By Katie Southers, Kate
Thomas, Alison Hassett, CJ
Sheppard, and Hunter
Forrest Gump
Katie Southers
• Watergate Scandal
– In the movie Forrest spots lights
in a hotel across the street and
complains to a hotel clerk that
the lights are bothering him
– It was the Nixon administration
breaking into the Democratic
Party's National Committee
Offices on June 17, 1972 to gain
insight on their upcoming
campaign
– The next scene shows Nixon’s
resignation speech and makes it
seem that Forrest was the
reason the scandal became
known
– In reality it was the security
guard Frank Willis that instigated
an investigation
Watergate.info. (2008). Watergate: The scandal that Brought Down Richard
Nixon. Retrieved May 22, 2008 from http://www.watergate.info/
Katie Southers
Other History in Forrest Gump
Elvis - Forrest’s mother ran a boarding house. One of the tenants was a young
singer/guitar player. Forrest twisted his hips to the music. The next scene
shows Elvis on TV using Forrest’s moves. This scenario is fictionalized.
Elvis Presley Enterprises. (1996). Elvis Presley. Retrieved May 22, 2008 from
http://www.history-of-rock.com/elvis_presley.htm.
Integration of the University of Alabama - Forrest attends the University of
Alabama on a football scholarship. During the Integration of the University in
1963, Forrest picked up a book of one of the African American students
after they were allowed into the University. In reality Governor George
Wallace blocked the building and did not let African Americans enter.
President JFK sent troops to the University and the students were admitted.
(2008). University of Alabama. Retrieved May 28, 2008, from Wikipedia Web
site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Alabama#History
Katie Southers
History in Forrest Gump Cont.
• Vietnam
– Forrest enlists in the army after college and soon is shipped to
Vietnam after his basic training
– Forrest writes to Jenny describing all the fighting in Vietnam
– While Forrest is in Vietnam, he is in a battle and saves his
platoon from Napalm but gets shot in the buttock
– The actual war caused a lot of causalities and some died from
their own Napalm bombs
Simkin, J (2008). Chemical Biological Warfare. Retrieved May 24,
2008, from Spartacus Educational Web site:
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/VNchemical.htm
Katie Southers
The Psyche of Forrest Gump
•
Companionate Love- The constant and
persistent love that Forrest feels for Jenny
even though she does him wrong at several
times
• Mere Exposure Effect- the fact that Forrest
was exposed to Jenny so much as a child
that he naturally formed a liking towards her
• Altruism- The unselfish regard for the
welfare of others as Forrest exudes toward
everyone
• Intelligence- the mental quality to learn from
experiences, solve problems, and use
knowledge. Forrest is considered a man of
low intelligence due to his inability to
recognize the severity of certain situations
• Stanford-Binet IQ Test- the scale used to
measure Forrest’s intelligence
• Mental Age- the chronological age that
corresponds to the intelligence
Gerring, R (2002).Glossary. Retrieved May 22,
2008, from
http://www.psychologymatters.org/glossary.
html
Red
Dawn
Kate Thomas
The setting of Red Dawn occurred
during the time of the Cold War
and the Red Scare.
The Cold War began after the US used nuclear war
technology without worrying about the possible
outcomes. The US then decided to write up a treaty that
would prohibit the use of nuclear warfare, but the
Soviets were worried about the intentions of the US and
had major trust issues. One of the most prominent
themes of the movie was the race for technological
power. This is depicted in the movie through the
alliance between the Soviet Union, Nicaragua, and
Cuba, and their involvement in the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Throughout the movie there is always a sense of a
“race” occurring for overall power and advancement in
nuclear technology.
Kate Thomas
The Red Scare occurred when people
began to believe that a communist form of
government would begin to form in the
US. This is associated with McCarthyism
which was a movement led my John
McCarthy to weed out all communist or
sympathy communists and put them into
jail. This was depicted in the majority of
the movie because as the Soviets and the
Cubans invaded the US, they were trying
to slowly lead the US into a communist
nation. This fear of communism is the
main reason the high school teens ran
into the forest in order to protect and
build their own defenses. During the
movie, one of their own turns them in,
furthermore intensifying the trust issues
that were present at the time.
Kate Thomas
The Psyche of Red Dawn
• Conformity- the ability for
people to assimilate to
the other behaviors,
attitudes, and values of
those in a group
• Instincts- The Wolverines
struggle to survive in the
wild, but trusting their
preprogrammed
tendencies, they end up
successful
• Aggression- the building
of their own guerrilla
warfare that they release
their own frustrations and
harm to the communists.
Psyche Of Red Dawn Cont.
• In-Group- the ability for the teenagers to identify
themselves as Wolverines to form a unified pact
• Group polarization- the tendency for the
members to attack the Soviets when pushed by
the stranded US Air Force Captain
• Flight or Fight Response- the reason that the
remaining men chose to fight the Soviets rather
then run away because they were passionate
about their cause.
Gerring, R (2002).Glossary. Retrieved May 22,
2008, from
http://www.psychologymatters.org/glossary.html
War
Games
Kate Thomas
The story line of War
Games focuses on a
nuclear power
struggle between the
United States and
Russia which begins a
countdown to World
War 3.
Kate Thomas
The Psyche Of War Games
• Paranoia- a disturbed thought
process that is triggered by
anxiety or fear. This relates to
the movie because US forces
are paranoid about a Soviet
attack so they irrationally
assume that Lightman is
associated
• Traits- personal qualities that
influence a person’s behavior
such as the computer
technology that David is so
accustomed to using
Other Psyche In War Games
• Self-actualization- personality psychology that refers to
the person striving to realize their potential abilities and
talents
• Motivation- the process of starting, directing, and
maintaining physical and psychological activities, such
as David’s persistence to hack into the computer system
Gerring, R (2002).Glossary. Retrieved May 22, 2008, from
http://www.psychologymatters.org/glossary.html Alison
Hassett
Conclusion
In conclusion, many movies have a
historical background. However, this
historical basis is often exaggerated to
increase the “wow factor” of the movie.
Also, many movies deal with psychology,
as psyche is the way we as humans think
and behave.
Katie Southers
Sources
Elvis Presley Enterprises. (1996). Elvis Presley. Retrieved May 22,
2008 from http://www.history-of-rock.com/elvis_presley.htm.
Gerring, R (2002).Glossary. Retrieved May 22, 2008, from
http://www.psychologymatters.org/glossary.html
Simkin, J (2008). Chemical Biological Warfare. Retrieved May 24,
2008, from Spartacus Educational Web site:
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/VNchemical.htm
Watergate.info. (2008). Watergate: The scandal that Brought Down
Richard Nixon. Retrieved May 22, 2008 from
http://www.watergate.info/
(2008). University of Alabama. Retrieved May 28, 2008, from
Wikipedia Web site:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Alabama#History