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You should react to 'Apollo 13', Jen, both Tom Hanks and Gary Sinise star in it, it's an excellent film based on a true story.

Woodstock , of course ,

According to Tom Hanks, when Forrest was speaking in D.C., he said, "Sometimes when people go to Vietnam, they go home to their mommas without any legs. Sometimes they don't go home at all. That's a bad thing. That's all I have to say about that."

It's a pretty good history of the evolution of popular music from the 50's on, too. Music (and art generally) reflects the time in which it's produced, and this soundtrack is a great example.

Which is something that always bothered me. Forrest is either mentally handicap or he isn't. I don't think we would've described what he has as a form of autism even back in the 90s. What Forrest has is a bit of a mystery ailment. So we can assume he wouldn't know there's anything wrong with him let alone that his offspring would carry any issues he has. I don't believe he would know to address that. By that stage he'd accomplished so much. He was a hero veteran, a successful business owner, Guiness World Record holder. He wouldn't think lowly of himself and definitely wouldn't put that on his own son. I would think there was nothing he thought his son couldn't do even with his condition. But I guess that's whole Tropic Thunder rule. "Never go full r." I guess that's a creative decision to have him be aware of these things. It's definitely a sweet scene but it's a bit unrealistic.

That moment hits hard because he's seemingly oblivious to all the negativity throughout the movie. But at that Moment you realize he's been aware all along...and still kept his positive heart.

*There's a compilation video on KZfaq of many reactors reacting to that scene🥲*

⁠He is what would have been described in this time period as low intellect but not “mentally retarded” yes mentally retarded used to be a medical description. When he’s a child his iq was 75 but in order to join the military you have to pass an iq test and score at minimum 85. So he’s anywhere between 85-100. So he would effectively be just one standard variation below the average. It’s now referred to as mental development disorder and categorized under mild, moderate, severe and profound. The book gives more context but most would agree based on the information given he’s on the spectrum.

@@juliangrant9718 One of the major themes in the movie is how difficult it is to overcome trauma. Jenny was sexually abused by her father for years as a little girl. Lt. Dan's entirely identity had been wrapped around the idea that he should've died a war hero, only to survive as a double amputee. Forrest grew up being mocked, ostracized, and bullied all throughout his childhood until college for being "stupid." The movie makes it a point that trauma isn't something that is simply cured with a pill or a magic wand. Lt. Dan only eventually overcame his trauma after many years of living life at rock bottom, but "made his peace with God" only after he learned to accept himself as someone who had value more than only being a war hero. Jenny ultimately overcame the trauma of abuse by finally accepting Forrest into her life, but only after she first learned to accept who she was. In Jenny's case, the birth of little Forrest was the catalyst that taught her how to love when her trauma had always prevented her from accepting real love into her life and returning that love. Forrest himself had the trauma of being labeled as "stupid" bottled up his entire life, something that was **only revealed** in the scene when he asks if little Forrest was smart. That scene is important and powerful because it shows that Forrest himself was carrying this childhood trauma within him, even if he was not able to express in a way that other people would recognize it as trauma. He dealt with it by keeping it bottled up, but it was always there. Finally, people are not light switches that turn on and off. "Mentally handicapped" isn't an on/off thing, just as it should be obvious that not all smart people are equally smart or smart in the same ways, i.e. no one would call Monet dumb because he couldn't do math like Issac Newton, or call Einstein dumb because he couldn't compose music like Beethoven. Forrest Gump is a movie about the power of accepting people as who they are and loving them without judgement. It says a lot that the comments of literally every Forrest Gump reaction is always full of people who are less than understanding and embracing being judgmental, contrary to the very reason why this movie is so moving and powerful.

One of the first reactors I've seen that understood Jenny. Everyone always hates Jenny as if her choices are malicious in nature, rather than being a product of trauma.

@@AnActualDuck I didn't hate her, but I was angry when she told him that he didn't know what love is. That was probably the most cruel and hurtful things someone could say to him. Seems to me he knew it better than anyone in the film. I also don't believe she would ever have told Forrest about his son if she weren't dying. She was making provision for little Forrest.

@@richardburdon3241 Those two things are still just reflective of her abuse. I won't bore you by breaking down all the things she's done, all I'll say is she makes poor choices through out the film, she makes selfish choices, and outright detrimental ones. Having trauma does not make those choices suddenly all okay, however it helps us sympathize with her, and contextualize the choices she's made. For me it easily moves her out of the category of "bad person" in to "extremely flawed." It's nearly impossible to forgive someone who is outright just a bad person, but much easier to forgive a person who is flawed, and forgiveness is what I feel she deserves.

Gary Sinise.

And the rosary he's wearing in the movie, was worn by his brother-in-law who served as a medic in the Vietnam War.

Thanks! I didn't realize Jenny's character was so misunderstood. I hope people can try to have some empathy for abuse survivors ♡

@@jenmurrayxo I've watched at least a couple dozen reactions to this, and while a few reactors do get it eventually, I think you're the first to get it from the start and hold onto it thru the rest of the movie. Nice!

@@flarrfan Yeah, this was a breath of fresh air. It was also a very good edit. So many people just TRASH her, and then get very angry watching her go through her own private misery. Jen and Jenny turned out to be the ultimate FG reaction. The fact that she knew all of the non-Canadian culture references is the cherry on top.

I think the actual response to her was.. yeah she's been through it, but having scars is not an excuse to treat someone like they don't deserve.

Jen is so sweet that she recognized Jenny's trauma, but then when Lt Dan said he spent most of his time "exercising his arms," she thought "flipping the bird."

Yes! She had to learn how to love before she could be loved.

I think people being angry with her actions are valid too. You can understand someone's background and still be pissed by what they choose to do. I still get mad at Jenny but I do get why she acts the way she does

@@diskodreamscape 100% agree. I also get really angry at blind people that bump into furniture. I GET why they do it, but it still makes me mad. You can understand someones disability and still be pissed off at them for being disabled.

When I first saw this film on TV I was so young I didn't understand that Jenny's father had abused her - or at least not the nature of the abuse.

@@alexwright4930 Basically the same here, saw it in cinemas when it released. Though I did somewhat understand the abuse I was too young to understand what it does to you and the mental scars it leaves behind and always saw Jenny as an asshole for how she treated Forrest, seeing the movie again as an adult really puts the whole movie in a new light. Edit: also mental health wasn't really something that people talked about, it almost felt like a taboo subject.

Thank you! I think childhood abuse trauma is often misunderstood and underestimated in how it affects people for their entire lives

@@jenmurrayxo Very true, Jen. We should all cut Jenny some slack. And when you consider how much abuse Forrest lived with (though not from a parent), his good-natured sweetness is all the more admirable.

Agree completely of course. Jenny's childhood trauma is one of the major underlying themes of this film... even in this comment section many well-meaning people don't seem to get it. But I knew you would understand, Jen. @@jenmurrayxo

I used to think Jenny was awful for not telling Forrest about the boy but then you remember that he was off running the entire time so she never had the opportunity to tell him!

The same people love Will Hunting thats pretty hypocritical. They are two sides of the same coin.

Everyone gets jenny, doesn't mean they have to like her lol.

👆🏼 100% this. I've seen a couple reactors really hate on her and it bugged the hell out of me. Zemeckis and the screenwriter (Roth?) should get a lot more credit for being ahead of the times in bringing a character like Jenny, and Robin Wright crushed the role. 🤘🏼

​@@charg1nmalaz0r51Clearly you don't, because if you did, you wouldn't make a comment like this. You're talking about a character who was a victim of SA as a child, in a time before people went to therapy, before it was okay to talk about basically in ANY way. So she had to figure it out on her own and took the wrong roads to try to deal with it before she found the right one. But she did, and found her redemption arc. If you don't see that, you're a tool. Or you just don't like women. Either way, your comment is shitty.

Excuse you Sir, I believe it's pronounced 'JAEEH-NAAEEEEY'.

I know the movie, and as far as i'm concerned, Jenny is the bad guy. A broken girl abusing the love of a simple, but pure guy. Is there a good way to see her?

Every single one misses the football coach.

Yes and the Black Panther one too among others like you said. Plus Jen recognized the music too. The football coach was Bear Bryant which not everyone knows, especially if you aren't a sports fan.

A lot of YT reactors are young, and most of them don't know much about society before the 90's. SMH

​@@treetopjones737 True. Not like this reactor, Jen, who is obviously a very old lady who looks like she was born around the 1950s. How else could she possibly know anything about Watergate, the Black Panther movement, the Reagan and Ford assassination attempts... lol

@@ceevio_art She could be a gen Y near the gen Xers. Probably the last generation that would know about some of these things. Poor Gen Z has been brainwashed by woke nonsense and modern cultural rubbish like Cardi B, modern art, feminism, trans rights, BLM etc.

Sorry for you loss 🌹

I've seen a very few other reactors who eventually get it, but not right from the start and all the way thru as here. When she said that last time "I'm not running", almost nobody gets it, but it's true because "you got to put the past behind you before you can move on"...

When he turns up reminding how he promised Forrest he'd be skipper of his ship if he succeeded, he's actually reaching out for help.

Thank you for this history lesson. I've often wanted to fill in reaction video with the history behind each scene and appreciate you doing this one since it is not one I have covered.

So glad you enjoyed ☺️👍

I made the same comment on the wife back when the movie first came out. Most people thought I was reading too much into it, but I know I wasn't. It's nice to see other people that catch it.

@@damnimcooltom1 Knowing a LOT of veterans who became extremely racist against the countries where they fought, often as a mental preservation tactic or just from being a source of stress/trauma, it is HUGE that Lt Dan marries an Asian woman. Between her and the scene where Dan swims off, he shows so much growth and healing in extremely short moments.

I was thinking the same. Most reactors get angry at Jenny, but Jenny thinks she's protecting Forrest from the harmful effects of her trauma. She's a good person, but damaged.

Yes! Finally a reactor got the significance of Jenny saying "YOU dont want to marry ME." She knows/thinks Forrest deserves better than her, not the other way like most people cant understand

Jen: I don’t think Jenny knows how to love. Me: Yes! Yes! Bonus moment: notices Ford on TV in the background, and says, “Squeaky Fromme?” LOL, I need to hang out with Jen. 🤣

@@kjmorley Amazing how few reactors get the John Lennon song reference (that was the most literate of the late night hosts, Dick Cavett) or even know what Watergate is. Many don't even include the presidents and historical footnotes in their edits :( The landmark use of CGI in this is great...too bad it's been so misused so often since. Still waiting for someone to recognize Bear Bryant though...

Not knowing how to love isn't the same as keeping his kid away from him. If she wasn't dying, would she have ever told him?

@@danday9697 He started running when she left, and she sent him the note to come see her as soon as he returned.

@@kjmorley Some younger folks can't visualize a time without cell phones and instant communication...

I had no idea Jenny's character was so misunderstood. I hope people can try to have empathy for abuse survivors ♡

​​@@jenmurrayxoI think one of the many themes of this movie is, imo, the contrast between Forrest and Jenny, and the life they were able to build for themselves. Jenny was endowed with many natural gifta, but she was abused and trampled on by her father. Forrest was obviously starting behind the rest, but his mother nurtured him and built him up so much that he could do anything. It's not all on you. And I think when Jenny found out she was to become a mom, she realized it, and she wanted to give her son the parent she didn't have and maybe she couldn't be.

Frigg, Jen is the ONLY Forrest Gump reactor who knew to reference Squeaky Fromme. Congrats on her and her history teacher!

I'm glad you're enjoying my videos! :)

I knew a "Jenny" so I understood her.

Thank you! ♡

I had no idea Jenny's character was so misunderstood. I hope people can try to have empathy for abuse survivors ♡

While yes she was abused that doesn't mean she can treat Forrest like garbage.

@@Beardo2517 When did she ever treat Forrest like garbage?.. sure she was cold in some areas, and subjects but she never treated him badly, and everyone has their own demons. As for abused people, often those who get hurt, go on to hurt others... as they say. Personally I really do find it weird how alot of people seem to be unable to recognize the nuances around Jennys life. I saw this film as an 18 year old, and I was from a family who had never had any interaction or experience with things or people like her and what she had gone through, and immediately recognized the internal mental problems with Jenny and had nothing but empathy and sympathy for her. Often makes me wonder about the state of people now days honestly... although really, its more a case that the larger share of people who tend to be reactors, tend to be of a type who dont seem to get Jennys perspective. But it is nice to see a number who do, and they arent as small in numbers as it seems.

@@Beardo2517 Jenny never treats Forrest like garbage. She knows exactly one strategy to get through life -- run away. It's what she tells Forrest to do, and it's what she does herself every single time his love gets too evident. She hates herself because of the trauma she was put through, so she can't allow herself to be given pure love with no malicious intent behind it because she doesn't feel like she deserves it, and even feels as though her "impurity" will somehow ruin Forrest. She thinks she's protecting him by keeping herself away. It's only once she's forced to gain some perspective on her own life through motherhood that she finally can see her own situation, and Forrest's love, for what they truly are.

@@Dylan_Platt ya and that's treating him like trash.

Thanks! I try :)

Now I'm kicking myself and wondering how I didn't pick up on that after watching this movie so many times. Excellent point.

I agree, I didn't realize Jenny's character was so misunderstood. I hope people can try to have some empathy for abuse survivors ♡

I know I haven't seen this. but this is the same with upham in saving private ryan how he get such much hate

Yes, it's fairly typical trauma induced behavior.

I had no idea Jenny's character was so misunderstood. I hope people can try to have empathy for abuse survivors ♡

@@jenmurrayxo She really is. So many people think that she thinks he's not good enough for her, when it's the other way round. They also think Forrest is the example of succeeding by being God-fearing and patriotic (he's neither: he just does what he's told. By anyone), whereas Jenny exemplifies what goes wrong if you disobey the rules, totally skipping over the abuse aspect. She thinks she's a jinx, and forces him to "run" away from her for his own good, whereas she is always the one running. Then they think she marries him cos he's now a millionaire. He was already a millionaire when Forrest Jr was conceived. My theory is that Forrest Jr has shown her it's OK to love, she's in a stable place, and she finally feels it's OK to accept Forrest's love. That being said, no-one ever talks about Jenny's sisters, who Forrest says was "kissed and touched" by the father as well, but are never seen. And only Jenny goes to live with the grandmother. I worry he killed them. I did a whole video explaining everything on my podcast channel.

And now you've become the only reactor who understood that Jenny's "you don't wanna marry me" line is literal.

Just finished. Fantastic reaction! And yeah, as you wrote, I think he did process a lot by running, but he only learned to do so because Jenny told him to. Although the film is really funny, unlike Shawshank (which lost out to Gump at the Oscars), which is considered a tragedy but is ultimately about hope, Forrest IS a tragedy. The problem is a lot of people view Forrest's life through their own eyes, with their own desires. Forrest became a millionaire, but never really cared about it. He gave most of his money away and helped out a lot for free. All he ever cared about of his own free will without people telling him to was Jenny. Once she passes, all he has left is Forrest Jr, as his son, as part of Jenny, and of the product of their getting together. When he tells Forrest Jr he'll be there when he gets back from school at the end and sits down, I believe he'll stay there all day. Forrest Jr is all he has left of what matters to him. As far as symbolism, Forrest is the feather (floating with no real purpose) and Jenny is the house (her pain) and the tree (her inability to move away from the pain, rooted to the ground). Forrest has the house bulldozed to release the pain, and, as he leaves the grave under the tree, a flock of birds fly out of the tree, presumably with Jenny, "far, far away".

For some young people, we have to explain about Nixon's "ping pong policy" thing.

@@treetopjones737 Oh, it's much worse than that. Many young people don't even recognize any of the presidents at all. What struck me about Jen is that when they mentioned the assassination attempt on Gerald Ford, she knew that it was Squeaky Fromme. Now, that's impressive. I honestly think Canadians know more about American history than Americans do.

Btw..i do HIGHLY recommend the book.. some events are represented but entirely different. Gump goes to college but flunks out (he's actually a mathematical genius but can't pass remedial English). Bubba is a huge white Irish guy. Lt Dan was a tank commander. And Gump has varied careers. From astronaut, actor and chess champion. There's also a sequel novel that goes through the 80s and early 90s.. but the books are clearly played more as broad comedy. Forest even meets Tom Hanks in the sequel. I always say i do love the very first line of the sequel, "never let them make a movie of your life. They always screw it up." Lol

That was pretty cool. Thanks for sharing that information.