Episode 127: Forrest Gump (1986 Novel & 1994 Film)

 Today we’re headed to the public library where, after 1994, you could borrow a copy of both Forrest Gump the novel and Forrest Gump the movie. Plenty of people, including my first guest, did not realize that the 1994 Robert Zemeckis film began life as a book by celebrated writer Winston Groom, published in 1986. That’s a tendency credited to the positive critical and popular response the Tom Hanks movie received. In fact, if the book was translated to film verbatim, there’s a good chance it would be considered one of the wackiest movies ever made, instead of the sweeping baby-boomer epic that we got.I was so happy to collect the first part of this episode in Portsmouth, NH; it certainly provided great perspectives and new ideas. But who better to discuss a story which is very specific to Alabama society and culture than a trio of teachers from Alabama for the second part?