2. Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump is a simple film. It doesn't have any underlying political motives. Perhaps in an attempt to match its hero's innocence, Zemeckis focuses on pure story-telling. This was a wise move, as the tumultuous times that Forrest lives through speak for themselves. Our hero stays completely apolitical throughout the Vietnam war, his encounter with the Black Panther movement,
Ping-pong diplomacy and meetings with three Presidents. And this is the film's genius - that most of the extraordinary things that happen to Forrest are down to luck. So when Forrest accidentally becomes a financial success we don't hold it against him. As with Chris Gardner in The Pursuit of Happyness we are pleased for him. There is however less sheer graft in Forrest's path to riches than Chris'. He happens to be naturally good at ping-pong. Luckily he discovers this just when ping-pong is being played against the Chinese and therefore is at the forefront of the national consciousness. As a result the sponsorship deals are far more lucrative than they would have been a couple of years earlier. Forrest's second stroke of luck comes when (SPOILER - although let's face it, everyone's seen this film anyway) a storm wipes out all the other shrimping boats on his patch, leaving him to collect the entirety of riches. This is Forrest economics - encounter a stroke of well-timed good fortune that wipes out all of your competition. Good luck with that.