Introducing Characters - 'Forrest Gump'

 

Forrest Gump

In this opening sequence we meet the main protagonist, Forrest Gump played by Tom Hanks. The camera is drawn to Forrest by following a white feather, leading to his feet.

The mise-en-scene, including his shoes which are muddy and torn, suggests that he has been on an adventure which we later learn about through Forrest's narration. He is also wearing a suit, which implies that he is usually well dressed and likes to look smart (excluding his shoes, for the moment).

His mannerisms, while picking up the feather, show he is a gentle and thoughtful soul. Furthermore, the fact that when he picks up the feather he puts it into a book to keep safe, shows that the feather may have some sentimental meaning behind it. It also shows that he may have a story to tell.

His figure behaviour is also very slow, steady and managed. When he opens up his suitcase, the audience can see that it's very well packed and that he doesn't need a lot of physical belongings to be happy. This indicates that he does not care so much for materialistic things.

His character traits are also presented as he talks to the woman who sits down next to him; even though he does not know her, he starts to talk to her. This shows the audience that Forrest is a friendly and easy to talk to character. He also offers the woman a chocolate, but when she doesn't answer, he just carries on the conversation without it feeling uncomfortable. Lastly, he also talks about the woman's shoes and how comfortable they must be, which shows he always chooses to look on the bright side (not focusing on his own muddy and torn shoes).

To conclude, this has helped me understand that characters and their traits can be established through the following:

• music
• costume 
• props
• body language, facial expressions, figure behaviour
• the choice of camera shots and the pace of camera movement