Barely qualified: Barely within a lower quality standard or limit.
Rhetoric: The art or study of using language effectively and persuasively.
1. anticlimactic and humorous
In the American Traditional Dictionary, anticlimactic is defined as "the sudden decline of speech or writing from impressive or meaningful to ridiculous or irrelevant, or its instance". Anticlimactic is the most popular humor carrier in movies, because it is easy to be understood by the audience and can effectively bring them surprises and humor. In Forrest Gump, Forrest Gump always uses anticlimactic to attract the attention and interest of the audience, and then "fools" them with unexpected endings. Forrest Gump is not only a fool with low IQ, but also a very humorous language master. He fools people and people regard him as a fool.
Example 1
Forrest Gump: Now, the real benefit of meeting the president of the United States is food.
This is a classic anticlimactic humor. In the conversation, Forrest Gump used some descriptive words, "true" and "American", to show us what wonderful things he would share with us.
Before the word "good", he added an emphasized word-"true", which made us believe that what he wanted to mention was absolutely good for Forrest Gump.
At the same time, in the eyes of ordinary people, the president is a big shot in this country. Especially when it is formally modified by "of the United States", it is natural to tell people "please pay attention. Ladies and gentlemen. Forrest Gump must have something very important to say. " So we focus on what Forrest Gump is going to say next. But to our surprise, the answer is "food". This is completely out of our expectation, forming an anticlimactic humor.
Modify: modify, limit; Change, modify
Forrest Gump's dialogue of the same type reappears in this film. Forest said that in Vietnam, "the advantage of Vietnam is that there is always a place to go".
As we all know, Vietnam is a nightmare for most Americans, which has affected almost a generation. This hurt Americans so much that many Americans dare not mention it even today. But in forest's view, Vietnam has a good aspect, which puzzles us and makes us curious. "What's so good about Vietnam, the heartbreaking land of the United States?". The ending is simple and a bit silly, which makes us feel very humorous.
Example 2
Bubba: … My name is Benjamin beaufort Blue. People call me Bubba, …
Forrest Gump: My name is Forrest Gump. People call me Forrest Gump.
This is the conversation between Bubba and Forrest when they first met. Traditionally, they should introduce themselves. For Bubba, he has a long official name (I think the screenwriter designed this long name on purpose). Therefore, it must be shortened by people in daily life and easily accepted by us. After listening to Bubba's introduction, we may think that Forrest Gump will use his famous introduction to brighten him up-"My name is Forrest Gump. Forrest Gump. But the screenwriter (playwright) is out of the normal mode. He thinks this answer is really low IQ, "Bubba said the full name first, and then told me the abbreviation. I will answer in the same form, which will be polite. "So in the movie, Forrest Gump first introduced his full name-Forrest Gump. Then he will tell us his name and people will formally address him. We are also eager to know, "What do people call Forrest Gump? Is it Forrest or something? "But even Forrest Gump himself doesn't know. After careful consideration, he told Bubba exactly the same, which made us laugh.
Example 3
Forrest Gump: Because I used to be a football star, a war hero, a national celebrity, a shrimp boat captain and a college graduate, Greenfield, Alabama decided to unite and give me a good job. ……
Forrest finally succeeded. He is a football star, so he is an idol of Americans, who are crazy about American football. He survived from Vietnam with a medal, so he became famous in politics. He can play table tennis like a madman and visit China as a member of the national table tennis team. This is the first American social group to come to China after 1949, and he is carrying famous table tennis diplomacy. Therefore, he became a national celebrity after returning home and made TV programs with John Leon (the soul of the Beatles). Of course, Forrest Gump also created many amazing experiences that shocked the whole country, such as the discovery of Watergate. Most importantly, he is one of the millionaires deeply loved by the American people. In short, he attracted the attention of Americans from almost every class. He can describe it in a simple sentence, "Forrest Gump is a famous, rich and educated man." There is no doubt that he is an ideal candidate for the president of the United States.
Forrest Gump is so famous and important that Greenfield, Alabama should get together and seriously consider everything. Then the government "gave me a good job". What good jobs are there? Everyone is eagerly looking forward to the answer. We should think, "Maybe the president is a little difficult for Forrest Gump. The senator is right. He doesn't need to consider everything. But the government gave Forrest a more difficult job, a completely technical job-gardener, which was far from our expectations.
2. Comparison and humor
In real life, comparison is always everywhere. People like to compare one project with another to make things clear or express something special. In movies, comparison is always magnified artistically, and sometimes it becomes a strong contrast. In this way, some humor appears.
Example 1
Doctor: … But his back is bent like a politician. ……
Here is a very short and clear contrast. I guess some people in China don't really understand this comparison and don't know the humor of this sentence. The reason lies in the background knowledge of American political views.
Just from this simple sentence, we can get a glimpse of the typical views of Americans on politicians. They despise this kind of "political animal" because they think that politicians always lie in public and have no feelings. They usually waste taxpayers' money and do nothing. Some of them like chasing girls or creating scandals with each other. They are not normal people, and they are also not moral people. So the doctor compared Forrest Gump's back to a politician's moral distortion, just telling us that Forrest Gump's back is not very straight. He created an American humor, vividness and morality.
Example 2
Mrs. Gump: Remember what I told you, Gump. You are no different from others. Did you hear me, Forrest? You're just like everyone else. You are no different.
Mr. Hilcock (Principal): Your children are different, Mrs. Gump. His IQ is 75.
Mrs. Gump: Well, we are all different, Mr. Hillcock.
Here are two comparisons in the dialogue. In the first plot, Mrs. Gump emphasizes to Forrest Gump that he is just like everyone else. He is normal, not stupid. She emphasized the last sentence-you are no different. As soon as her voice fell, the director changed another plot, and the principal solemnly told Mrs. Gan that "your boy is different". Then he further told Mrs. Gump a cruel fact-"His IQ is 75" to prove that Gump is a real fool. This is in stark contrast. It is so sharp that we don't feel funny at all.
On the contrary, we feel sorry for Forrest Gump's mother, because when someone tells a mother that her child is a fool, she is not easily accepted. Some of them may react strongly, sadly or crazily. But for Mrs. Gump, her answer was witty. "We are all different" implies that "my son may be a little slow. Just a little different. This is normal, because we are all different in this world. So my son will get the same opportunity to go to school as everyone else. "
She is a great mother with a humorous philosophy. (sophistry)
Example 3
Lieutenant Dan: ... If you were a shrimp, captain, that's the day I became an astronaut.
After Forrest came home from China, he met Captain Dan in new york. They went to the bar to celebrate the New Year. Forrest told Lieutenant He Dan that he would keep his promise to Bubba, so he would buy a shrimp boat as soon as he had money. Lieutenant Dan didn't believe it, because he knew Forrest Gump was a fool and he couldn't do any business himself. Yes, he got the congressional medal, but Dan thought what the American government did was a stupid thing and made him look foolish. He didn't really bow his head to rest, but he really didn't believe he could make a difference. At the same time, he may be a thinker. He will be the real backbone of the United States and know how to accept the Congressional Medal. Only people like him are the hope of America. But now he is nothing, not even legs. How can he pursue his dream? He got nothing from the government except charity and neglect. He hates the government's slander on him, and he is a little jealous of Forrest Gump, because he got the honor he dreamed of.
So when Forrest Gump said he would be the captain, he shouted at the crowd and said painfully to Forrest Gump, "If you become the captain of a shrimp boat, that's the day when I become an astronaut." Please remember the time when the story happened-about1early 1970s. Shortly after the first astronaut neil armstrong landed on the moon. At that time, becoming an astronaut was an unfulfilled dream for almost all mankind. How did it become legless? Lieutenant Dan compared the two positions to tell Forrest Gump, "Don't be silly, you'll never be a captain." But he chose humor and irony to express it.
3. Exaggeration and humor
In the American Heritage Dictionary, exaggeration is defined as "a figure of speech that uses exaggeration to emphasize or produce effects, such as' I can sleep for a year' or' This book weighs a ton'." "For China people, humility is a good virtue, and we think Americans are too simple and naive. Why? An important reason is that many Americans usually describe things or express their feelings in exaggerated ways. Sometimes, exaggerating is far from common sense, creating a sense of humor. In Forrest Gump, the hero Forrest Gump is an honest braggart who adds a lot of humor to the dialogue in the play.
Forrest Gump: Hello. My name is Forrest. Forrest Gump. Do you want chocolate? I can eat about1500 thousand. My mother always said, "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you will get. " Those must be comfortable shoes. I bet you can walk all day in shoes like that without feeling anything. I wish I had shoes like that.
The dialogue is at the beginning of the film. Forrest Gump is sitting on a bus bench, talking to a strange nurse. Forrest Gump boasted that he could eat about1500,000 pieces of chocolate. It is a typical American exaggeration, obvious and humorous. Of course, it is easy to know that no one can eat as much chocolate as people, and maybe God will. Here, Forrest Gump exaggerated it a billion times. Through this and the tone of voice, we can easily find that Forrest Gump's IQ is abnormal.
In the following sentences, Forrest Gump's speech reveals some simple philosophy of life. At the end of his first important speech, Forrest Gump, like other Americans, began to flatter nurses with her shoes. He used another exaggeration-no feeling at all.
Only from these words, Forrest Gump showed us that he is not an ordinary person. He's something.
4. Puns and humor
John dryden described the pun as "torturing a poor word in thousands of ways". In Collins English Dictionary, Punis believes that "using words or phrases to explore the ambiguity and innuendo in their meanings is usually to achieve humorous effect."
Doubt or uncertainty about an explanation:
Ambiguous; An unclear explanation, question or uncertainty.
Pun is the main carrier of humor, and humor is printed in the text. Puns usually require the receiver to chew them repeatedly and find interesting things from them. Therefore, when the audience only enjoys a movie once, it is not easy to make puns and feel humorous. However, some simple puns are often used in movies.
Forrest Gump: What is this?
Student: Raccoons try to enter the school.
Forrest Gump: Raccoon? Well, raccoons wanted to climb up on our back porch, so mom drove them away with a broom.
This is a very simple and interesting pun in the conversation. The screenwriter used a homonym-coon, which has two meanings. One is "a carnivorous North American mammal with grayish brown fur, a black mask-like facial symbol and a thick black ring tail". Meaning is Forrest Gump's idea. The other is "used as an alternative term for black people", just like the word nigger. Here, the students are going to tell Forrest Gump that two niggers are trying to enter the university.
Contemptive: contemptuous, defamatory, contemptuous
Raccoon: [Moving] Raccoon, hopeless, black
Nigger: < Beauty > A discriminated person, a nigger (a disparaging term for a black person)
In American history, Alabama is one of the most segregated states. The University of Alabama is the last university to ban black people from registering. We can also be sure that many people in this university and even the whole state are not friendly to blacks. So this student used an insulting word to refer to black students. But for Forrest Gump, he has no opinion on racial discrimination. He thinks it is normal for blacks to enter the college and study with them. But it won't attract so many people's attention, even governors, commanders and so many journalists. It must be a raccoon (animal) trying to get into school, which must be interesting for Forrest Gump. But he doesn't understand why these small animals bring so many people to the college. He thinks his mother and a broom are enough to drive them away. The screenwriter constructed a simple and pure image of Forrest Gump with puns.
5. Satire and humor
Irony is "an expression or discourse marked by a deliberate contrast between obvious and expected meanings", usually for humorous or rhetorical effects. Irony is widely used in film dialogue. You should have a good sense of humor and knowledge of American culture.
Forrest: I only caught five.
Ship seller: Two more drinks and you can have cocktails. ……
Although Buba told Forrest Gump everything about shrimp catching, Forrest Gump still felt that it was very hard to catch shrimp. One day, after a whole day's hard work, he only caught five. The ship seller played a joke on Forrest Gump just to make him happy. At the same time, he also told Forrest Gump the fact that Forrest Gump caught too little.
There is also a background about shrimp cocktail. Shrimp cocktail is a mixture of small pieces of shrimp, eaten cold and before meals. It is usually an appetizer. So the number of shrimps used in shrimp cocktails is not much. A few is enough. Here, the boat sellers just use cocktails to make fun of the number of shrimps caught in forest.
6. Transfer and humor
Transfer is to transfer or cause to be transferred from one place, one person or one thing to another. In a conversation, the speaker usually moves from one topic to another, or from one focus to another. Especially when the question is too sharp or inconvenient to answer. Sometimes one speaker deliberately changes the subject in order to avoid hurting another speaker. Conversion in conversation often produces some unexpected effects, such as humor.
Private Gump
Forrest Gump: Yes, sir
Officer: Suit yourself. I have your discharge papers. Your tour of duty is up, son.
Forrest Gump: Does this mean that I can't play table tennis anymore?
Officer: Yes, for the army.
In this conversation, the officer sent the discharge document to Forrest Gump and told him that his service in the army was over. But for Forrest Gump, the first reaction is that he can't play table tennis anymore. He brought us surprises and fun, because there is no direct connection between playing table tennis and retiring. This is based on Forrest Gump's intelligence level, which makes him think straight about everything.
For an officer, he certainly knows that Forrest Gump's IQ is not high. He won't answer questions directly, such as "No, my son. You can continue to play table tennis. But nonsense, nonsense, nonsense. " He answered Forrest Gump's stupid question from another angle. In just a few words, the police officer explained things clearly, even to Forrest Gump.
Boring
conclusion
Of course, the humor of movies is not only manifested in dialogue, but also in plot design or actor's body language. This is Banner.
In Forrest Gump, the writers and directors hide a lot of humor in the designation of the plot. For example, in the past half century, Forrest Gump has been in contact with many celebrities, including Elvis Presley, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon. He also participated in many important events in American history, such as Vietnam War, Ping Pong Diplomacy and Watergate Incident.
Speaking of body language, we have to mention a master-Charlie Chaplin. You will find it hard not to laugh at his early movies. Of course, Tom Hanks is also a good actor. He plays a genius fool perfectly through his eyes, expressions and movements. We can find a lot of humor in his performance.
In a word, humor is a prominent feature of American movies. It is usually presented to the audience through dialogue, plot and actor's body language. Especially in dialogue, humor is vivid and witty by using some rhetoric.
I will end my thesis with several comprehensive words in Forrest Gump: Hello. My name is Forrest Gump. I may be a little slow. But my mother said "stupid people do stupid things". I don't want to be famous, I just want to be myself. But for no particular reason, I became a football star, a war hero, a national celebrity, a shrimp boat captain and a college graduate. My mother always said, "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you will get. " I'm just doing my best. What about you?