Forrest Gump Opening Scene Analysis

Forrest Gump Opening Scene Analysis (Romance)

The opening scene is introduced by portraying to the audience of whom the movie is made by which in this case is Paramount Pictures, this helps immerse the audience slightly as they may be able to relate this film to others made by this well known film company. Paramount Pictures is known to be very popular and this will help attract a wider range of audience and allows them to simply enjoy the movie more as it may make a more relaxed atmosphere as the audience have come to expect high quality entertainment for films by this company.

The scene is introduced with a panning shot in which the camera follows a feather until a city like landscape is shown, helping to establish the setting of the film and infers to the audience that the feather may play an influential role in helping to show the protagonist. The camera follows the feather for a prolonged amount of time to help show the audience the large scale of the setting and allows them to personalize the film in some ways as they may relate to the town shown on screen. Eventually the camera settles on and zooms into what we as the audience assume is the main character, judging on the camera shots he is involved in. As the tracking shot ends, it reveals to the audience that the main character is some sort of traveler, which reveals to the audience that the narrative may involve retracing individual aspects of his life.

Non-diegetic music is present throughout the opening scene of Forrest Gump as its joyous and bouncy style reflects the freedom of the feather in the wind and emphasizes to the audience the individuality and different aspects of each person and allows us to relate the main character presented to someone we may know. Diegetic sound is present as its subtle car and wind noises help add realism to the opening scene and helps show the audience the busy and loud life in these familiar cities, this helps the audience become more immersed into the film as they may see something similar to their everyday lives and this helps them relate and sympathize with the character presented.

The main character is introduced in the opening scene when the feather eventually goes into the possession of a man, the audience recognizes that this is the main character through the use of the camera angles becoming more centered around his character and how the narrative of the film revolves around him. The character seems to of had some sort of military training judging on the hairstyle he has and this helps the audience relate to him as thay may have experienced some sort of change in which they were required to travel for.

Certain questions are left unanswered for the audience as they are introduced to this main character such as puzzles about where he originates from and where he is traveling to due to the considerable;e amount of dirt and mud present on his shoes. Questions are left unanswered about where the protagonist is heading as he is situated at a bus stop, which may infer to the audience that he is unsure of his final destination and that he has been like this for a considerable amount of time.

The audience can see that the character is wearing formal clothing which may suggest to the audience that he either has a highly rated profession or is wealthy by over means. However he is also wearing a pair of muddy trainers which helps emphasize to the audience that he is a traveler and that 

he may be treated poorly or judged by other people for reasons yet unknown to the audience.