-
Comedy film -- Forest Gump
As a comedy
film, Forest Gump confirms to almost all of the
basic criteria for the
genre:
It is amusing;
It deals with
ordinary characters in everyday situations;
Its actions conclude happily;
It
’
s attitude
towards life is basically positive.
The
film follows the life of low I.Q. Forrest Gump and
his meeting with the
love of his life
Jenny.
The film also
chronicles his accidental experiences with some of
the most
important people and events of
recent American history (from the late 1950's
through the 1980's ).
Learning Points of Clip 1
FORREST: My momma always said life was
like a box of chocolates. You never know
what you're gonna get.
braces:
矫形器
hold on:
坚持
ghost -- spook:
鬼怪；幽灵
crooked:
弯曲的；不老实的
His
back is as crooked as a politician.
name after:
按
…
命名
The boy was named after his
grandfather.
FORREST: Momma said that the Forrest
part was to remind me that sometimes we all
do things that, well, just don't make
no sense.
(don
’
t make no
sense:
没意义
)
Clip
One
EXERCISE
FORREST: Now, when I was a baby, Momma
named me
after
, General Nathan Bedford
Forrest. She said we was
him in some
way. And, what he did was, he started up this club
called the
.
They'd all dress up in their robes
and
their bedsheets and act like
or something.
They'd
even put bedsheets on their
horses and ride around. And anyway, that's how I
got
my name. Forrest Gump.
Ku
Klux Klan
（
U.S.
）三
K
党
A secret society organized
in the South after the Civil War to reassert white
supremacy
by means of terrorism.
Don't ever let anybody tell you they're
better than you, Forrest. If God intended
everybody to be the same, he'd have
given us all braces on our legs.
You're
the same as everybody else. You are no different.
Learning Points of Clip 2
dandy: (
informal
)
fine; good
Forrest: My legs are just fine and
dandy.
dangle:
悬荡，垂着摆动
Stupid is
as stupid does.
做傻事的人才是傻子。
(Gump often
says this word whenever he is asked
“
Are you
stupid?
”
.)
BOY 1: Hey... dummy!
BOY 2: Are you dumb, or just plain
stupid?
dummy:
哑巴；笨蛋
dumb:
哑的；愚蠢的
plain: (adv.) simply
Clip
Two
EXERCISE
FORREST: You know, it's funny what a
young man
. 'Cause I
don't
being born. I, I... don't
what I got for my first
Christmas and I don't
when I went on my first outdoor picnic.
But, I do
the first time I heard the
sweetest voice in the wide world.
My
momma said my back's crooked like a question mark.
These are going to make me
as straight
as an arrow.
I had never seen anything
so beautiful in my life. She was like an angel.
From that day on, we was always
together. Jenny and me was like peas and carrots.
peas and carrots
是美国家常菜的常用原料，常搭配使用。此处喻指形影不离。
I could run as the wind blows.
Encouraged by Jenny to run
away from the local bullies
(
欺凌弱小者
), Gump discovers
a remarkable talent for running, and
thereby gains admission to college, where he
becomes a football star.
Clip Three
Learning Points of Clip 3
President Kennedy:
Congratulations. How do you feel?
Forrest:
I
gotta pee.
gotta: (
slang
)
have got to
The
humor here derives from
Gump
’
s naive ignorance of
the social norms limiting
what can be
said in public about lower bodily functions, and
we get a deep pleasure
from watching
another man respond naturally to the needs of his
body.
Military Recruiter:
Congratulations, son. Have you given
any thought to your
future?(
你对未来有何打算
?)
On
graduation, Gump is recruited to fight for the
army in Vietnam. In the army he
meets
Bubba and they become best friends serving under
Lieutenant Dan.
Learning
Points of Clip 4
lieutenant:
（陆军）中尉
never take
your eye off the ball
= keep your eyes on the
ball
come natural to sb.
对某人来说轻而易举
Forrest:
For some reason,
ping pong came very natural to me.
Forrest: The
hospital
’
s people said it
made me look like a duck in
water
（
or like a duck
to water
）如鱼得水
.
destiny:
命运；定数
cripple:
跛子
freak:
畸形的人
Clip Four
Jenny returns but is unwilling to
become Gump
’
s wife and
leaves him again. Gump
responds by
going on an epic run across America.
Clear
(adv.) all the way;
completely