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Research on the music and chronology of Forrest Gump
Good film music is a strong language, and it must embody two points: First, it reflects the emotional expression of the characters. The music in the play "Ah" is all music that the character A Gan likes very much. The second is to reflect the atmosphere of the environment. As long as it can achieve the above points, we cannot say that it is not good. The background music of Forrest Gump perfectly combines these two points. The music of the drama "Ah" not only shows us Ah Gan's growth experience, but also shows us the changes in the American music circle and the development of society.
Forrest Gump’s Childhood in the 1950s
In the 1950s, the United States had just emerged from the clouds of World War II, the operation of the state machinery was on track, and the economy began to develop rapidly. At this time, the young generation in the United States began to become restless and boldly questioned conservatism and tradition. Under such a situation, a group of musicians who did not want to stick to the rules emerged in the United States, and the seeds of early rock music emerged. You may still remember the young man with the guitar who stayed temporarily at Forrest's house. His name was Elvis Presley, and he was the Elvis Presley we are familiar with. He was a representative figure at that time. Under the environment at that time, his music was groundbreaking and creative, and he created a unique dance of his own (it was Gan who taught him to dance like this in the movie) When Elvis performed, we could always appreciate his "hip dance." But this put him under great pressure from public opinion. The conservative media and most parents thought his actions were very indecent, so we saw in the movie that Gan stopped in front of the department store window to watch Elvis Presley's performance. At that time, Agan's mother pulled him away with an embarrassed look on her face and said, "It's not suitable for children."
Ah Gan likes this kind of music very much. He thinks there is nothing wrong with it, and this is also the case. Not only that, Ah Gan also likes many things, including chocolate, lawn, big numbers, and JENNY, whom he met for the first time. If you like something, just like it boldly. This was the music circle in the 1950s and a portrayal of Ah Gan's childhood.
College career in the early 1960s
Compared with the 1950s, music teachers in the 1960s were more rebellious and full of angry emotions. This anger included towards society and towards Dissatisfaction with the commercialized economic system and even the emotional indifference of members of society. Ah Gan personally did not have these angers, but the playwright used realistic techniques to depict the environment and wrote the social impression of the time.
This section begins with A Gan being chased and beaten by a group of bad students. The music that sounded at this time was a theme that expressed the confusion of the young generation in the United States at that time. It had a distinct sense of rhythm. The melody was derived from the pentatonic scale. There was a sense of naivety in it, and it was also a little funny, but it was just right. Able to show the uncompromising character characteristic of Forrest Gump. It was this kind of naivety and uncompromising attitude that supported Gan through college and became an All-American football star.
"Excellent careers for excellent young men" is a famous American recruitment advertisement. The next scene shows Ah Gan being scolded in a military vehicle and meeting the friendly thick-lipped BOB. Ah Gan will be sent to Vietnam. Before he goes to Vietnam, he wants to see JENNY. JENNY performed a pornographic performance in a bar. She played naked on the stage with her guitar in her arms. The stupid Ah Gan saw it and thought her dream had come true. At this time, JENNY sang "BLOWING IN THE WIND", which is a work by a music master named BOB DYLAND and a cover version by JONE BAEZ. This song expresses JENNY's yearning for freedom and true love, which was also a pursuit of American rock music in the 1960s. But JENNY, she is still a prison bird.
In the mid-to-late 1960s in Vietnam
Sitting on a helicopter flying to Vietnam, the music and melody in my ears were relaxed and humorous, and the lyrics and song titles "FORTUNAT SON" is undoubtedly an excellent irony. For A Gan, for BOB, and for everyone on the front lines of the battlefield, what they hear is "You are the lucky ones, you are the young men of steel, and you are the future." However, the war actually brings only endless pain. No matter which side.
Meeting Lieutenant Dan for the first time, and even performing countless missions in the future, in Ah Gan’s opinion, were endless fun, and Vietnam is indeed a treasure land with beautiful environment and rich resources. Ah Gan only knows how to obey the task. In his eyes, this is a game. Therefore, music in Vietnam has always been cheerful, joyful, melodic, with overt or covert ironic lyrics, and these high-pitched sounds have been lingering in my ears.
The rain kept falling, and Ah Gan’s longing for JENNY didn’t stop either. He stayed in the tent and wrote to JENNY. With deep longing, we enjoyed “CALIFORIA DREAMING” (Dream Back to California) ). The picture depicted by the music is of a person walking under the gray sky, looking at the fallen leaves on the ground, and feeling infinite sadness in his heart. This scene is used to describe Ah Gan's longing, which is unforgettable.
Suddenly the rain stopped and the music stopped. At the same time, countless bullets were fired from the jungle in front, and the people around them fell down in response. Ah Gan's company was ambushed. Guns, detonators, cannonballs, cannonballs, thick bass pads, gloomy, terrifying, bloody... I have said before that the music in "Ah" is a personal favorite of Ah Gan. I take it back.
American music in the mid-to-late 1960s was still angry, but this anger was more of an indictment of the war. Before BOB died, the last words he said were "I want to go home..." This was also Ah Gan's complaint against the war.
The injured Ah Gan used his time to recuperate to practice table tennis, and participated in Sino-US table tennis diplomacy. The music accompanying him at this time was like table tennis, with a distinct sense of rhythm. This is another monument in the history of American music, THE DOORS. THE DOORS's music is poetic and carries the pursuit of freedom. Listening to their music, you may feel like A Gan when you first played table tennis, you have found where you belong. But this piece of music is more intended to reflect the inner world of Lieutenant Dan, who is sitting decadently aside.
The 1970s after retirement
In the 1970s, the economy developed rapidly, and people's material lives rapidly became richer. Various emerging DISCO, commercial rock, etc. became more and more complicated. The subculture has impacted the development of the music circle, causing the American music circle to gradually dilute its original taste. Many later art researchers believed that this was the degeneration of the American music scene. From this point on, film music began to tend to reflect social conditions by focusing more on portraying the characters' inner lives.
Forrest Gump won the Medal of Honor, retired and returned home. One day he was walking on the street and was taken to the stage of an anti-war rally by a group of hippies. The background music played at this time is "VOLUNTEERS". The lyrics of the song encourage people to take to the streets and participate in the hippie movement. The hippie movement was seen as a decadent movement in the worldview of the upper class. (Mainly because the government bribed motorcycle gangs and beat hippies in the street, which led to the failure of the movement. The hippies became discouraged and adopted a escapist attitude.) But the pursuit of this movement is so noble, love, peace, and freedom. So there were so many anti-war voices in society at that time.
When Ah Gan was giving a speech, he unexpectedly met JENNY again. So they traveled hand in hand as they did when they were children. JENNY told A Gan about her pioneering spiritual field in California. She also participated in the hippie movement and traveled around. "SAN FRANSISCO" is a classic American pop song that outlines the loveliness of beautiful towns on the West Coast of the United States, where peace, freedom and love are everywhere. It's so beautiful, JENNY's soul is comforted here. However, JENNY left A Gan again and continued to pursue her dream.
As the New Year begins, A-Gan meets Lieutenant Dan again, who was disabled in the war, by chance, and celebrates the New Year with him. At this time, music was less about people's pursuit of a better society and more about describing the glitz of the city, various relationships between men and women, and endless material desires. What appears on the screen is JENNY who abuses drugs, and Dan who abuses alcohol. Both of them live a dissolute and decadent life. Both of them are in so much pain that JENNY even wants to commit suicide more than once. This is also a portrayal of the United States in the 1970s and the music scene at that time.
After the 1970s
After the 1970s, the American economy and politics were on the right track, tending towards institutionalization and engineering. At this time, the voices of opposition were still constant, but from then on A-Gan spent more time in his hometown of Greenshade Town, Alabama. The rapid changes in the outside world did not have much impact on his inner world. The most prominent One of the influences is that the combination of "Bab Gan Shrimp Industry" and "a certain fruit brand" (actually Apple Computer Company) made A Gan and Dan rich. We don't have to worry, Ah Gan handled the money very well. In view of this, from this point on, the background music focuses almost entirely on depicting the characters' hearts, without paying much attention to chronology (at this time, the task of introducing chronology has been basically completed).