Forrest Gump- A tale of textiles

In case you missed it on my other blog-

I love the story of Forrest Gump. I love the characters, I love the history, I love Tom Hanks, I will forever consider Forrest Gump my hero. I re-watched the film today with my dad and I came across something that I hadn't really observed before.

The first time we see Forrest is on his famous bench in the iconic blue plaid shirt and khaki suit.

As Gump's story evolves we see the reoccurrence of the blue plaid signifying different important events throughout his life.

I'm serious. Some people spend their entire lives looking for things like these in all kinds of movies.

Observe.

When we see Forrest as a young kid the pattern of Forrest's plaid is small. He is innocent and young. He has much to learn.

This first plaid, as observed in the first picture of Forrest as a kid, is the pattern associated with Gump's "Magic Shoes" and his first understanding of the world around him. He is sheltered and unsure of what is out there, and thus his knowledge, like the size of the print, is small and limited.

The next version of this pattern is the shirt that we see Forrest wearing on his first day of school. The pattern is altered now- having more than just the blue that we have seen him in so far. Gump is adding new elements into his life- Jenny, school, the appearance of exclusion in his life- and because of that his pattern of plaid is more diverse because he is taking this all in.

 

This next same pattern is used when Forrest loses his braces and first becomes aware of his speed. This point in the film is very important to the story line because throughout the rest of the film Forrest uses his running as a transition from one phase of his life to the next.  

The next blue plaid is larger- showing the passage of time. Forrest is grown up and knows much more about the world then he did, but he is still subject to the same kind of ridicule as before which is why the pattern is echoed from previous shots in this scene. This blue is where Forrest is introduced to football, removing him from the environment which he has become comfortable with on the winding road leading to his house which he has been chased down for many years.

For a while there is no plaid because Forrest is in the army. That entire sequence is signified by the constant uniform worn by Gump. The next blue plaid is introduced during Gump's shrimping days. It's a relaxed blue plaid and with the rolled up cuffs it shows that Forrest is hard at work and fitting into this new part of his existence.

The next most prominent plaid is when Forrest begins his run across the states. It's similar to the varieties of blue that he wears when he is with Jenny, but the big difference, at least to my eyes, is the pattern of the pockets creating a visual opposition to the rest of the pattern. They cross differently showing Forrest's internal confusion. He's thinking about Jenny- same pattern- but he is lost on what to do next, so he just starts running. This allows for the next transition in his life.
 The next appearance of the blue is when Forrest is telling his story on the bench and he learns of his son, Lil' Forrest (cutest thing ever). To me though the entire sequence of plaid ends when Forrest is sitting with Forrest at the bus stop and he is wearing the iconic plaid blue (of course the red hat is added, sort of like Gump's BubbaGump red hat as seen in previous picture). It shows the full circle of the Gump legacy.

Of course there are more plaids in the film used to highlight important events, but the point I wanted to make was there is a lot more going into the thought of an overall picture then we are aware. We are hit with our main character wearing blue plaid in the first shot, if we don't have the continuation of that pattern throughout the tale then we might not associate that first shot of Forrest as the "iconic" Forrest Gump shot.

Now that you have endured my rambling on about plaid, you may continue your life as before.
Enjoy!

 As a bonus........

Observe the similar striped pattern on Lil' Forrest and Papa Gump.

It's a connection you may not have made unless you thought about it, but

their outfits were planned so that you would make the connection between the

two of them- both Forrest but just a little bit different.