The film Forrest Gump turned 30 this year and is still one of the most popular titles from actor Tom Hanks’ long filmography. However, many people forget that the two-time Oscar winner didn’t just embody the simple-minded title character in Robert Zemeckis’ film.
But rolls are like chocolates: some are a bit tasteless. This also applies to Hanks’ second role in Forrest Gumpfor which he even controversially dressed up. How do you say today? It’s not a good look.
Tom Hanks also played Forrest Gump’s ancestor and namesake: the founder of the Ku Klux Klan
During a flashback, Forrest explains that his mother named him after her idol and presumed ancestor, Nathan Bedford Forrest. The slave trader, plantation owner and Confederate general in the American Civil War was not only a hardcore racist, but Co-founder and leader of the notorious Ku Klux Klanwhich continues to propagate white nationalism in the United States to this day. So we even see Hanks with his Klan robe and everything:
All of this might not be so controversial if one just acknowledged that there was a lot of everyday racism in the postwar period in the United States, especially in the southern states. But if you give the Klan the friendly face of Uncle Hanks and, later in the film, portray African-American Black Panther activists and supporters of the peace movement as unsympathetics, you can frown a little.
Forrest Gump was released in 1994 and is based on the novel of the same name * by Winston Groom, which Eric Roth adapted into a screenplay. For this he received one of the six Oscars.
Where can you watch Forrest Gump?
You can stream Forrest Gump on the Amazon channel ARTHAUS+ at a flat rate. You can also find the film as a rental or purchase title on Prime Video, Sky, Apple TV and Co.
This article appeared in a similar form on our French sister site Allociné.
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