Gump has become a cultural icon, not only because of his charisma of purity, innocence, and integrity, but also because he has been immortalized by the ages of turmoil, in a world full of treachery, distrust, and misbelief. When I first viewed the film, I could not understand the logic behind the huge popularity Gump and Hanks have garnered with this film. It is but a personal documentary, or an autobiography and yet it is placed on a pedestal like “one of the ten films you must watch”. It is much like Scent of a Woman, a film that everybody claims to be a masterpiece and extols as one of the most “educational” films but in fact tells a surreal story that simply cannot stand in real life. Despite its lack of credibility as a story, Gump contains some very important lessons about peace. And it is circulated around the world because of that.

By contrast, Avatar tells a story about a conflict involving humans and aliens. It contains a less sophisticated plot where a human being starts to see the world through the eyes of an alien. Jake “realizes how much this new world matters to the Na’vi and to him and fights to protect his new race” (Avatar 2009 Plot Summary). It is a hit around the globe not only because it is “politically right” but also it contains consumbale spectacles. And it is, just like Gump, taps into the everyday lives of people and the world.

Dave Kehr, a famous American film critic, noted that Gump has become part of America’s iconography (Scott 23). But the marketing does not stop here, where Gump is lauded as the embodiment of American integrity and forthrightness. Buy a CD of the film, and a box of chocolate is attached. Other publications and merchandise based on the story has appeared in massive quantities. “Thus Gump’s honesty is explicitly presented and praised, only to be undercut when it is sacrificed to his commercial desires” (Scott 23). Like merchandise, film distribution occurs at a global scale. Part of Gump’s success lies in how his ideas apply internationally. He possesses the kind of innocence that people all over the world craved against a backdrop of global conflict that was ever-increasing. On Feb. 18, 1994, F-16 Viper aircraft attacked and downed four Serbian Galeb aircraft over Bosnia-Herzegovina (“F-16 Viper”). International relations have never been simple and straightforward. But Gump as a cultural icon, somehow became the ambassador of simplicity and quickly went rival around the globe. It is not just about listening to your mama but also about believing in and upholding virtue.

From Terminator to Avatar, Cameron seemed to have figured out the fast track to success. Beyond their mass-market appeal, impressive visuals, predictable characters, and surface-level storytelling, these films capture aspects of the public’s current experiences and ideological states (Rosenfeld 1). It has a theme of crisis, as the planet was under threat. The film may remind people of environmental disasters such as that in Kenya which killed hundreds (“Kenya Oil Blaze”). Amazing graphics are essential but having a theme that all people can relate to is even more important.  Environment protection is not, of course, the core theme. It is about upholding justice. Moreover, the characters in the film are designed in a way that almost guarantees the smooth transition into cultural icons—they are practically figurines themselves.

Avatar tells the story of a human rebel, which, again just like with Gump, is something that perhaps would not happen as frequent as in the real world. They are both lovely stories and both include a vision that serves as a way out of the current political, social, and environmental conundrums.

 

 

Works Cited

“Avatar (2009) Plot Summary.” Moviemistakes.com,  www.moviemistakes.com/film8157/plot.

Accessed 16 Nov. 2020.

“F-16 Viper.” Aviationtrivia.org, https://www.aviationtrivia.org/f-16. Accessed 16 Nov.

2020.

“Kenya oil blaze death toll rises to 111.” Abc.net.au, 1 Feb. 2009, www.abc.net.au/news/2009-

02-01/kenya-oil-blaze-death-toll-rises-to-111/279578. Accessed 16 Nov. 2020.

Rosenfeld, Kimberly N. “Terminator to Avatar: A postmodern shift.” Jump Cut: A Review of

Contemporary Media, no. 52, 2010, pp. 1-14.

Scott, Steven D. “Like a box of chocolates”: Forrest Gump and postmodernism.” Literature/film

Quarterly, vol. 29, no. 1, 2001, pp. 23-31.