Concept featured in film: Homeostasis; excretory system

DVD: 1:26:34 - 1:27:26

Play Flickclip Here (Quicktime)

Summary of clip: There is a scene where Forrest receives congratulations from the President for being an All-American football player. The only thing Forrest can say is, “I’ve got to pee.” Then he explains how he had just consumed a lot of Dr. Pepper®.

Connection of flickclip to the concept: This clip can either introduce the topic of homeostasis—where Forrest’s body is trying to return to normal by relieving excess fluids, or the excretory system, which is working overtime in Forrest’s body. (Use discretion with this clip since it deals with urination depending on the policies of your school system)

1. Suggested questions for students when viewing the clip:

a. Do certain drinks cause one to urinate more often? Does Dr. Pepper® cause people to urinate more than water or other liquids?

b. What is the role of water in the body that makes it so important to have plenty of it, but not too much of it?

c. If you focus on the excretory system, you can discuss with the students possible path the Dr. Pepper® takes from the second he drinks it until he excretes it.

d. Remind students of products advertised on television for “leaky bladders.” They can compare and contrast the excretory physiology of a younger, Forrest Gump, with someone considerably older.

e. Students can also research the impact of soft drinks on the presence of kidney stones when posed with the question “Why do physicians often recommend limiting the amount of soft drinks a person consumes after a bout with kidney stones?”

2. For a possible assessment, you can show the clip and then have students explain the physiological processes of removing excess liquid from the body.

3. Students can do Internet research to answer the questions: What kinds of feedback messages occur in the body when a person realizes it is time to go to the bathroom? How is the brain involved? How does the urinary system “send” messages to the brain?