We often forget, but Tom Hanks plays two characters in Forrest Gump

We often forget that Tom Hanks plays two characters in Forrest Gump. In fact, the second character, Nathan Bedford Forrest, is the opposite of the film’s hero. remind you Forrest Gump Based on Winston Groom’s work published in 1986. However, the novel is very different from the feature film, which takes the audience on a journey through the 1960s and 1970s, as Forrest finds himself in the middle of major historical events.

Despite the skepticism that surrounded Robert Zemeckis’ project before its production, the film is now considered one of the best of all time. Forrest Gump In 1995, he won the Academy Award for Best Picture for Pulp Fiction. Much of his success can be attributed to his phenomenal performance. Tom HanksWhich only reminds us of the talent of the actor, who also played Nathan Bedford Forrest in the cult film. By incorporating various real-life characters into the film, the film highlights the larger story of Hanks’ supporting character, including the real-life Forrest, who served as a general during the American Civil War…

Two related characters

The appearance of Nathan Bedford Forrest occurs relatively early in the film, when the audience discovers how Forrest got his name. It turns out that Nathan Bedford Forrest would be one of his ancestors. “ He said that we were somehow related to him“- explains Forrest Gump. The fact that the character insists there is a connection between the two men makes more sense for Hanks to play a dual role here. However, a flashback reveals that Nathan Bedford Forrest was a white supremacist and the complete opposite of the lovely and lovable Forrest himself.

In particular, he was a Confederate lieutenant general during the Civil War and a slave trader who later became the first holder of the title of First Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, a title he held for a year before becoming disenchanted with the group. who was in favor of white supremacy at the time. He then quite publicly broke with the Klan and eventually tried to disband it, unsuccessfully, before taking a public stand in favor of the cause of blacks in America.

According to the book Nathan Bedford Forrest: In Search of an Enigma Written by Eddie W. By Davidson, The Real Forrest.volunteered to help destroy the men who were responsible for the constant violence” in the hands of the clan in 1874. It is clear that General Nathan Bedford Forrest is one of the most complex and controversial figures in history, and perhaps for good reason. Forrest Gump No details about his life are given, except for this simple 40-second scene in the film.

A short sequence is presented Tom Hanks Dressed in Ku Klux Klan garb, wearing a hood and superimposing scenes from DW Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation (1915). The last line of the flashback, “Mom said that part of Forrest is to remind me that sometimes we all do things that are great but don’t make sense.“, somewhat simplifies the problem, but the association remains uncomfortable.

The novel spends several pages talking about this ancestor of Forrest’s and discusses the Civil War general in more detail. But understandably, the movie cut that part of the story short. according to Robert ZemeckisStaging all of this would distract too much from the rest of the feature film. in any case Tom Hanks Plays two roles in the film, two very different Forrests, direct opposites.

Forrest Gump is still available on VOD.