HW 2a - Existing Opening Sequence Analysis (DYM)

Forrest Gump Opening Scene Analysis

Forrest Gump is an epic drama with strong elements of romance and comedy. The film follows the tale of Forrest's life as he looks back on it, with strangers that he meets at the bus stop. 

The opening sequence mainly focuses on tracking the path of a feather being blown around an American town, with a soft, non-diegetic piano score. Tracking the feather from high in the sky to its path through an ordinary neighbourhood, allows the audience glimpses of the setting, while ensuring that they feel involved in the movement. The feather briefly lands on a man in a suit's shoulder (he doesn't notice) before being blown off again and over a car to land at the main character's (Forrest) feet. Forrest, who is sitting at a bus stop, picks up the feather and puts it in a book he takes from the case he has with him before looking up at the approaching bus.

The events in the opening sequence are all linked together in a logical, flowing way as, for the majority of it, the camera is tracking the path of a feather which takes the audience through the setting of the opening and right to the main character's feet. The audience is aware that this man is the main character as he is the only one lingered on and shown in detail. This is coupled with the fact that he alone takes notice of the feather and in extension the audience as they follow its path. Introducing the main character in this way, ensures that the audience feels like they are in good hands with him, just like the feather is.

In the opening sequence very little story detail is actually revealed. The audience gets the impression that the main character is different to the rest of his society from his attentive nature and unusually upright posture. From this, they can guess that these differences cause problems for the character, that the film is based upon. In addition, having him sitting at a bus stop with a case suggests that the film could follow a journey he takes somewhere or to meet someone. While the audience can probably infer that the narrative is character driven, from the film title and the extreme focus on just one character in the opening, they still don't know where that will take the film and generally what will happen. I believe that this information has been deliberately withheld to create anticipation and more of a shock reveal that the film is split between events in the past and how Forrest is telling them to people he meets - an unusual structure.

At the start of the film the main thing that the audience need to know is who the main character is and what his basic personality is like. This is because the film is entirely character driven and follows Forrest's life story in which his actions and personality play a huge part. The audience needs to learn just enough about the character to ensure that they want to continue watching the film and find out more.