Stupid is as Stupid does

One of my favorite movies and the best example of southern stereotypes in movies is Forrest Gump. The most offensive stereotype is that southerners are all stupid, portrayed through Forrest who is slow, but a good-hearted southern boy from Greenbow, Alabama. When asked if he is "stupid or something" he comes back with "Stupid is as stupid does". He unintentionally teaches Elvis to dance, busts the Watergate scandal, meets John Lennon and John F. Kennedy, and becomes a "gazillionaire" through Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. However, Forrest is not the only with a low IQ. After enlisting in the army he meets Bubba, who is also dumb and talks about nothing other than shrimp and the family shrimping business all day.

Nothing in the South is bigger than college football. In Forrest Gump, Forrest is offered a scholarship to play at Alabama because he can run, but he is so dumb he runs the ball for a touchdown and keeps running through the tunnel, and Coach Bryant says "That kid may be the stupidest I have ever seen, but he sure is fast". However, this shows that anyone in the South can go to college and graduate if Forrest can.

Another common stereotype of rednecks and incest is shown through Forrest's best friend and true love Jenny, who runs away from a sexually abusive father. Her childhood drove her to run across country and finding escape through drugs and men.

In the movie, Forrest cuts grass for free because he loves riding the lawn mower so much. This refers to the stereotype that all southerners are rednecks with tractors and lawn mowers.
However, on the more positive side, the movie also shows that southerners are very hospitable and loving through Forrest's love and forgiveness for people. He loves Jenny and lieutenant Dan no matter how they treat him. Forrest Gump is a very entertaining comedy that I can watch over and over, even though it is poking fun at southerners and contributing to the stereotypes southerners are constantly trying to get rid of.