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{Spoiler Alert} -- Folks who don't remember (or know of) the historical time period covered in *Forrest Gump*: in order to view this movie and judge its characters fairly I suggest it helps to consider that the 1960s and 1970s were a highly idealistic, rebellious and experimental time for young adults of the period. Jenny joins the counter-culture who were challenging the war and the status quo; part of that culture was, as a contemporary song said, "love the one you're with." So you can make sense of Jenny's promiscuity culturally. Jenny's singing of a protest folk song in the nude is a pretty clear indication of the conflicts in values represented: idealism and love vs sexism and violation.
Also it seems pretty clear that she was a child victim of incest. She desperately wanted to get away from her alcoholic, apparently abusive father. It is well known now that victims of incest often struggle with reckless and self-destructive impulses like drug use and dangerous promiscuity because their sense of self-worth has been damaged. The times she is tempted to jump from up high reinforces her desperate unhappiness. So this context too is important to understanding the messages of the film. Jenny couldn't stay with Forrest until she had come to peace with the demons of her past.
When it comes to AIDS/HIV, yes, now it is possible to survive with it. However, for its earliest victims it was pretty much a complete death sentence. I watched a very smart, nice person that I worked with in the early 1980s get sick with it and suddenly die within a very few short months. It was terrifying, mysterious, and completely incurable. Again, historical context for watching this is really important to understanding and appreciating all of the references.
Jenny slept with Forrest five years or so before she contacted Forrest again. I think the tombstone said she died in 1982. That would mean that Forrest Jr. would have been conceived in the 1970s, before the AIDS epidemic had become full-blown and acknowledged. Both the child and Forrest Sr. seem healthy at the end, so it is unlikely that Jenny infected Forrest Sr when Forrest Jr was conceived. What I think we are meant to believe is that Jenny gave birth to Forrest Jr and then went back to her drug habit and contracted HIV/AIDS. She cleaned up her act and got a job but then got sick from HIV/AIDS. So she contacted Forrest Sr., made her amends with him and ensured Forrest Jr's future. When she and Forrest get married notice that the only bed scene is the one where he brings her a meal in bed and sits next to her. They don't kiss at their wedding. Therefore I think it's clear that their relationship was completely platonic except for the one night when little Forrest Jr. was conceived. [Note: I see it suggested elsewhere that she had Hepatitis C; awareness of that disease also developed in the 1980s, so this suggested timeline is still relevant.]
I just re-watched *Forrest Gump* and thought how there must be fewer and fewer of us who get all of those references. We truly are all like feathers in the wind!! A highly symbolic movie. Reminds me of *Being There* in a way but I didn't like that movie nearly as well as I like Forrest Gump. Even though the characters not all that well-developed, the performances are stellar.
Last edited by LoraCate; 08-13-16 at 03:38 PM.
Reason: Adding some responses to other comments