PROVERB IS AS PROVERB DOES FORREST GUMP, THE CATCHPHRASE, AND THE PROVERB
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Abstract
This article examines the phenomenon of the movie catchphrase, arguing that many of these memorable, repeatable items draw both their form and their meaning from the proverb tradition. It particularly examines the movie Forrest Gump (1994), which coined such proverbial catch-phrases as “stupid is as stupid does” and “life is like a box of chocolates: you never know what you’re gonna get,” and proposed fictive origins for modern proverbs such as “shit happens.” Examining both the origin and functions of these proverbial utterances, the article argues that people’s prior experiences of proverbs became a crucial aspect of their understanding of the film. It thus suggests that modern movies contribute to, and are shaped by, the intertextual process we know as the proverb tradition.
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