Portrayal of Disability in the Adaptation of Forrest Gump: Novel into Film (1994)

Abstract

Throughout history, disability has become the most frequently stereotyped category of identity, characters with disabilities are often used in literature not as complex, fully realized characters with complex personality, but rather as embodiments of evil, social problems, or as examples of inspiring motivation. People with disabilities are seen often reduced to narrative devices designed to evoke empathy, without regard for their autonomy. These portrayals this happens because the narrative is essentially created and consumed to satisfy the emotional needs of non-disabled people, raising questions about how disability is constructed, portrayed, and consumed across medias. One of the most controversial work in conjuction with the portrayal of people with disabilities in literary works is the novel Forrest Gump by Winston Groom in 1986 and the movie adaptation which was made in 1994 directed by Robert Zemeckis. The story follows the life of a man with a disability as he experiences important moments in modern American history. Although there has been plenty of research discussing disability in the novel, studies applying adaptation theory to analyze how the portrayal of disability changes from the novel to the film remain rare, highlighting a gap in existing academic research. This study addresses two main research questions: how is disability presented in the adaptation of Forrest Gump, and what are the reasons behind the adaptation choices. Using Linda Hutcheon’s Theory of Adaptation as the primary framework for analysis, this study examines the novel and the film to explore how the portrayal of Forrest’s disability shifts from the “telling” mode in the novel to the “showing” mode in the film. This study focuses on the differences in the portrayal of Forrest’s disability by analyzing the adaptation process specifically, omissions, additions, and alterations that alter the character’s representation as well as the reasons behind these adaptations, which include media constraints, economic considerations, and cultural and ideological shifts. The findings of this study reveal how the film adaptation significantly changes the portrayal of Forrest’s disability. The addition of a physical disability in the film makes Forrest’s disability more visible to the audience, in contrast to the novel, where he has only an intellectual disability conveyed through his speech and inner monologues. The simplification of his disability which was achieved by omitting certain events he experienced and his crude language, the addition of a physical disability, and the alteration of plot events transformed the portrayal of Forrest’s character and disability from that of a self-aware and complex individual into a polite, naive figure who serves as a moral compass. These changes were also driven by several factors, namely the constraints of the medium which required dramatization of all aspects of the film, economic considerations, and the cultural and ideological context of the 1990s, which prioritized sentimental narratives over the satirical criticism found in the novel. finally, Adaptation is not merely a process of shifting something to a different medium, but a creative act of reinterpretation that reflects the limitations and opportunities of a different medium.