Forrest Gump in its list of the "Best 100 Conservative Movies" of all time. Then, in 2009, the magazine ranked the film number four on its 25 Best Conservative Movies of the Last 25 Years list. "Tom Hanks plays the title character, an amiable dunce who is far too smart to embrace the lethal values of the 1960s. The love of his life, wonderfully played by Robin Wright Penn, chooses a different path; she becomes a drug-addled hippie, with disastrous results." James Burton, a communication arts professor at Salisbury University, argued that conservatives claimed "Forrest Gump" as their own due less to
Forrest Gump Carolina. Extensive visual effects were used to incorporate Hanks into archived footage and develop other scenes. The soundtrack features songs reflecting the different periods seen in the film. Released in the United States on July 6, 1994, "Forrest Gump" received favorable reviews for Zemeckis' directing, Hanks' performance, visual effects, and script. The film was a massive success at the box office; it became the top-grossing film in North America released that year and earned over worldwide during its theatrical run, making it the second highest-grossing film of 1994. The soundtrack sold over 12 million copies. "Forrest Gump" won the Academy