Per wiki policy, Spoilers Off applies here and all spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned.
There was an article in Fortune, so he had to have done something. He uses this as the kernel of truth to make others believe everything else.
- Think about it. Here's a guy who won the Medal of Honor and an international ping pong championship, was a cross-country runner, multi-millionaire, etc, etc, etc., more things than most normal people will do in their lives, yet no one on the bench that he talks to recognizes him (or really believes him)? Also, once we're in the present time, he doesn't do anything extraordinary anymore, nor does he do anything to show his vast wealth! As for the pictures that Jenny shows him in magazines and newspapers, I'm thinking his friends and family printed those things out to support his imagination, or whatever that is, because they see that it brings him a lot of happiness to talk about.
He naturally exaggerated many of his other memories, making them seem more incredible than they really are: for instance, thinking he ran across the United States when he just ran around the county a couple of times, or meeting Elvis when he just met a drunk hillbilly.
There is some truth to his memories. He did become a very rich man; there was an article on him in Fortune, so there was no way he didn't. He really did meet Jenny, but the truth has been distorted by his unreliable memory.
Who'd expect a mentally handicapped man to be a war hero, table tennis champion, millionaire in the shrimp industry, and cross country runner?
People with Asperger's or other high-level Autism disorders tend to have very high IQs, which doesn't apply to Forrest as his IQ is, reportedly, 75. However, he meets the basic level of intelligence and functionality(he didn't at the time due to the higher standard of 80), he's also just a simple man. It has been suggested he has a form of savant syndrome, which would account for both the apparent brilliance yet low IQ.
Forrest didn't know his father, she slept with the principal to get him into public school, and Forrest said that they got money from folks passing by. There's also a theory that men are attracted to women who remind them of their mothers. Jenny was easy, and this could be why Forrest subconsciously was in love with Jenny.
- In the background of a scene in Forrest's childhood, there is a sign on his front porch saying "Gump House, Rooms to Rent." Does this mean she was a land lady, used an Unusual Euphemism or both?
This changed greater history less than it should've. There are a few more Lennon albums, but nothing as memorable as Plastic Ono Band or Imagine note ; and while John and Paul did work together more, there were no album-length collaborations. John still died "on schedule."
- Forrest recollects that John was killed "while going to see his kid." So maybe he was just in New York, doing who-knows-what (hell, he could've been in New York meeting the other Beatles, as they were in talks at the time about a possible reunion tour or two) and was returning to his apartment when some asshole gunned him down. John's death was referenced in the film. Even if it wasn't on schedule, it was before Forrest tells his story.
- See the related WMG in Poison Oak Epileptic Trees...
- While normally depicted as a skeleton, the Grim Reaper is a fresh, sturdy set of bones, never aging. After maturing into a young man, Forest does not age either even though at least two decades pass.
- He tries to make people comfortable as they die. Thus, Don't Fear the Reaper.
- I wonder if he thought that song needed More Cowbell when he hung out with Blue Öyster Cult? He may have helped them in his years running.
This could give the movie a new message: while indulging in counter-cultural lifestyle brings no happiness, neither does a life like Forrest's. So the meaning could be that people need each other to be happy.
- Can I declare this canon?
Jenny slept around a lot. Every man she was with other than Forrest used, abused, and abandoned her. She knew that Forrest was the one guy who was gullible enough to believe her, and she knew that he had plenty of money. (There was an article on him in Fortune, so there was no way he didn't.) She didn't contact Forrest until her son was several years old and after she learned about her illness.
She may have been pregnant when she showed up at Forrest's house. We never see how long she stayed with him. The only reason she went back to him for that short time was to provide a plausible conception date. Since this is Forrest Gump we're talking about, that could be any time before she started showing.
Jenny even said that her son was "very smart" and did well in school. Intelligence is (somewhat) hereditary. It is improbable (but not impossible) that a man with an IQ of 75 could father a boy with above-average intellect.
- Forrest may have had a low IQ, but there's nothing to suggest Jenny did—Jenny grew up poor, and yet, somehow got into college, so she must have been fairly intelligent, just unfortunately prone to making bad choices.
Forrest's son also took to him quickly. Natural Father-Son instinct?
Besides, she had no reason to lie. Forrest would have taken them in gladly no matter who Forrest Jr's daddy was, and she almost certainly knew that. She grew up with him after all.
- Towards the "not Forrest's son" reasons, it could be true that Jenny was impregnated by lots of men but the only baby she kept/wanted was Forrest because he's the only guy she truly cared about.
- Yep, agreed. Jenny does not come across as the type of person who would bother to raise a child if the father were anyone else besides Forrest. It's quite easy to imagine her getting an abortion or putting the child up for adoption if she was impregnated by some random stranger.
This would explain his unusual strength (rushes several soldiers to safety under enemy fire), fast reflexes (Ping Pong), fast running (Football Team) and incredible endurance (runs the length of America for 3 years). As well as his very odd mannerisms.
Possible reasons:
- An alien impregnated his mother, causing for there to be a human/alien hybrid.
- Forrest was a humanoid alien baby given to Forrest's mother. Possibly the last of it's kind, as a refugee of a dying race.
- Forrest is an alien trapped in the form of a human baby, with it's memories wiped.
Everything said in the Alien WMG also fits here. Plus the fact he doesn't age once he ceases to be a child. That's because he never grew, there were two different Robot Forrests and Momma somehow managed to replace the first with the second without arising too much suspicions. The brackets were a temporary measure while Momma was working to fix the problem with Forrest-1's legs.
- Haley Joel Osment is v2. A.I. is the sequel to Forrest Gump.
Maybe all the X-Men are descended from that same goose!
- Not only that, she tried to hook up with some other soldiers in the war.
- And Lt. Dan was one of her "customers" before he was assigned to the jungle.
- The Dates add up very well, too. Jenny's tombstone gave her birth as July of 1945, shortly before the war in the Pacific ended. Since they were in school and left for college at the same time, it's not unreasonable to say that they are close in age, at least close enough for Mr. Gump to have conceived before being shipped out.
- Oh no, Forrest is trapped on a island! Now he's in love with Meg Ryan! Now he's a toy in some kid's bedroom! Excellent!
- Both are star football players.
- The good old boys in the barbershop must be Time Lords too, they don't age one bit.
- Perhaps traveling in the school bus TARDIS explains why Forrest never seems to age once he hits high school.