Hanks for the Memories

Forrest Gump (1994):
What’s It About?: Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) is a simpleton from Alabama, who unwittingly finds himself involved in many cultural touchstones from the 50’s through the 70’s, all for the love of one girl (Robin Wright).
How Good Is It?: It’s good. Some would say really good, and they are probably mostly right. Although there are a few unconvincing moments and effects (John Lennon, although to be fair, many of the manipulation effects get a little more obvious with each view), as well as some sequences that really just don’t work (the running), much of the film does shine as a sweet, wholly enjoyable baby boomer fantasy. It feels slight, but that’s going to happen with a ground-level movie about how precious life is.
Was it Best Picture?: This is one of the biggest fights in recent Oscar history, from a hindsight view. My generation was all about Pulp Fiction, whereas my parents were all over Forrest Gump. Then there’s the current #2 on the imdb, The Shawshank Redemption. Pulp Fiction, for all its excellence, was too divisive, with a vulgar and violent script, which turned off the elder voters. But those same people loved Forrest Gump because it spoke to their generation, with compatable excellence. So, did they make the right choice? No. Because Shawshank should have won over both of them, and probably would have satisfied both groups, to an extent. But either way they voted, some group was not gonna be happy.