Forrest Gump: The Social Model Of Disability

Have you ever seen or met someone with a physical handicap disability? Do you know what it’s like for a person who has a physical form of disability? You may or may not. Randolph Bourne, in “The Handicapped” will be the first to tell you that it is quite the challenge. He has a form of disability that makes him look very different compared to other people. His face is deformed, he is oddly short, he’s forced to walk funny, and is laughed at for being handicapped. Randolph Bourne physical handicaps have been a hindrance on his life because he must work harder to overcome adversity, he is faced with discriminatory behavior from other people, and he had a rough childhood due to his handicaps.

In Nancy Mairs’ article for The New York Times, “Disability”, published in 1987, she expresses her distaste with the media's representation of handicapped people. Mairs, who struggled with multiple sclerosis herself, clearly and sharply conveys this disgust by stating, “I’m not, for instance, Ms. MS, a walking, talking embodiment of a chronic incurable degenerative disease.” (Mairs 13), and that she is actually, “the advertisers’ dream: Ms. Great American Consumer. And yet the advertisers, who determine nowadays who will get represented publicly and who will not, deny the existence of me and my kind absolutely”(Mairs 14). Mairs is greatly upset that disabled people are defined by their disabilities and, therefore, are underrepresented in public media. This might lead to one asking themselves, but why are they? And the answer, according to Mairs, is quite simple, “To depict disabled people in the ordinary activities of daily life is to admit that there is something ordinary about disability itself, that it may enter anybody’s life”(Mairs 14). Mairs concludes by pointing out how this effacement could have dangerous consequences for both disabled people and, as she called everyone else, TAPs (Temporarily Abled Persons) alike. Treating disabilities as an abnormal characteristic (as opposed to viewing them “as a normal characteristic, one that complicates but does not ruin human existence” (Mairs 15)) can cause one of these repercussions, as it makes the

Forrest Gump is an All American, fan favorite, award-winning film directed by Robert Zemeckis that was released on July 6, 1994. Tom Hanks stars as the main character, Forrest Gump. The award-winning movie’s genre is best described as an epic romantic comedy drama. Many rhetorical appeals such as ethos, pathos, and logos are made throughout the entire movie. Pathos is used the most effecting the audiences’ emotions from beginning to end. The film is based on Forrest Gump’s life, in which he narrated as a historical story throughout the movie. Forrest Gump was born and raised in Greenbow, Alabama by his single mother. Forrest was mentally and physically handicapped. He had to wear medal braces on both of his legs. He also faced many

In the movie Forrest Gump, Tom Hanks portrays a character that was diagnosed with a low IQ score of 75 as a young child. Throughout the movie the character Forrest Gump is sought of as having a disadvantaged life because of his low IQ and his mild intellectual behavior disorder however, his actions proved that he is far from disadvantaged and was able to live not only a normal life but an adventurous one. Despite suffering from his mild form of intellectual behavior disorder Forrest Gump did not have many friends growing up however, he was able to have a few lifelong friends and was able to have an impact on not only his country but the community in which he grew up in. The disability was only addressed at the beginning of

At the beginning of the movie, young Forrest had to wear braces on his legs because his doctor discovered he was physically handicapped. His mother discovered he had an intellectual disability. Intellectual disability is defined as a significantly below-average intellectual function with limitations in areas of adaptive behavior such as self-care and social skills, originally before age 18(Sigelman &Rider). Forest had an IQ of 75 which made his

In the movie, Forrest Gump, Tom Hanks plays an intellectually handicapped man named Forrest Gump from Greenbow, Alabama. The majority of the movie took place through his recounting of his memories from early childhood all the way up to his current age. This paper looks at Forrest’s ability to communicate, his diligence in a relationship, ability to cope, and his self-perception.

“The medical model is presented as viewing disability as a problem of the person, directly caused by disease, trauma, or other health condition which therefore requires sustained medical care provided in the form of individual treatment by professionals. In the medical model, management of the disability is aimed at a "cure," or the individual's adjustment and behavioral change that would lead to an "almost-cure" or effective cure.” (Langtree, 2012)

Forrest Gump is a character who is intellectually disabled or as said in the movie “Retarded.” One of the first signs of his disability was in the scene when Forrest’s mother and he were in the principal’s office talking about Forrest IQ test scores (Zemeckis and Roth, 1994). He was below the average range and was suggested to go into special classes or into a special school itself. Forrest’s mother refused to let forest get the easy way out. He was unable to reach the expected goals at school just as one of the symptoms was recognized. Another example of his disability was his unstable legs. Forrest was put into leg supports to help him walk because of his condition he had trouble with some motor abilities. As well as being below the IQ range, Forrest lacked in language development and speech. He also lacked in social skills. Throughout the movie, Forrest didn’t have many friends. The girl he loved believed he/7 was unable to understand the feeling of love because of his disability. In another scene, Forrest was sent to Vietnam to serve his country in the war. While there, a bombing attack occurred. Forrest ran straight into a bombed forest to rescue other soldier’s (Zemeckis and Roth, 1994). His disability made him impulsive solider and lacked the acknowledgement of danger. Forrest was shot in the butt while doing so and thought it was a bug that bit him. Also in the movie, Forrest was recognized for his duty in the war he met the president and pulled down his pants on television, in the white house (Zemeckis and Roth, 1994). Because his Intellectual disability made it difficult for him to understand social roles and norms in

My first subject is Forrest Gump, in analyzing Forrest we understand how he correlates toward the psychoanalytic theory (p. 35-38). Since Forrest has an IQ of 75, which is reflected as intellectually disabled or formerly called mental retarded. Forrest is incapable of preserving the necessary abilities that require language, comprehension, mathematics, and social communication. Forrest has overcome the actuality that he’s distinguished and classified as intellectually disabled, with the encouragement of his mother, Forrest has developed a sense of self (p. 335-336 & 339-340).

In a debate between the social construction of disability and the medical model, I would side with social construction of disability. Prior to reading Chapter 3 of Rethinking Disability, I would have sided with the medical model since that was the only approach I was made aware of. In all of my studies, this is the method that I was shown. I was taught that if a student presents symptoms of having a disability, the teacher would include the parents and the student to undergo all of the steps such as, the examination, diagnosis, prescription, and follow up. We are so used to this process that we do not look beyond it to analyze what this really means. As stated in the chapter, after these students are diagnosed with all these labels, society

In the chapter “Tiny Tims, Supercrips, and the End of Pity” of No Pity, Shapiro focuses on the stereotypes disabled people endure throughout their lifetime, a result of the systematic oppression of disabled and neurodivergent people. Similarly to race, gender, and sexual orientation, disabilities are a social construction (Wendell, 2) created by able-bodied, neurotypical people to uphold power. A goal of the Navigating Boston course is to acknowledge that disabilities exist in this society, and to recognize the needs of the disabled.

The disability that was presented in the movie was a head band that controlled how smart you were. The head band sends frequencies to the brain in order to rewire it making that person, not to intelligent or unintelligent, but average. The disability was created so people would not get jealous of someone else’s ability. The government used these head bands to control

Disability has appeared frequently in recent films (Byrd & Elliot, 1988), a reflection of society’s interest in the subject. These films often misrepresent disability using stereotypes. These stereotypes reinforce negative and incorrect social perceptions of, and attitudes towards,

And yet this is not a heartwarming story about a mentally retarded man. That cubbyhole is much too small and limiting for Forrest Gump. The movie is more of a meditation on our times, as seen through the eyes of a man who lacks

Forrest Gump is a complex and interesting lead character and provides a unique contrast to typical early adulthood behavior. In the film, from the time he attends college, towards the end of the film where he begins his role as a father, Forrest goes through normal events that occur in the lives of many young adults. His reaction and development is different from most however, and he goes through interesting events and experiences. This contrast between typical life events and a slower than normal development shows that some expectations about cognitive abilities may not be as important. Even those who are considered "slow" by the mainstream population can be successful and live a life full of typical life events that fall within a typical