I absolutely hate Jenny the more times I've watched this movie.
-
Picnic10 — 9 years ago(June 05, 2016 04:17 AM)
What happens with girls like Jennyin real life is that an older man, possibly in a well paid job but lacking moral fibre and substance himself, will give some approximation of love. Possibly some material comfort by default but the man doesn't actually share her needs. The very best fit for Jenny would be Forrest but he doesn't carry enough status or 'devil may care' attitude in 'normal' society's eyes for her to feel that he would be her Prince Charming. As a result, like maybe 95% of people, she never allows herself to be sincerely charmed by the sincerely charming which Forrest is. Forrest Gump may look like an anti-liberal movie but it is also anti-conservative. Forrest is really a kind of revolutionary in conservative clothing - he uses his guise of naivety to break down prejudice on the basis of race, disability, yet few ever really do much for him. He is Jesus-like (please watch the Peter Sellars film 'Being There' as a kind of precursor to Forrest Gump). He's unfairly underestimated or demeaned time and time again, even by Lt Dan whose life he saved. In the modern world, he is a sacrificial lamb - true happiness can never come his way because that would depend on the direction of the world truly valuing, nurturing and rewarding local, homespun, values. The cruel irony is that he has wisdom yet noone except the dying like his mother and Jenny has had their own egos weakened enough in to a position of no return to truly want to see it. There are real Forrests, of ALL intellects (damn that emotional intellect doesn't count to so many) in all places but probably mostly where technology has been given priority over face to face kindness. Some will kill themselves, even more will feel that society is wishing them dead each day, at the same time as 'society' ceases to truly be worthy of the name and even at the same time as some people call these Forrests 'legends'.
-
purplenad2004 — 9 years ago(June 06, 2016 04:33 PM)
Actually, Forrest's mother seemed to always believe in him which is why when they were walking home and people were staring at him because of his braces, she told him to not let anyone tell him they're better than him. She then pushes for him to be able to go to public school instead of being thrown into a special school. On her deathbed, she was mainly giving him some wisdom to help him see that he was capable of living on without her.
-
RomanceNovelist — 9 years ago(December 13, 2016 08:05 PM)
The final scene wasn't about Jenny, it was about the goodness of Forrest, who touched every life he came into contact with. Yet the person who touched his life was the most and had the most impact on him was the most flawed and unlikeable character in the movie. IMHO, Forrest deserved better. Jenny was tragic, but she was aware of how much she hurt Forrest over the years, and even denied him the first five years of life with his "son" (who I'm assuming she sired with someone else then brought him to forrest when she realized she was going to die.
The statement below is false.
The statement above is true. -
kstenbch — 9 years ago(December 26, 2016 10:14 PM)
Adolescence is traumatic, for most people, and the character of Jenny, her childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood is an absolute personification of that trauma. I saw this movie when it came out, and I felt sorry for her. It was only later in life that I thought that she was mean to Forrest, perhaps crueler than those who call him stupid and treat him dismissively. Jenny finally getting her life together was her growing up, as most people do. Until she grew up, she was never going to be able to appreciate Forrest and their relationship. As for Lt. Dan, I agree that he ends up being the antithesis of the conservative good soldier, when he realizes that Forrest saved his life, and that the only way to repay him is to treat Forrest the way he [Forrest] wants to be treated, it is actually a validation of empathy and liberalism. It can be difficult to see these things in this movie, but then I'm a History and English Teacher. I see the flaws in this movie, and to me it's symbolic of people. We're not perfect either. Some people never grow up, and some have real traumas in their pasts that slow the process. . . .
-
zdemnek — 9 years ago(July 05, 2016 12:44 PM)
Assuming people are disgusting and horrible based on 1 opinion. That seems like something a disgusting and horrible person would do.
Slave: Pharao Bender it hurts when i breath!
Bender: Then what do you think you should stop doing? -
tmaj48 — 9 years ago(April 11, 2016 05:35 PM)
Forrest loved Jenny because she was the first person, aside from his mother, who was kind and friendly to him, unlike all the other kids in his town, who went out of their way to be nasty to him. For all the abuse she was going through, she still showed some decency, instead of taking out her unhappiness on him. Why not save your hate for the kids who bullied him?
I'm not crying, you fool, I'm laughing!
Hewwo. -
-
matty-48 — 9 years ago(May 15, 2016 06:56 AM)
I feel sorry for her. Her self esteem was so low from years of abuse. She tried to pacify those feelings with drugs. She ran to abusive partners similar to her father.
She was on a much different journey than Forrest in her life. It was neither parties' fault that their journeys did not join together until later on.
There was no therapy or help back then for childhood sexual abuse. Nobody cared. I feel so bad that she did not find happiness until it was too late. -
purplenad2004 — 9 years ago(June 06, 2016 04:48 PM)
I'm like others who've gone back and forth with her but this is the best summary for Forrest and Jenny. People always have to have someone to blame but the real blame lies with Jenny's father and then you can go back to what made him a sicko. I agree that the fact that there was no help back then for abuse and no one seemed to care or at least they didn't know how to help, Jenny dealt with the trauma by continuing self-destructive actions. She had bias towards Forrest because he was slow but her main problem with him is that she didn't know how to receive love which he tried to give her. She also may have thought she wasn't good enough for Forrest, if you notice, she's never shown to interact with his mother.
-
evbug53 — 9 years ago(May 20, 2016 12:53 PM)
I believe Jenny was a character made for us to love to hate. I found myself pulling for her to find her way but yet I was like grow up and act like you have some common sense. Her upbringing makes you pity her and her choices as an adult make you loathe her.
-
FrodoPotter — 9 years ago(May 31, 2016 07:37 AM)
I have been back and forth on this matter. Used to kind of like her. Then started to hate her for the way she was using Forrest. But now I am at the point that I feel very sorry for Jenny who is clearly traumatised and has had a very rough life from the start in which she could not get herself to open up for true love like Forrest would have given her.
-
MisterSky — 9 years ago(June 30, 2016 03:58 PM)
She gave her son and Forrest AIDS. beep her. She was the worst thing to happen to him from the beginning to the very beep end.
I'm a great judge of character, why would you feel bad for people that work with me or live around where I do? I treat those that deserve respect with respect and can easily figure out when someone is beep putrid on the inside, much like Jenny. It wasn't just a physical thing either with her disease she was also mental as beep on the inside.
Such a 1 dimensional character honestly. I'm sure most can agree her death was bitter sweet. -
FrodoPotter — 9 years ago(July 23, 2016 07:30 AM)
They did not know what aids was at that time (like Jenny says: "some kind of virus, the doctors don't know what it is), and so also not that is was a STD.
And she was traumatised by sexual abuse in her childhood.
So no, I can most certainly not agree with your stupid shallow point of view. -
barbarapaulmayer — 9 years ago(September 21, 2016 03:07 AM)
But she did say that little Forrest wasnt sick - Also we dont know for sure it was AIDS, we can only assume. Also back then they knew nothing about AIDS, not where it comes from, not how it is transmitted. So it is hardly her fault.
If you are such a great judge of character why cant you emphasise with Jenny. She was repeatedly raped from a very young age on, she was traumatized and probably suffered from PTSD.
She still managed to get into college, only to be expelled from of some barely nude pictures - I get it back then this was a great deal. After that she wanted to make a career in singing, which didnt worked out that well.
She was on the bottom of society, drugs her escape mechanism. People like you telling her she is not worth being loved made it even so much worse. If you constantly beaten up by live and men around her and everyone tells her that she is worth nothing, led her down that path of destruction.
The only guy who loved her, she ran away from because she thought she wasnt worth his love. Because at that point in life she already had so low self-esteem, she couldnt believe that someone would love her.
Everything Forrest achieved basically fell into his lap, whereas Jennys live started out at the bottom of society and every attempt to escape didnt work, because of the trauma she received in her childhood.
Ive seen people like this in real life, the trauma runs so deep that you cant handle it yourself and you continue to make bad choices, but sadly back then you had no therapy or other help. Nowadays its different, but back in 60s you had to fend for yourself and either make it or die. Jenny seemed to have gotten her life back together at some point, but only on the surface. -
deashi_2000 — 9 years ago(July 05, 2016 09:41 AM)
I thought she was a lovely character - even though she beep up time and time again once she had her child she had obviously got her self together Seriously anyone the throws the slut word around when they don't like a woman is despicable You're despicable
