Robert Foster
I idea of an American Camelot and the Kennedy’s was one of the most brilliant and easy things to do during the time John was running for office. His family exposure allowed this notion of a strong and good family to be portrayed even though behind the scenes it was quite the opposite. The idea was then crafted quickly after the assassination of John Kennedy to the legacy it is known for today, the accomplishments, the idealism it is much easier to contrast because quickly after it the hippie and Vietnam protests began. This is the innocence that people at before the radical departure that occurred during those years. The idea of Woodstock, student marches and ideology you can hold your own views but the time span during the Kennedy administration and compared to those times of sex, drugs and rock n’ roll during the LBJ administration pose striking differences. In the movie the Kennedy’s are shown as the saviors who did not to receive such actions, it is a two-minute dialogue in the movie. But people know that during this time that administration brought this upon themselves. It showed a united family sticking together and being the smartest people in the United States but also the most down to earth. The fights over toast and Ken lying in his wives arms saying these guys are the smartest in the room. The character of Bobby in my opinion shows this striking idea that he is misunderstood; he isn’t ruthless and smart. No, he is a good old-fashioned Catholic schoolboy who bad things seem to happen under their watch. It portrays them as being level headed and having to save the country from generals who want to destroy the United States but everyone knows the true way the Kennedy’s act. For my own mother who is in love with Camelot doesn’t wish to see the glaring black eyes or outright lies because everything is to complicated now. The fact these men took their family to church, stopped in the confessional box and worked around the clock to save the country while being so gracious. I doubt any President truly ponders the idea of how one can get to saying throw a life away or say he isn’t going to take some bait from a general. It makes these men look like gods who could do no wrong or harm no person. The movie shows a nation that produced the finest of men, the smartest people to ever win an election and bad things happening to them for no reason. The movie shows a president who posses all the best characteristics of someone up to that time. What we must remember is they made mistakes, they toppled governments, and they make Clinton out to look like a saint. Americans and especially Roman Catholic’s need to remember these were men who cheated on wives, back tapped people, ruined careers and perhaps even stole an election. They were connected with the most corrupt men from the Daley’s in Chicago to Tammany in New York, they were the best players in the political world perhaps to good.
