The Black Panther Party, Hollywood, and Popular Memory 9
might risk alienating a mass audience where lingering doubts about the Vietnam
escalation continue to reside.
No such ambiguity exists in how the film then handles the BPP. While
Forrest is not heard at the rally, he is seen by Jenny, from whom he has been
separated following her disappearance into the dark corridors of the
counterculture. The two embrace in the reflecting pool of the Memorial to the
applause of the gathered multitude. Later that evening as the two walk arm in
arm through the pitched tents of the protesters, Forrest remarks that everything
in his life is right again, for he and Jenny belong together like peas and carrots.
This restoration of Forrest’s imagined family is disrupted in the next
scene when Jenny takes Forrest to a meeting of the BPP. Initially, we see Forrest
looking out a window on the city of Washington, but a Panther immediately
obstructs the view by pulling down a shade on which are placed pictures of such
Panther leaders as Elridge Cleaver. The obscuring of the natural light by the
Panther-decorated shade seems to suggest that those who follow the Panthers
have had their perception obstructed by false consciousness. As two Panthers:
(Kevin Davis and Michael Jace) begin to verbally harangue Forrest with Panther
ideology, Jenny intervenes to assure her black compatriots that despite his
military uniform Forrest is a fiiend. It is worth noting that Jenny, the white
woman, is the only female privileged to appear in the foreground and be given
the gift of a voice. Afiican-American women may be seen in the background
carrying out such gender specific tasks as making coffee and organizing papers.
Amid a room decorated with Panther slogans, placards, and posters,
Forrest continues to be the subject of a verbal tirade by the Panthers, who inform
the soldier that they armed themselves to prevent the white man fi-om raping
their women, killing their leaders, and brutalizing the black community, ^^^ile
the Panthers are explaining to Forrest the imperialistic and racist nature of the
Vietnam War, Forrest notices that one of the Panther’s shaggy-haired white
allies is engaged in a heated discussion with Jenny. As the conversation
intensifies, the young man slaps Jenny. While the Panthers, who have been
extolling their concern for social injustice, refuse to lift a finger in support of
Jenny, her champion Forrest is quick to act. Forrest tackles Jenny’s assailant,
and the two men shatter a table containing Panther propaganda. Forrest proceeds
to pummel the man, who is left bleeding, dazed, and angry. Jenny intervenes,
explaining that her assailant is her boyfiiend Wesley, who is also president of
the Berkeley chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). Portraying
Wesley as an abusive boyfriend also allows director Zemeckis to discredit
another progressive movement from the 1960s.
Forrest is then unceremoniously shown the door by the Panthers, and
the viewer observes a dilapidated graffiti-strewn hallway, negating the positive
image the Panthers enjoyed in the black community. As he departs, Forrest turns
to the Panthers and offers an apology of sorts, proclaiming, ‘T’m sorry I had to
fight in the middle of your Black Panther party.”^® Forrest, ever the honest