Gump and Co. Tom Hanks' "warmhearted dope." The text purposely contains frequent grammar and spelling mistakes in order to indicate the character's deficient education and cognitive difficulties. The story suggests that the real-life events surrounding the film have affected Forrest's life. In 1980, the shrimp market has exploded, and Forrest cannot keep up with the demand. Adding to Forrest's troubles, Lt. Dan sells off his share of the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company in order to fund a swanky retirement, and the company endures labor disagreements. Forrest comes to the docks one morning to find unoccupied trawlers and is met by no one save
Forrest Gump New York Times" reviewer Janet Maslin called Gump a "hollow man" who is "self-congratulatory in his blissful ignorance, warmly embraced as the embodiment of absolutely nothing." Marc Vincenti of "Palo Alto Weekly" called the character "a pitiful stooge taking the pie of life in the face, thoughtfully licking his fingers." Bruce Kawin and Gerald Mast's textbook on film history notes that Forrest Gump's dimness was a metaphor for glamorized nostalgia in that he represented a blank slate by which the Baby Boomer generation projected their memories of those events. The film is commonly seen as a polarizing one for audiences,