Film theories explain the nature of motion pictures and the extent to which they impact the mental and emotional aspects of the audience. They serve the purpose of recognizing films as a distinct form of art. There are vast examples of academically recognized film theories, including auteur, feminist, genre, soviet montage, and movie archetypes, among others, with each covering different aspects of films. Theoretical frameworks in films arose out of a need to know how to make cinema more meaningful and effective. As such, different films incorporate a vast range of film theories. For instance, Forrest Gump , a 1994 film, is a classic illustration of auteur, structuralist, and apparatus film theories.
Film Theories in Forrest Gump
Auteur Theory
The 1994 popular American drama embodies the principles of auteur theory. The famous film model postulates that “a film is a reflection of a director’s artistic vision” (Rudhra & Anbazhagan, 2020). In other words, a movie with incorporate distinctive and recognizable audio and visual elements of a filmmaker or director. According to the principles of the theory, the director that oversees the audio and visual aspects of a film is more to be considered its author than the writer of the screenplay. As Rudhra and Anbazhagan (2020) further explain, according to the theory, a director’s artistic identity will consistently show in their entire filmography.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Forrest Gump is the work of Robert Zemeckis as the director and based on a novel of the same title. The film is directed by Zemeckis but written by Eric Roth, who was inspired by Winston Groom's 1986 novel, Forrest Gump (Radstone, 2020). Naturally, it should depict ideas and characteristics of Groom, Roth or both. However, this is not the case. On the contrary, as auteur theory suggests, Zemeckis is technically the ‘author’ of Forrest Gump and not the two writers. Zemeckis’s unique cinematic styles are presented across the film. For instance, emotional manipulation is a recurring theme in all his motion pictures.
Zemeckis most polarizing artistic style is evident in the film. In his article, Cwik (2015) points out that Zemeckis's most significant contribution to America's film industry is his style of plenty of emotional manipulation and irritating phrases. Forrest Gump balances comedy and tragedy depicting Groom and Roth’s original intentions. However, a tear-inducing scene is a new concept, especially for someone watching the film after reading the novel. An excellent example of Zemeckis’s element of emotional manipulation occurs towards the end of the film when Forrest reunites with a bedridden Jenny at Gump’s homestead.
The scene is particularly emotional because of how Zemeckis’s audio and visual styles. The scene features Jenny asking Forrest if he was scared of Vietnam. Zemeckis unexpectedly takes his viewers to a montage of nature’s beauty of stars over a war-torn raining land and then to Alabama sunsets with Forrest narrating his experience. When the audience is not adequately captivated by the serenity of the backdrop, Jenny tells Forrest that she loves him after dismissing him before citing she did not know what love is. After declaring her love, we are taken to a scene where Forrest is standing over Jenny’s grave. It is a style unique to Zemeckis’s cinematic vision that is also evident across his entire filmography.
Structuralist Theory
The structuralist theory holds that films use various symbols, conventions, and codes that resemble language structure to convey meanings. As Ikaningrum (2013) suggests, films often follow a generic structure divided into three distinct parts—the setup, midpoint, and resolution. The structure is further broken down into five stages, including 'incentive movement-rising action-climax-falling action resolution, with each stage addressing a varying aspect of the story. Accordingly, like every American drama film, Forrest Gump adopts this very structure, especially with respect to the relationship between Forrest and Jenny.
In the incentive movement, Gump and Jenny meet for the first time. The incentive movement occurs at the beginning of a film. Here, the directors set the scene and the character's background. In Forrest Gump , we are introduced to young Gump and Jenny in their elementary school years. Jenny is the only person willing to let Gump sit beside her in the school bus because everyone else thinks of him as an idiot. The film then proceeds to the rising action phase, where the story further builds. At this stage, a problem a character tries to resolve gets more complex. For example, Gump is always getting into trouble with his friends because of his perceived stupidity. At the same time, Jenny experiences sexual harassment from his father and thus prefers to spending time with Gump.
The Tisch Company. (1994). Forrest Gump
The climax is the most interesting aspect of the film. According to Francis (2020), who analyzes Freytag's pyramid's application in cinema and literature, says climax is the point the story reaches its greatest tension between protagonist and antagonist. The climax in Forrest Gump appears when Forrest is sent to Vietnam. The assignment meant he could not spend time with Jenny for a long time, of whom, back at home, is battling negative activities such as alcohol, sex, and drugs. Jenny even attempts to commit suicide. At the falling action part, Forrest returns from Vietnam and realizes his affection towards the now unstable Jenny. The two reunite and stay together at Gump. The movie ends with Forrest saddened by Jenny’s death but happy to be a father to a brilliant boy.
Apparatus Theory
Apparatus theory is also evident in Forrest Gump . The theory maintains that films are ideological because the mechanics of representation are ideological and created to represent reality (Elsaesser & Hagener, 2015). Incorporating camera techniques and editing gives a viewer a cinematic experience that impacts them on a deeper level (Elsaesser & Hagener, 2015). Proponents of the theory suggest that a film should be as real to the degree that the audience cannot distinguish the story from a real-world event. Although produced when cinema technology was less advanced, Forrest Gump is a perfect representation of reality.
The manifestation of events in the film through cameras and outstanding editing strengthens the cinema-audience connectivity relationship. Elsaesser and Hagener (2015) liken a movie-goer to someone in a dream citing the similarities between being in a dark room and having someone else control your emotions, decisions, and actions. Forrest Gump does that; it lets its viewers experience the movie as if it were a reality. The filmmakers' utilized available equipment and machinery in camerawork, lighting, noise, and sound to capture character emotions and moods, landscapes, loud silence, and scenes to make the film engaging.
Conclusion
Auteur, structuralist, and apparatus theoretical models help analyze Forrest Gump and understand its cinematographic elements. Forrest Gump is a timeless classic for drama film enthusiasts. It also features multiple theories that help break it down by analyzing various elements and their significance. Auteur, structuralist, and apparatus are the most notable theories in the film. As the discussion suggests, they provide a foundational framework for understanding the context of the film, the intentions of its directors, the role of cinematic elements, and its relevance in the film industry.
References
Cwik, G. (2015). Robert Zemeckis is An Important Filmmaker (Even When He Fails). Retrieved 14 June 2021, from https://www.indiewire.com/2015/10/robert-zemeckis-is-an-important-filmmaker-even-when-he-fails-57000/
Elsaesser, T., & Hagener, M. (2015). Film Theory: An introduction through the senses . Routledge.
Francis, D. W. (2020). Excavating Freytag's Pyramid: Narrative, identity and the museum visitor experience (Doctoral dissertation, UCL (University College London)).
Ikaningrum, R. E. (2013). Structuralism Analysis Of Forrest Gump. Jurnal Penelitian Inovasi , 33 (1), 17793.
Radstone, S. (2020). Screening trauma: Forrest Gump, film and memory (pp. 79-107). Routledge.
Rudhra, T. S., & Anbazhagan, K. (2020). An Analysis of Auteur Theory: Vetrimaaran as an ‘Auteur’. Psychology and Education Journal , 57 (9), 1641-1644.
The Tisch Company. (1994). Forrest Gump [Film].
