Born in 1950s, Forrest Gump is raised by single mother in Greenbow, Alabama. Though he is diagnosed with scoliosis and low I.Q., his mother considers him normal by emphasizing that "stupid is as stupid does.' On his first day of school, he meets Jenny Curran and they become best friends throughout high school. Forrest is picked on for his learning disability and leg braces. One day, while fleeing from some bullies, Forrest's leg braces break apart and he discovers that he can run very fast, which earns him a scholarship to the University of Alabama. Jenny goes to an all girls' college but is messing around with boys and beginning to get in trouble. After graduating, Forrest enlists in the U.S. Army and is deported to Vietnam where he befriends Bubba and Lieutenant Dan. Forrest receives the Medal of Honor for rescuing four men including Lieutenant Dan (unfortunately Bubba is killed) in an ambush. He also plays Ping Pong for the U.S. Army team and eventually competes against Chinese teams. Upon discharging from the military, Forrest keeps his wartime promise to Bubba by starting the shrimping business. Lieutenant Dan, being furious with his amputated legs, joins this business which becomes a huge success. Meanwhile, Jenny is living life on the edge of self-destruction by promiscuous sex and drug addiction. She visits Forrest and slips away after making love with him. During a reunion with Jenny after a three-year cross country run, Forrest discovers that they have a son. They then return to Alabama and get married but soon Jenny dies from an infection resulting from her illness.
The Role Psychology Plays in the Film.
With an I.Q. of 75, Forrest is mildly retarded. He has marked impairments in communication and does not fully grasp abstract thoughts or other's feelings, for instance, he cannot understand why Lieutenant Dan wants to die in Vietnam, nor Jenny is on drugs and has been sexually abused (Jordan, 2013).