King of Rock 'n' Roll (摇滚乐)” or“The King” (猫王). He started a new form of music, rock 'n' roll in the mid-1950s. Presley is a cultural icon and one of the best-sellingand most influential artists in the history of popular music. Health problems,drug dependency and other factors led to his death at age 42.

▲The Beatles (披头士 / 甲壳虫乐队) was a rock and pop band from Liverpool, England (英格兰利物浦市) that formed in 1960. Led by John Lennon, their clothes, style and statements made them trend-setters, while their growing social awareness saw their influence extend into the social and cultural revolutions of the 1960s. The band broke up in 1970. John Lennon was murdered in New York City on 8 December, 1980.

▲The Hippie Subculture (嬉皮士文化) was originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the early 1960s and spread around the world. The word “hippie” derives from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who inherited the countercultural values of the Beat Generation (垮掉的一代), created their own communities, listened to psychedelic rock, embraced the sexual revolution, and took drugs such as cannabis (大麻) and LSD (致幻药) to explore alternative states of consciousness. Since the 1960s, the religious and cultural diversity espoused by the hippies has gained widespread acceptance, and Eastern Philosophy (东方哲学) and spiritual concepts have reached a wide audience.

▲College Football is American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges,and military academies. Many college football players receive scholarships and financial assistance from the university. It was the venue through which American football first gained popularity in the United States.Paul William "Bear"Bryant (September 11, 1913—January 26, 1983) was an American college football coach.He was best known as the longtime (25 years) head coach of the University of Alabama football team. Upon his retirement in 1982 he held the record for most wins as head coach in collegiate football history.

▲The Apollo Moon Landing (阿波罗号登月) was planned by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration国家航空与航天管理局) that was founded in 1958 to keep pace with the former Soviet Union in space and missile technology. On July 20, 1969 US Apollo astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin successfully landed a spacecraft on the moon and walked on the surface.

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更多详情解析请参见推荐论文（当代美国历史和文化的缩影—解读《阿甘正传》）