Forrest Gump - Famous People and Social Issues

Throughout the course of the movie Forrest Gump, Forrest had the privilege and honor of meeting several people who had a large impact on American society. One such person was Elvis Presley. In the movie, Elvis stayed at Forrest's house and watched Forrest dance and became famous by copying Forrest's moves. However Elvis learned to dance in real life, his dancing and singing made him possibly the single most important and recognized musicians in 20th century popular music. Elvis was the musician most responsible for popularizing rock 'n' roll music on an international scale. His impact on society continues today considering that the King of Rock 'n' Roll's music continues to inspire modern rock bands.

Along with Elvis, John Lennon and the rest of The Beatles continued to popularize rock 'n' roll. However, the controversial stunt The Beatles are most recognized for has nothing to do with gyrating their hips on stage. Their spot in the limelight came when the remark was made by Lennon the Beatles were more popular than Jesus, which, sadly, was agreed to by several pastors. They topped the charts for quite a while until they disbanded and Lennon got together with Yoko Ono to produce avant garde music. Their impact on society was almost as large as Elvis's and they also continue to inspire today's modern rock bands.

Several major American icons that Forrest met during the movie were politicians. One such politician was George Wallace. In 1958, Wallace entered the race for governor of Alabama. His opponent John Patterson, accepted the support of the Ku Klux Klan, but Wallace refused it and gained the support of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, more commonly known as he NAACP. Although he lost the position to Patterson, he won it in 1962. During his first term, his position on racial discrimination and segregation drastically changed and he came to strongly support both. On June 11, 1963, Wallace stood in front of the doors to the University of Alabama's admissions office to block 2 African-American students from enrolling until forced to move aside by federal marshals. In May of 1972, Arthur Bremer, a would-be assassin, shot George Wallace, but didn't succeed at his attempt to kill Wallace, who died in 1998. His impact on society was one that marked the severity of racism but also contributed to the end of discrimination and segregation. President John F. Kennedy took advantage of Wallace's actions to pass a new civil rights bill. Luckily he not only survived to see it go through, but he also lived long enough to see racism wind down significantly.

John F. Kennedy was the 35th President of the United States of America, and also the youngest. Before his assassination on November 22, 1963, Kennedy strove to end poverty and made many plans that were followed up on by President Lyndon B. Johnson after his death. Kennedy also took vigorous action in the cause of equal rights, wanting America to continue its former role as the first nation dedicated to the revolution of human rights. He also decided to take American idealism to developing nations by sending them the aid of the Alliance for Progress and Peace Corps. All of the above stated actions had a huge positive impact on American society, as well as global society, to bring an end to racial discrimination, segregation, and poverty for the most part.

After President Kennedy's assassination, Vice President Lyndon Johnson took his place and implemented many programs that Kennedy had designed in order to fight poverty and expand civil rights. Many civil rights goals were reached when the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, which barred many forms of discrimination, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which ensured African-Americans the right to vote. Johnson's idea of the Great Society had a huge impact on American society and helped to end poverty and discrimination, just as Kennedy had.

Also throughout the course of Forrest Gump, many events took place that had an impact on American society. Probably the most memorable, and tragic, was the assassination of JFK. As already mentioned, this occurred on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas. Kennedy, Governor John Connally and their wives were riding in the limousine of the President, which led a motorcade through the town. As the limo turned into Elm Spring and passed the Stemmons Freeway sign, 2 shots rang out. Many mistook the shots for firecrackers until Kennedy began to clutch at his throat as blood seeped through his fingers. Seconds later, Mrs. Kennedy, who had been one of the many thinking that the shots were the sound of firecrackers, looked over to see her husband being wounded in the head by the third and final fatal shot. Although the circumstances surrounding the assassination - such as how many shooters were involved; where did the shots come from; and who were the suspicious characters that were seen with rifles prior to the shooting - remain a mystery, this event will always be remembered as a tragic event by the American people. The impact that this assassination had on society was an atmosphere of shock and ever since then, the president has always had to be more careful in public.

Another memorable event that occurred during the time period covered in Forrest Gump was the landing of the American astronaut Neil Armstrong on the moon. Following the launch of Sputnik I by the Soviet Union in 1957 and the orbiting of the earth by Soviet astronaut Yuri Gagarin in 1961, the United States, citizens and government alike, became worried that the Soviets were planning to use their advanced technology to attack America. Politicians feared that the Communist Soviet Union surpassing Democratic America in technology would encourage developing countries to turn to communism and align themselves with the Soviet Union. In accordance with this theory, President Kennedy announced a commitment to land a man on the moon before the decade was over. After trial and error, finally on July 16, 1969, a Saturn V spacecraft lifted off into the Last Frontier, carrying Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, and Michael Collins. On July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin boarded their lunar landing craft, named The Eagle, and descended to the moon. Within minutes, Armstrong's voice was heard throughout the NASA Space Station saying, "Houston, The Eagle has landed." As Armstrong set foot on the moon, America's technological victory over the Soviet Union was achieved and America could breathe easily again, knowing that the U.S. was technologically superior to their Communist adversary.

Beginning on May 17, 1954, a huge breakthrough in civil rights also occurred and this was just the beginning of a powerful civil rights movement that forced the desegregation of schools, public transportation, and an end