Abstract

Forrest Gump, a famous American film, not only reflects Gump’s lifetime, but also is like a mirror of America, truly revealing American society in the 1950s to the year 1982. Individualism is one of the typical American values. This thesis begins with a brief introduction to the film and American individualism, and then analyzes American individualism reflected in this film from three aspects --- self-reliance, equality and freedom.

Key words:  Forrest Gump, individualism, America

摘要

《阿甘正传》是一部著名的美国电影,不仅反映了阿甘的一生，而且如一面镜子，真实地反映了20世纪50年代到1982年的美国社会。个人主义是一种典型的美国价值观。本文从简要介绍这部电影和美国个人主义着手，进而从自立、平等和自由三个方面分析了电影中所反映的美国个人主义价值观。

关键词：《阿甘正传》；个人主义；美国

1． Introduction   
“Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get.”--- A well-known sentence from the film named Forrest Gump.
Forrest Gump, directed by Robert Zemeckis, is really a successful film in American history. It tells Forrest Gump’s life story. He was born in Greenbow, Alabama in the middle of last century. For some reason, he was brought up by his mother alone. Though his IQ was only 75, he had successfully finished his university studies and joined the army resorting to his talent for running. Then he took part in the Vietnam War, he got acquainted with a black young man called Bubba and Lieutenant Dan. On this battlefield, his friend Bubba lost his life and Lieutenant Dan lost both his legs and insisted that dying on the battlefield is destiny. While Forrest became a war hero because of saving people, getting back to his country, he bought a boat and became a shrimp boat captain, which realized his promise to Bubba. In a series of coincidence, he made friends with Lieutenant Dan and became a millionaire. However, Forrest didn’t regard great importance in money. Forrest fell in love with Jenny deeply since they were little children, but Jenny had her own dream and was not willing to live an insipid life. After she made so many mistakes, she realized that she was wrong and came back to Forrest. Then she left unexpectedly just the same way as she back. The next time when Forrest got in touch with Jenny, he was happy to know the existence of their little child, but Jenny was going to die because of AIDS. After her death, Forrest lived alone with little Forrest.