Film and Intercultural
Communication
Requirements for this course
The course is co-taught by four different
teachers. Each teacher is in charge of one
film. You will study one film every three
weeks.
 Forrest Gump (American Culture)
 The Lord of the Ring (European Culture)
 GuaSha the Treatment
 Anna and the King

Your final score will be based on the
following elements:
 your presence and performance in
class(10%,1 point for each lesson);
 your homework or in-class test(40%, 10
points for each film);
 your final paper(50%).

Warm-up questions:
When you appreciate a film produced by
foreigners, what’s your focus? The
performance of the actor and actress? The
plot and the story? The theme? The
beautiful scene? Or anything else?
 Have you ever appreciate a film from the
intercultural perspective?

You pay attention to the culture reflected in
the movie and the relationship between the
people brought up in different background.
 You attach more importance to the influence
of culture on a certain character.

Forrest Gump
 Lesson
one: the story and the theme
 Lesson two: the cultural tip
 Lesson three: comparative study
Lesson One
The
Story and the Theme
Forrest Gump
Protagonist
 (Tom Hanks)

Forrest’s mother
Jenny Curran ( Robin Wright)
Lieutenant Dan
The outline

Forrest Gump , grows up in
Greenbow, Alabama, where his
mother runs a boarding house.
Although Forrest is a little "slow"
(his IQ is 75, 5 below the state's
definition of "normal"), his mental
impairment doesn't seem to bother
him, his mother, or his best (and
only) friend, Jenny.

During the next thirty years,
Forrest becomes a star football
player, a war hero, a successful
businessman, and something of a
pop icon. Through the miracle of
visual effects, Forrest meets a lot
of famous people - George Wallace,
Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, and
Nixon, and John Lennon.


Through it all, however, there is
one defining element in his life: his
love for Jenny. She is never far
from his thoughts, no matter what
he's doing or where he is.
The most frequently recurring
theme is “not to give up on life”. (the
American optimism)
Oscar Awards:

在1995年的第六十七届奥斯卡金像奖最
佳影片的角逐中，影片《阿甘正传》一
举获得了最佳影片、最佳男主角、最佳
导演、最佳改编剧本、最佳剪辑和最佳
视觉效果等六项大奖(Best Picture, Best
Actor, Best Director, Best Visual Effects,
Best Editing, and Best Writing based on
material from another medium —
screenplay)。
Introduction



影片通过对一个智障者(retarded man)生活的
描述反映了美国生活的方方面面，从一个独特
的角度对美国几十年来社会政治生活中的重要
事件作了展现。
阿甘在影片中被塑造成了美德的化身，诚实、
守信、认真、勇敢而重视感情。在影片中，阿
甘是十分纯洁的形象，而珍妮则成了堕落
(degeneration)的象征。
影片自始自终都是以一种温情和善意的态度来
表现的，甚至还加入了诗意化的成分 ,《阿甘
正传》是一部以喜剧形式来表现严肃主题
(theme)的电影
Theme:


它的主题有很多，主要有两个：一，对人生意
义的思考，对命运的思索。人的命运是按一定
的轨迹运行，还是象羽毛那样飘忽不定呢？二，
它的反主流(counterculture)、反社会、反传
统性。
影片以一痴呆的视角来观察美国几十年的历史
变迁。一个智商为75的人，却能看到许多“聪
明人”看不到的人生美丽。即使是在危机与彷
徨中，他依然有星光、彩云(rosy clouds)陪
伴，让他一步步跑下去，跑出辉煌的人生历程。
Questions:
What do you think Forrest has learnt from
his mother in his life? (3 Points)
 What beliefs and values do Americans hold?
(3 points)
 If you are Forrest, will you love and marry
the girl like Jenny? Why? (2 points)
 What do you think of Forrest’s life? It’s
successful or bitter? (2 points)

 For
the first two questions, you must
give answers with no less than 100
words, for the last two questions, your
answer should not be less than 50
words.
 Please type your answers out with A4
paper and hand it in when we meet for
the third time.
First Scene:
Flashback: Forrest is going to talk with
many people sitting on this bench, and he is
going to tell us his life story in the process.
 Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) My mama
always said life was like a box of
chocolates. You never know what you're
gonna get.(4’20’’)

Second scene:



The background introduction to the family of
Forrest Gump.(4’50’’-5’35”)
Forrest has some thing wrong with his legs. And
he is retarded. In the eyes of others, he is an idiot.
But his mother tells him :
Mrs. Gump (Sally Field) Remember what I told
you, Forrest. You're no different than anybody
else is. Did you hear what I said, Forrest?
You're the same as everybody else. You are
no different.
First Scene: Comparative study
The Second Scene: Cultural tip