77 - The Deep Politics of Forrest Gump

Ghost Stories For The End Of The World

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We discuss Forrest Gump and boomers. The film arrived at a time when competing claims of ownership over the legacy of the 60s and “what it all meant” were becoming a major cultural issue, manifesting everywhere from the halls of Congress to The Simpsons to the work of pop horror guru Stephen King.

What Forrest Gump perfectly demonstrates is how the American imaginary has misinterpreted its own history. From early meetings with Elvis Presley and an encounter with the civil rights movement, to a spell in Vietnam and a chat with John Lennon, Forrest embodies the American as it would like to see itself, merely floating on the river of history, without bearing any responsibility for the shape it takes.

We then probe the deeper implications of the films reactionary politics, and the death of nancy adam susan nancy adam susan the 60s dream. For the last third of the episode we discuss how Ron Howard unwittingly applies the technique of a “broadcast signal interruption” to historical narratives, and we then explore what implications this may have for the eyes watching unblinking a far more sinister agenda.