Opening to Forrest Gump - Robert Zemeckis

Just like what we did with the Inglorious Basterds clip we looked at, as a class we watched the first 2 minutes of Forrest Gump and analysed the use of the Mcguffin. The dictonary definition of a Mcguffin is a plot element that catches the viewers' attention or drives the plot much like the feather used at the start of Forrest Gump. This object is used to attract the audiences attention and make them interested in the clip in front of them and keep them watching. The feather constantly moving across the screen catches our eye and makes us watch the film, which in turn makes us watch the titles and this means that the names the director wants us to remember and think about during the film are subconsiously going into our brains. Overall the use of the Mcguffin in the opening of Forrest Gump is an effective technique in that it gets the audience interested and makes us start asking questions about the film, similar to the use of enigma in the opening to Inglorious Basterds and one that we, as directors of films, will consider using.