1. Movies: Part II
By Katie Southers, Kate Thomas, Alison Hassett, CJ Sheppard, and Hunter

2. Forrest Gump
Katie Southers

3. History in Forrest Gump
Watergate Scandal
In the movie Forrest spots lights in a hotel across the street and complains to a hotel clerk that the lights are bothering him
It was the Nixon administration breaking into the Democratic Party's National Committee Offices on June 17, 1972 to gain insight on their upcoming campaign
The next scene shows Nixon’s resignation speech and makes it seem that Forrest was the reason the scandal became known
In reality it was the security guard Frank Willis that instigated an investigation
Watergate.info. (2008). Watergate: The scandal that Brought Down Richard Nixon. Retrieved May 22, 2008 from
Katie Southers

4. Other History in Forrest Gump
Elvis - Forrest’s mother ran a boarding house. One of the tenants was a young singer/guitar player. Forrest twisted his hips to the music. The next scene shows Elvis on TV using Forrest’s moves. This scenario is fictionalized.
Elvis Presley Enterprises. (1996). Elvis Presley. Retrieved May 22, 2008 from
Integration of the University of Alabama - Forrest attends the University of Alabama on a football scholarship. During the Integration of the University in 1963, Forrest picked up a book of one of the African American students after they were allowed into the University. In reality Governor George Wallace blocked the building and did not let African Americans enter. President JFK sent troops to the University and the students were admitted.
(2008). University of Alabama. Retrieved May 28, 2008, from Wikipedia Web site:
Katie Southers

5. History in Forrest Gump Cont.
Vietnam
Forrest enlists in the army after college and soon is shipped to Vietnam after his basic training
Forrest writes to Jenny describing all the fighting in Vietnam
While Forrest is in Vietnam, he is in a battle and saves his platoon from Napalm but gets shot in the buttock
The actual war caused a lot of causalities and some died from their own Napalm bombs
Simkin, J (2008). Chemical Biological Warfare. Retrieved May 24, 2008, from Spartacus Educational Web site:
Katie Southers

6. The Psyche of Forrest Gump
Companionate Love- The constant and persistent love that Forrest feels for Jenny even though she does him wrong at several times
Mere Exposure Effect- the fact that Forrest was exposed to Jenny so much as a child that he naturally formed a liking towards her
Altruism- The unselfish regard for the welfare of others as Forrest exudes toward everyone
Intelligence- the mental quality to learn from experiences, solve problems, and use knowledge. Forrest is considered a man of low intelligence due to his inability to recognize the severity of certain situations
Stanford-Binet IQ Test- the scale used to measure Forrest’s intelligence
Mental Age- the chronological age that corresponds to the intelligence
Gerring, R (2002).Glossary. Retrieved May 22, 2008, from

7. Red Dawn
Kate Thomas

8. The setting of Red Dawn occurred during the time of the Cold War and the Red Scare.
The Cold War began after the US used nuclear war technology without worrying about the possible outcomes. The US then decided to write up a treaty that would prohibit the use of nuclear warfare, but the Soviets were worried about the intentions of the US and had major trust issues. One of the most prominent themes of the movie was the race for technological power. This is depicted in the movie through the alliance between the Soviet Union, Nicaragua, and Cuba, and their involvement in the Cuban Missile Crisis. Throughout the movie there is always a sense of a “race” occurring for overall power and advancement in nuclear technology.
Kate Thomas

9. The Red Scare occurred when people began to believe that a communist form of government would begin to form in the US. This is associated with McCarthyism which was a movement led my John McCarthy to weed out all communist or sympathy communists and put them into jail. This was depicted in the majority of the movie because as the Soviets and the Cubans invaded the US, they were trying to slowly lead the US into a communist nation. This fear of communism is the main reason the high school teens ran into the forest in order to protect and build their own defenses. During the movie, one of their own turns them in, furthermore intensifying the trust issues that were present at the time.
Kate Thomas

10. The Psyche of Red Dawn
Conformity- the ability for people to assimilate to the other behaviors, attitudes, and values of those in a group
Instincts- The Wolverines struggle to survive in the wild, but trusting their preprogrammed tendencies, they end up successful
Aggression- the building of their own guerrilla warfare that they release their own frustrations and harm to the communists.

11. Psyche Of Red Dawn Cont.
In-Group- the ability for the teenagers to identify themselves as Wolverines to form a unified pact
Group polarization- the tendency for the members to attack the Soviets when pushed by the stranded US Air Force Captain
Flight or Fight Response- the reason that the remaining men chose to fight the Soviets rather then run away because they were passionate about their cause.
Gerring, R (2002).Glossary. Retrieved May 22, 2008, from

12. War Games
Kate Thomas

13. The story line of War Games focuses on a nuclear power struggle between the United States and Russia which begins a countdown to World War 3.
Kate Thomas

14. The Psyche Of War Games
Paranoia- a disturbed thought process that is triggered by anxiety or fear. This relates to the movie because US forces are paranoid about a Soviet attack so they irrationally assume that Lightman is associated
Traits- personal qualities that influence a person’s behavior such as the computer technology that David is so accustomed to using

15. Other Psyche In War Games
Self-actualization- personality psychology that refers to the person striving to realize their potential abilities and talents
Motivation- the process of starting, directing, and maintaining physical and psychological activities, such as David’s persistence to hack into the computer system
Gerring, R (2002).Glossary. Retrieved May 22, 2008, from Alison Hassett

16. Conclusion
In conclusion, many movies have a historical background. However, this historical basis is often exaggerated to increase the “wow factor” of the movie. Also, many movies deal with psychology, as psyche is the way we as humans think and behave.
Katie Southers

17. Sources
Elvis Presley Enterprises. (1996). Elvis Presley. Retrieved May 22, 2008 from
Gerring, R (2002).Glossary. Retrieved May 22, 2008, from
Simkin, J (2008). Chemical Biological Warfare. Retrieved May 24, 2008, from Spartacus Educational Web site:
Watergate.info. (2008). Watergate: The scandal that Brought Down Richard Nixon. Retrieved May 22, 2008 from
(2008). University of Alabama. Retrieved May 28, 2008, from Wikipedia Web site: