It's who they think you are.

[Walking Among Lions]

Who do we think Forrest is? Are we thinking he is who he is because we accept his portrayal as our reality and fact? What portrayal is Forrest trying to achieve in order to change our perceptions of who we think he is versus who he really is?

[5-leaf Blaze]

Yes. It was the point of the entire thing.

[Walking Among Lions]

and don't forget his intended epitaph.

"I wish I could have done all the things I was attributed to have done"? That epitaph?

[Tlmlb]

'Forrest, your story is interesting but not in a movie way.....you have to have more notoriety and sparkle'...replied Steven S.

'well, ok mofos. I'll get to work on that!' thought Fenn pragmatically.

[RahRah]

Fenn was an intelligence asset, that's implied in a few places in the book.

[Tlmlb]

Fenn was an intelligence asset, that's implied in a few places in the book.

That could explain why he had artifacts confiscated in the FBI investigation but was never charged....or Fenn sang like a canary to save himself.

[Omni]

Or alternatively "It's not where it was, it's where they think it was." Does that work too?

[Old blue]

That could explain why he had artifacts confiscated in the FBI investigation but was never charged....or Fenn sang like a canary to save himself.

I would bet my last 20$ no one is going to bully or get Forrest to do anything that Forrest doesn’t want to do

[Omni]

I would bet my last 20$ no one is going to bully or get Forrest to do anything that Forrest doesn’t want to do

Depends entirely on what the threat is.

[Star Shadow]

[QUOTE=Walking Among Lions;n181153]

"I wish I could have done all the things I was attributed to have done"? That epitaph?

*correction...

"I wish I could have lived to do,
the things I was attributed to"

His epitaph!

[Dampenedmyth]

I think more than anything, Forrest wanted us to learn to chase our dreams. You can’t achieve what you don’t go after. And if you love it then stick with it. Failures are part of the journey. This trailer is based on a true story of someone doing just that.

https://youtu.be/wGPnIVSlyUU

[Longfellow]

Fenn was an intelligence asset, that's implied in a few places in the book.

I certainly won’t argue with the feasibility of that. I bet his true autobiography is one damn good read! I wouldn’t be surprised if we all get to read it one of these days.

[Quest]

Fenn was an intelligence asset, that's implied in a few places in the book.

Https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2832...nati-enquirer/

Fenn : A Texan retired fighter pilot and ex-CIA agent

[Walking Among Lions]

WAL,
There are two Japanese words you may want to be aware of: Tatemae, the way things appear. Honne, the way things really are.

I like those words. Honestly, I don't think Forrest does anything to betray his trust and honesty for the Chase. It's just, he allows people to impugn their version of the truth on Forrest's reflection of facts. He's not manipulating peoples' perceptions, he's merely playing into those preconceived notions of what they perceive as fact and allowing the broader audience to inflate the story, whether factual or less than accurate. It's like I read before, Forrest knows that people will think what they want to think regardless of what you tell them (paraphrasing) or the evidence provided. It is this evidence that we must decipher and review with an opened mind in order to find the truth. Doing so, when many others are muddying the waters, only further deludes the reflection Forrest has left on the mirrored waters.

[RahRah]

Https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2832...nati-enquirer/

Fenn : A Texan retired fighter pilot and ex-CIA agent

Even without the newspaper article, there are things in the book that specifically hint toward his being CIA (or at least an intelligence asset); first is his age when he was sent to Vietnam (40 - that's old for the average age of a fighter pilot in Vietnam, unless your specific skills were needed, they didn't want to risk their most accomplished older pilots in Vietnam), second was his length of stay there (just under a year).....then there was his "minox camera" - a tiny, tiny camera that was used by intelligence officers during Vietnam (they were not a typical, go buy yourself a camera cameras, but specialized cameras), the chapter Blue Jeans and Hush Puppies AGAIN - blue jeans are work pants, hush puppies aren't just shoes, or fried food, a "hush puppy" is also a silencer placed on a handgun to 'silence the dogs' that hounded you if you found yourself in enemy territory, behind enemy lines, or you were on a mission that might have dogs you needed to not have around.....when Fenn was rescued, the two things he was missing were his gun and his minox camera - why? - a pilot downed in enemy territory with either could be executed for spying, a pilot without either was to be taken as a POW; pilots did NOT routinely fly with weapons or cameras for that very reason, unless they were on a mission that required them.