: The film famously opens and closes with a floating feather, symbolizing the core question of whether life is governed by a predetermined destiny or is simply "floating on a breeze".
For mainstream audiences, Forrest was a hero of accidental integrity. In an era of cynicism (grunge, Pulp Fiction , the Clinton scandals), here was a man who kept his promises to Bubba (“I got to try out every one of them recipes”), loved Jenny unconditionally, and simply out-ran every tragedy. His success was a conservative fairy tale: follow orders, don’t overthink, and you’ll end up a millionaire. Forrest Gump -1994-