Posted on 11/12/2013 4:46:31 AM PST by Kaslin
The 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's murder is being marked, not primarily by retrospectives on his life and accomplishments, and not by reflections on the myth versus the reality of his presidency, but instead by one of the features of our media age that is poisonous to our cultural health -- a macabre focus on the details of his murder.
National Geographic aired a film with the title "Killing Kennedy" (based on a book by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard). Trailers featured images of the first couple in the open limousine and close ups of the actor who played Lee Harvey Oswald raising a rifle to his face and closing one eye. The movie "Parkland" likewise features a re-enactment of the fatal day Kennedy was shot, complete with descriptions of the president's "shattered head" when he reached the hospital.
CBS's contribution will put CBS figures front and center. "JFK: One PM Central Standard Time," will reportedly focus on "The story of two men forever linked in history -- Kennedy and CBS anchor Walter Cronkite, who delivered the tragic news to millions of TV viewers." Bob Schieffer will also get his opportunity to bask in the reflected gore with "As It Happened: John F. Kennedy 50 Years," during which Schieffer will reflect on the "fear and tension" in Dallas.
Still not sated with Kennedy's blood? You can tune into the Smithsonian channel for "The Day Kennedy Died," which will feature interviews with eyewitnesses. PBS's "Frontline" asks "Who Was Lee Harvey Oswald?" and devotes an hour to understanding the "enigmatic" man who killed the 35th president. The History Channel offers a "minute-by-minute" chronicle of Oswald's final days with "Lee Harvey Oswald: 48 Hours to Live."
There's much more, including specials on the Warren Commission, examinations of the conspiracy theories that have proved impossible to quell, and newly remastered Dallas police department audio tapes offering a "behind-the-scenes" account of the shooting's aftermath.
Assassinations are highly dramatic. There is no way around that, and it's certainly not possible to remember JFK without mentioning the awful way he died. But this is assassination porn. These programs are encouraging us to wallow in the gunshots, the blood, the terror and the death. Above all, they are elevating the assassin to celebrity status -- just exactly what the mass shooters who all too frequently shatter our world are seeking to attain.
Consider this promotional material for "Killing Kennedy."
It "begins in 1959, at major turning points for both the future president and his assassin. John F. Kennedy ... is in Washington, D.C., preparing to announce his presidential candidacy, while Lee Harvey Oswald finds himself in the U.S. embassy in Moscow, renouncing his U.S. citizenship. These two events start both men -- one a member of one of the United States' most wealthy and powerful families, the other a disillusioned former Marine and Marxist -- on a cataclysmic track that would alter the course of history. Throughout (the film), we see their highs and lows, culminating in not one but two shocking deaths that stunned the nation."
One character enters history by serving his country and being gravely wounded in the U.S. Navy, winning a Pulitzer Prize (however dubiously), becoming a U.S. senator, and running for and being elected president. The other character -- given equal billing in this account of a great historical event -- achieves immortality by committing murder. We get "two shocking deaths."
The power of media saturation is difficult to overstate. A recent Wall Street Journal piece by Ari Schulman focuses on research showing that rampage shooters are highly motivated by the desire to achieve attention and fame through their shocking massacres. They often intend to kill themselves at the conclusion of their shooting sprees but hope to get the media to report their names and publicize their grievances. Schulman recommends that the press consider guidelines originally promulgated in 2001 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the surgeon general. These include never reporting the names of mass shooters, never speculating on their motives (and certainly never reproducing their manifestos), and never broadcasting images of the crime. The "breaking news" wall-to-wall coverage of these grisly atrocities gives the twisted perpetrators exactly what they seek.
The morbid focus on JFK's assassination -- particularly those programs that stress the "two stories" angle -- send exactly the wrong signals to unstable minds. The rifle, the close-ups, the music, the drama. It all screams, "This is the way, if not to glory, at least to notice."
The Kennedy assassination real facts even at 50 years later are still muddy no matter how intense the microscopic scrutiny with modern technology. In summary if indeed he was taken out by a group they may very well still remain unseen and untold for another 50 years.
Makes a person kinda wonder......
This article could have been written years ago—just substitute a different film, say, Executive Action (1973) or JFK (1991). Kennedy’s assassination has become like Bigfoot, an object of intense and often absurd speculation that’s been going on for decades. A disbelief by many that a dolt like Oswald could have done it by himself, combined with an untrustworthy Warren Report and a general lack of candor by the US government regarding the assassination are responsible for this. Methinks Mona protests too much, but that’s nothing new, either.
Knock knock......
There is nothing left to say about the Kennedy assassination accept the mechanics of the assassination unless one is willing to describe John F. Kennedy for what he was: a sex addicted, drug addicted, terminally ill, disease ridden man.
All this JFK Assassination Anniversary stuff is sickening. A pathetic attempt to recast history for the uninitiated in the dreams of Camelot and the legacy of a ‘royal’ clan wholly unworthy of even the least praise, let alone the mindless adulation of media.
I saw a recent episode of “Bones” where they team got sequestered overnight, forced to determine the cause of death of a set of bones brought in under such reverence and secrecy you’d think they found the bones of Jesus Christ.
It turned out it was JFKs bones. During their ‘discovery’ they happened on a pink fiber, concluding from it, that it was Jackie Kennedy’s coat fiber, and it PROVED “she didn’t desert him in the car.”
Typical liberal history rewrite totally omitting the video of her clamoring out of the limo. And, when we see those TV movies now, we’ll be treated to other fantasies I guess - JFK didn’t letch, Jackie loved him, and her family didn’t sell the new widow to the highest bidding billionaire ——blah blah blah..
Who’s there?
I put quotes around factual because, there are bits and pieces .. the bum on the bridge above the grassy knoll ... his arrest, Ruby's weird actions and lack of security at the police station (Oh yeah ... it's just Jack ... come on in and shoot the bastard, Jack ... ) and a bunch'a et-cetera's.
We'll never know the absolute truth is the only conclusion that is an absolute.
I would be surprised if history did not repeat itself.
Perhaps someone watched the movies, various documentaries and now can’t wait to be a copycat. It happens frequently when a shooting of any sort seems to draw out those with mental disabilities who want their 15 minutes of fame.
She was right. Nobody nice ever loved her. I wonder how that happened?
Before believing the stock in trade Oswald myths watch this.......
Except nutjobs rarely get the job done. Squeaky and Hinckley failed then you had the cold calculating “oswald” aka LBJ.
Actually its a little surprising that there aren’t more attempts these days due to the endless news of cable TV and the internet. It keeps the nutbags stirred up.
These days you almost have to make a conscious effort to step away from the constant news.
The recent spate of assassination porn may lead to calls for restrictions on free speech; specifically, criticizing the POTUS or his agenda because such criticisms (are you ready?) “could encourage an assassin”.
Such calls were heard after Jimmah Carter’s “killer rabbit” incident and Bill Clinton’s numerous sexcapades. Ridiculing a liberal prez causes murderous thoughts among all those nasty guntoting rightwingers, you see.
But only against Democrats. Openly calling for the murder of Republican presidents is protected speech.
A side note: America’s history of assassinations is as unique as America itself (”He’s an exceptionalist! Kill him!!”): assassins of Presidents, successful or not, have all without exception been isolated nutcases, usually losers. Each sought to kill in order to secure his/her place in history, not as part of a grand conspiracy to commit high treason.
Again, it will be soon solemnly announced, probably by Andrea Mitchell or Nina Totenberg, that “criticizing President Obama may unleash uncontrolled emotions with deadly intent”.
Who’s There??
Most Americans were not alive when Kennedy was killed. All most of them know about him is he was assassinated, and maybe something about the Cuban missile crisis.
In any case, his death was such a shock to the country it’s not surprising it’s dramatized so much.
Kaslin, I’m old enough to remember this event and seem to recall that, at the time, it was announced there were sealed records that would be sealed for 50 years out of respect for the Kennedy family. Do you remember this?
Yeah I forgot Executive Action. Of course it’s always propaganda that conservatives killed Kennedy when it was a commie.
I think But Lancaster leads the assassins. An intense film.
I remember where I was on November 22, 1963 and I remember the announcement that fifty years hence, those records concerning the assassination would be unsealed.
Let’s have them!
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